Gardenia’s Heart

Two elves ran through the gardens of the royal palace.

“Damn it, what the hell is going on!?”

Wiping the blood trickling from his lips with the back of a clenched fist, Kelios pressed his left arm even more firmly around the neck of the woman beside him.

“As if I’d know!” Zaylin shot back, irritation in her voice, both arms occupied with holding an unconscious, black-haired girl.

Seeing her reaction—even while his own body was leaking blood from multiple wounds—Kelios couldn’t stop the vein bulging on his forehead.

“And yet you went and opened that seal for them!”

Kelios’s sharp cry struck Zaylin like a blade. Like a flame flaring higher when fed, the anger burning inside the elf exploded.

“I wasn’t going to let her kill your fiancée, you idiot!”

Zaylin didn’t know what that door was for, nor why the demons were interested in it—but she knew that eventually, she would be forced to open it.

It had been a gamble.

The moment the door began to open would be the one and only time when everyone’s attention wouldn’t be on her. The only moment she could act to escape.

She was a failure as a soldier, but she refused to also be a failure as a friend.

That altruistic—yet, in her own eyes, utterly pathetic—thought was what drove her to use every last ounce of her strength to save those two lives, even if it meant betraying her entire people.

Realizing this, Kelios clenched his teeth and shook his head over and over.

The group had just crossed the outer grounds, and after passing through several already-broken doors, they entered the palace corridors.

Dodging collapsed walls and large pools of blood, Kelios finally lifted his head and looked at the pink-haired elf again.

“How about you explain to me why you’ve been acting so strange these past few weeks?”

Impulsive as he was, Kelios was still someone who respected the will of others. Even when angry, he would never threaten a friend, no matter how furious he became. If he were punished—whether he thought it fair or not—he would see it through from start to finish.

It wasn’t passivity; everything had its time and reason. That was what the elf believed.

That was why he had waited—because he felt there was something the elf wanted to tell him, and he would wait for her answer, no matter how long it took.

At least, that’s what he’d thought until today.

But now, as a wave of frustration and fury surged in his heart, his voice rose and his bloodied fist gripped the front of her clothes.

“There’s no way you know nothing! I’m done waiting for you to grow a spine and talk! You’d better start explaining everything right now!”

Logic dictated they should hurry. They were in a life-or-death situation, and their pursuers would be upon them soon. Every precious second they wasted could cost them their lives. But Kelios wasn’t taking another step without answers.

Under the weight of his demand, Zaylin’s shoulders shrank. She had seen Kelios’s anger directed at many people before—but never at her.

Kelios wasn’t afraid of upsetting her; in fact, he wanted to. He wanted to shake her into change.

Because of her, the boy had suffered far too much.

Fearing the worst might happen, she never told him what she was doing. Afraid Kelios might ruin her tasks, she lied to the only person who treated her as a friend.

Maybe she had failed as a friend as well—that was the thought that passed through her heart.

“During our patrol, I was carrying out a mission given to me by the Sage. That’s why I had to bring that human to the city at any cost, even without knowing the reason.” Resigned, she furrowed her brow and averted her gaze, her teeth biting into her lip. “This wasn’t the first time. Many times I’ve helped her based on her predictions, even when they weren’t right. I owe her my life, and that’s why I had to repay that debt.”

When she finished speaking, Zaylin waited for the boy’s reply, but only silence came. When seconds passed and the grip on her neck didn’t ease, she reluctantly moved her eyes to the side to face the elf—only to receive: “That’s it? That’s why you’ve been acting strange all this time!? You idiot, why didn’t you just tell me before!?”

In a way, those words only ignited something inside her.

“Don’t you get it? The more people knew, the harder it’d be to make sure it worked! No one has believed her from the start!”

Without a single great accomplishment to her name, it was no exaggeration to say that Thelira Elarielle Phaea was considered by the people the worst sage in history. As the one who had been saved by her, Zaylin believed she had the duty to help her.

“But I would’ve believed you, you idiot!” Pulling the girl closer and pressing their foreheads together, Kelios shouted with force.

The words struck her like a hammer, straight to the chest. Her vision swayed, and Zaylin no longer knew whether the dizziness hitting her came from the blood trickling from her forehead or from the adrenaline about to burst inside her once again.

“I–Idiot? You’re the idiot here, you stubborn blockhead! You never understand when I try to tell you things! Do you know how hard that is with your personality!?” Grabbing Kelios by the collar in the same way, Zaylin clenched her teeth and raised her voice.

“Yes, I’m an idiot! That’s why you should’ve explained everything to me instead of hiding it! You should’ve kept trying until I understood!”

“How am I supposed to explain anything to a stubborn idiot like you!”

