After finalizing the remaining details for the coronation robes with Totorot in her workshop, Shiomi and Aesc left the Textile Management Bureau, with Baobhan Sith still following close behind.
If Shiomi wanted to be alone, he would signal it. Since he hadn't, Baobhan Sith was free to leave or stay. She chose to stay—after all, there was nothing else for her to do.
Only when working for them did she feel her life filled with true purpose. Once, she had been a useless lower-class fairy, living only to drink blood. Now, she was helping the revered Witch and the Sage govern a city.
She felt deeply content, wishing this happiness could last another thousand years—and countless more beyond that. Baobhan Sith would live for the Sage and the Witch.
"During this expedition, I visited Oxford and Salisbury," Shiomi said as they walked through the garden. "I found some ancient records."
Baobhan Sith quickly opened her notebook to take notes, but Aesc gestured for her not to. "Just listen," she said softly.
"Is this about your research into Britannia's history?" Aesc asked.
She knew about his investigation. Ever since their expedition to the Great Hollow, Shiomi had been carefully collecting data. But between governing the mixed human-fairy settlements and guiding them step by step toward becoming Londinium, his research had been carried out in fragments.
Now that the name "Lord of Londinium" had spread throughout the island, countless eyes were watching him closely. Wanting to keep this matter secret, Shiomi had only told Aesc and a few trusted allies.
"It's interesting, actually. This time, I discovered something rather unusual," Shiomi said. "The 'Prophecy of the Priestess.'"
"A Priestess?" Aesc looked surprised.
In all recorded history, there had never been mention of such a figure.
"Was this Priestess human?" Baobhan Sith asked. She had read extensively about this kind of history.
Since the Sage had once described it as the fairies' original sin, she had tried to remember every detail, pondering its meaning ever since.
"How perceptive," Shiomi said with a faint smile, exchanging a glance with Aesc. "We'll talk about the prophetess herself later. For now, let's focus on the prophecy."
He reached out, brushing his fingers through the uneven blossoms in the garden.
"In short," he said, "the Priestess foretold that Britannia would be destroyed by the 'Insect of the Abyss' after four wars—spring, summer, autumn, and winter—each sweeping across the island."
His tone was calm, but Aesc couldn't relax. Baobhan Sith's legs gave out beneath her; she nearly collapsed from shock.
"Spring, summer, autumn, winter... The 'Spring War' and 'Summer War' have already happened. Only autumn and winter remain," Aesc murmured. Then realization struck her. "Tenkei, when you said you'd launch a full-scale attack on the remaining opposition this autumn—were you trying to confirm the prophecy's 'Autumn War'?"
"No," Shiomi replied. "It was only after reading the prophecy that I realized our actions so far may have unintentionally aligned with it. Whether I wish it or not, the offensive must begin once autumn arrives. Too soon or too late, and it would be meaningless." His voice grew heavier. "But—"
"But?" Aesc pressed.
"If we unify Britannia and rule both humans and fairies together, there will be no more wars," Shiomi said. "The 'Winter War' will never come to pass. Since the future isn't fixed, we'll choose our own path—and avoid that prophecy of destruction."
Aesc fell silent, deep in thought. Shiomi's reasoning resonated perfectly with her own.
Once, as the "Counter Force of the fairies," they journeyed across Britannia—quelling calamities and mediating disputes—yet even so, war could not be eradicated. Rather than allowing the fairies to develop on their own, it was better for them to take control. The undying king took Britannia into his hands and extinguished the seeds of war.
"It's almost like defying fate," Aesc murmured with a sigh, though genuine laughter shone in her eyes.
"But if it's the Sage and the Witch, no matter what fate it is, they can overturn it," Baobhan Sith said earnestly.
"Hearing you say that encourages us greatly," Shiomi replied with a gentle smile.
Aesc nodded. "We're not fighting alone. We have many we can trust."
Shiomi plucked a white flower from the flowerbed and tucked it into Aesc's hair.
"Now, about the Priestess," he said, his tone still calm. "Of course, most of what I'm about to say is speculation based on the information we have."
"Go on," Aesc said, brushing her fingers against the flower.
"From my deductions," Shiomi continued, "the Priestess is likely the progenitor of the remaining humans in Britannia. Humans can't reproduce on their own. After Cernunnos's death, the Priestess must have been disassembled in some way—yet she didn't die. Instead, she became the base material the fairies used to create humanity."
The thought made Baobhan Sith's face go pale. "Then… all of Britannia… even the humans here… were created in the workshop…"
As a fairy, raised with that understanding, she neither knew nor could recognize there was anything wrong with such a birth. Only Shiomi could perceive it.
And only Aesc—who had shared countless human experiences with Shiomi, yet had never chosen to bear a child—understood immediately.
"Then the 'remnant'… could it actually be the Priestess?"
Baobhan Sith had read that epic countless times. She had always believed its vagueness was due to the distant age it described. But in truth, it was not.
"If that's the case, then Cernunnos didn't die from exhaustion—he was slain by the first six fairies. And the Beast God's priestess was used like that…" Aesc felt a dull ache in her chest.
To not only slay a god, but also turn His priestess into a mere tool— The original sin of Faerie Britain ran deeper than she had imagined.
"It's still conjecture, though I believe it's correct," Shiomi admitted with a helpless sigh.
"To rule Britannia, we must settle the original sin of being fairies," Aesc said quietly, realizing that the time had come. "Even if we keep silent, sooner or later the fairies will—"
She knew she had been avoiding her duty. But duty was something given, not chosen. If, as a fairy of Paradise, she refused the duty bestowed upon her—and instead granted herself one of her own choosing…
"I'll begin preparing everything for the inspection in Oxford," Baobhan Sith said immediately.
After Aesc gave a small nod, she turned and quickly left the garden.
"My husband is right. Power is necessary. To ensure absolute security, we can't run from it."
A breeze swept through the garden, stirring their robes. Shiomi reached out to steady Aesc's wind-tossed hair.
"If this is your true decision, then I'll stand with you."