The two elves kept trading insults over and over, until slowly, each offensive word began to curl the corners of their lips, until laughter finally broke out. The contagious laughter exploded, their tense expressions easing and their rigid bodies growing lighter.

Just as tears can be the body’s response to both sadness and joy, anger too could create something good.

After taking a few deep breaths to ease the shortness of breath that made even their stomachs ache, Zaylin and Kelios looked each other in the eyes.

“In the end, we’re just two idiots, aren’t we?” Wiping away a tear that had formed at the corner of her eye from laughing so much, Zaylin smiled at the boy.

“Speak for yourself—at least I’m not some lonely guy who’s never dat—Argh!”

Her words earned her a punch in the shoulder, right where the blood was still fresh, without a shred of mercy.

Laughing again, Zaylin turned her gaze toward the small plaque beside a wooden door in front of her, confirming its inscription, and then looked to the fourth member of their group, who had been silently observing until now.

“Maple, open this door, please.”

With a pink glow radiating joy, the rosy sphere floated toward the door, its light intensifying as it transformed into a key, quickly unlocking the latch.

Walking inside while still holding Klara in one arm, Zaylin scanned the small rectangular room. Having been sealed all this time, the little storage managed to stay intact enough that most of the potion bottles inside remained unbroken.

Placing the unconscious Klara onto a workbench, Zaylin quickly searched for bandages and began rummaging for anything useful. Soldier or not, what she was doing wasn’t much different from looting the palace—but given the situation, she couldn’t think of a better option.

Her fingers were caked with dirt and blood, but there was no room for hygiene. Tossing a few healing potions toward the boy, Zaylin uncorked several bottles of resistance draughts and downed them all in one gulp.

“You do realize chugging that many at once is going to hit you hard later, right?”

Reluctantly turning up a single bottle of advanced potion, the boy looked at the elf with exasperation as she puffed out her modest chest in pride.

“I can worry about recovery time if I live long enough to need it.”

“You said the exact same thing when you first tried chocolate. And you ended up with diarrhea for days because you blew your entire paycheck stuffing yourself.”

Zaylin frowned at that.

“Remind me why I risked my life to save your ass?”

“Because you’re an idiot—just like me.”

Snapping back at her jab, Kelios made his way to the door and peered through the cracks. Thanks to the potions, his body had recovered enough in just a few minutes that he no longer needed support—but that didn’t mean the danger had passed.

“How bad’s our situation?” he whispered, watching the grayish fog seep into the corridor through the broken windows.

“Well, for starters, several of the elders are helping the demons. The royal guard is already dead, and Queen Elarielle is out of the city.” Leaning against the wall, Zaylin lifted her closed right hand and began raising each finger as if ticking off items on a list. “On top of that, we have no idea how our families are, the World Tree’s barrier is gone, and even if we head underground, the mist will probably kill us all within a few hours.”

“So?” Kelios pressed.

With a radiant smile, the girl with a pink floating orb at her side declared confidently,

“Honestly? We’re fucked.”

Taking advantage of the distraction when the seal opened, Zaylin lunged the moment the door swung wide, slamming her fist into Faelion—who was holding Kelios—dislocating his jaw and killing him instantly. That bought the group just enough time to rush into the palace and hide. Even through the gray mist, they could see their pursuers racing across the bridge toward the palace.

Strapping the unconscious Klara to his back with several lengths of cloth, Kelios tested his body’s movement in its current state before meeting the gaze of the pink-haired girl.

“Then… what’s the plan?”

Hand to her chin, Zaylin thought for a moment.

“At this point… don’t die?”

“Come on, you can do better than that.”

Kelios sighed, covering his weary expression with the palm of his hand.

“I think they only need me and Maple. I’ll show you a way out—take Klara, get out of the palace, and find General Riari. I’ll buy you the time you nee—Argh!?”

This time, it was Kelios who punched the elf’s shoulder without holding back.

“I’m not leaving you behind, idiot.”

“W-We can’t beat that demoness!”

“I know that, but it’s not like we can run or hide either. For someone who killed a soldier without even blinking, you lose your confidence awfully fast.”

Although only two demons seemed to be in the city, they had no way of knowing how many elves had turned traitor. Even if they tried to hide in the palace or elsewhere in the city, they would almost certainly be found before finding help—or die to the mist.

“I’ve realized I hate it when you’re right.”

“And I love annoying you.”

If fleeing or hiding was off the table, that left only one option. Leaving the room, they scanned both ends of the ruined corridor. Grabbing a small dagger from the body of a fallen soldier, Zaylin strapped it to her thigh with a band of cloth, and then the two elves began to run.

It was no longer a matter of ensuring safety. If blaming their misfortune wasn’t an option, then they would fight.

---

The cold wind drifting in through the shattered windows carried the mist inside. The floor was far from clean—shards of glass lay scattered among splinters of wood, and cracks spiderwebbed across the walls adorned with paintings. Yet, unmoved by the scene, an elderly man in lavish robes walked calmly down the royal palace corridor.

“Now…”

With one hand idly stroking his long beard, Elder Haldrion tapped his staff against the carpet beneath his feet.

“Kelios, do you truly believe you’re hidden, my boy?”

His gaze fixed on the far end of the hallway—or, more precisely, on a small rectangular wooden shelf.

The luxury piece, meant for displaying ornamental vases, was draped in a thick, now-dusty cloth. In recent nights, the old man had learned of some commotion in the palace—large enough to shatter several windows—leading the maintenance staff, for safety’s sake, to cover valuable items with fabric rather than move them.

Though unusual, it would not have drawn suspicion… were it not for the small pool of fresh blood on the floor.

A dull crack rang through the corridor as his wooden staff met the edge of steel.

“Calling such an obvious hiding place camouflage is no different from telling a bad joke,” Haldrion said with a sigh, his right hand raised to block the weapon aimed at his neck. “Still, I’ll grant you points for attempting to set a trap.”

“Tsk!” Clicking his tongue, Kelios leapt from the window ledge to the opposite side of the corridor.

With the stiffness of age, Haldrion turned his head to regard the boy’s bloodied arm.

“Trying to draw my attention to the window was clever. Hanging from the outside, so many meters above the ground—that was bold. Truly, an idea dripping with youth.”

He seemed almost amused as he spoke, which only deepened the furrow in Kelios’s brow.

“I don’t need your praise, so shut your mouth.” Tightening the white bandage already stained red around his arm, Kelios made sure Klara was still firmly secured to his back before leveling his sword at the elder. “Least of all from a traitor.”

“There will always be sides, boy. Perhaps you’re too young to understand, but this reliance on the fae only forces us to remain hidden in this forest for the rest of our lives.”

“Stop hiding your greed behind self-pity. You dream far too big for someone who’s been licking a demon’s boots.”

A scornful smile curved the boy’s lips, and Haldrion only sighed, exasperated.

“Miss Belladona has shown us we can be more. You would know, if you were willing to listen. Why do you insist so stubbornly on protecting that girl and the fairy? Just tell me where she is, and I’ll personally ask Miss Belladona to spare your life.”

“Go to hell.”

He didn’t wait for a reply. Dropping his body low, Kelios dashed forward, swinging his blade in a curved arc aimed upward at the old man.

Yet, without so much as a change in expression, Haldrion swung his staff. In midair, a thin wall of water materialized, blocking the blade.

“I may not be an elite soldier, but even I can handle something like this.”

“Tsk.”

He couldn’t let his assault end there.

Swinging his weapon, Kelios didn’t halt his movements—overhead, low, and from the sides. Pouring mana into his exhausted muscles, the boy tried to shatter the watery wall.

Sweat ran down his body as he increased his speed. The strikes grew relentless, and soon his blows pierced through the barrier, exposing the elder beyond it. The old man, unable to keep from raising a brow at the sight of his broken defense, lifted his staff to prepare another spell.

Kelios raised his sword, mind racing to form a plan in a fraction of a second.

He would dodge the next spell and deliver a killing blow. With that reasoning, he rushed forward again.

And that—was precisely why he lost.

A single kick to his injured knee was all it took to send the boy collapsing to the ground. A second strike tore his weapon from his grasp, and before he could react, the old man’s staff was already brushing against his neck.

“Shifting your weight onto the uninjured side may ease the pain, but it overburdens your supporting foot. A center of gravity that fragile is far too slow to evade me,” Haldrion sighed. “No hard feelings, yes? Ending a young life with such potential will hurt, but I’ll be sure to remember you.”

Kelios couldn’t help but grit his teeth.

“Damn it… I really am an idiot.”

It wasn’t just a simple statement of frustration—the weary tone made it clear he had truly realized something.

“Oh? Finally willing to heed reason?”

“I just realized I shouldn’t try to make plans on my own. Doing exactly what she says without question always gets us through.”

A muffled impact followed.

“—!?”

It wasn’t just the sharp, visceral pain—Haldrion felt a chill run down his spine that made him stagger. The tremor rippling through his entire body told him something sharp had pierced his flesh. His thoughts faltered, and with a heavy thud, he collapsed forward.

With the torrent of crimson blood flowing out, the girl didn’t even need to check her kill.

“Good job keeping him distracted.” Pulling her dagger from Haldrion’s corpse, Zaylin—her body drenched in blood—let out a gentle smile.

Walking toward one of the walls, Zaylin replaced one of the large paintings, hiding the narrow secret passage behind it. Though winding and claustrophobic, it was just wide enough for someone to crouch through without making a sound.

“Seriously, how do you even know about these things?”

Watching the bloodstained girl silently mutter apologies for damaging the painting made Kelios unable to hold back a grimace.

“Her Highness Thelira taught me some of the palace’s passages so I could visit her. Talking only through our fairies wasn’t so easy, after all.”

From the start, both of them had been after information.

A frontal assault had never been an option—there was no way to win a fight by playing fair—so they had chosen another path.

Having already read through the boy’s trap, Haldrion would wrongly assume he was in control of the situation. By feeding him the possibility of surprise attacks from cabinets and windows, they kept his focus occupied, making him overlook the idea that an attack could come from elsewhere.

“Seriously, are you sure your calling is to be a soldier and not an assassin?”

“Why do you say that?”

As he watched Zaylin calmly wiping the old man’s blood from her face without even blinking, Kelios decided to stay silent, unsure whether her question had been a joke or not.

Tilting her head at his odd expression, Zaylin sheathed her dagger once again before pausing in thought.

As one of the elders, Haldrion had been one of the main threats among the traitors. If this plan had worked on him, she could adapt it to ambush the others.

“We need to cut down their numbers little by lit—!?”

She never finished the sentence. Her vision spun uncontrollably.

It wasn’t like sinking into quicksand—more like the ground itself had turned into a predator. Zaylin felt something cold grip her ankle, and before a scream could escape her throat, the floor swallowed her whole.

Dust and splinters of wood exploded outward as Zaylin’s body was forced through the floorboards. After a moment of darkness, the warm glow of candelabras filled her eyes. The long corridor was gone, replaced by an enormous dining hall.

Her foot throbbed, and her body was cut in several places, but she had no time to care—something was now gripping her by the neck.

“So much trouble for just one girl...”

Gracefully swinging a silver dagger from side to side, the woman in white armor landed softly from the ceiling onto a round table.

Plates and ceramic cutlery crashed to the floor with her movement. Her outfit left none of her curves to the imagination, making her ample chest sway, but the irritated glare in her eyes carried none of a lady’s grace.

“I can’t risk you escaping or dying, so I’ll be more careful this time. Be a good girl and sleep for a while,” Belladona whispered, her fingers around Zaylin’s neck tightening slowly.

The moment the situation truly became clear to the elf, Zaylin couldn’t help but curse in her mind at this outcome.

Belladona was one of the last people they had wanted to encounter.

Her throat burned past the point her mind could process. As warning after warning flooded her system in waves of adrenaline, Zaylin could do nothing to stop her body from trembling uncontrollably. From the start, their efforts wouldn’t have meant much—Zaylin knew that. They had known they wouldn’t get far; this was the natural result. Still, that was no excuse for stopping the fight or giving up.

Nothing she could do with her arms or legs would change the situation. It wasn’t simply oxygen deprivation or blood flow being cut off to her brain—it was as if her whole body was growing heavier. The world around her wavered. If she lost focus, she would pass out instantly.

Her heart raced. Her feet weren’t even touching the ground, yet she didn’t stop struggling against the demoness’s grip.

It didn’t matter if it was small or stupid. Their lives were being prolonged purely by willpower, and in the end, the little time they had gained by clenching their teeth and fighting had been worth it.

“You’re a brave girl—that’s my favorite kind of person.”

A soft tremor rippled through the dining hall along with those words.

It wasn’t just one color, but a brilliant blend, as if every hue in the world had been poured into a single spot.

“Rrrgh... Aaaaaaargh!?”

Belladona had only enough time to scream before her body was hurled into one of the dining hall’s pillars.

Zaylin felt something soft envelop her.

Her body was wracked with pain, but, held around the waist, she raised her head.

“Who are you...?” Zaylin asked.

Her red dress was far too eye-catching for a battlefield, yet somehow it suited the place perfectly. Two rabbit ears swayed shyly among the golden hair tied in twin-tails.

Making a V-sign with her fingers, the rabbit-eared girl struck a cute pose and winked her pink eye.

“I’m just a school principal in search of true love.”

It looked like a playful gesture, yet somehow, it radiated a sense of safety.

And now standing up on the far side of the dining hall, Belladona’s expression twisted.

“A filthy demi-human.”

“That was rude. You seem to have a terrible personality for such a beautiful face. What a shame—I was almost about to ask you out.”

---

Dawn was about to break, and the sky was stained by the mist.

Much blood had been spilled, and much suffering had been sown.

Yet that did not mean all was lost.

There was still time to change that tragedy.

It would all begin here.

In the elven forest, in three different places, three girls had arrived at their battlefield.