I’m an Immigration Officer!

The Next Morning.
In the center of the royal courtyard—
A vast, majestic garden.

At its heart stood a great brazier.
It had burned uninterrupted, passed down through generations of the kingdom.
Queen Helena Castor read the inscription beneath it with a dispassionate gaze:

“May this nation last eternal, like the flame that never fades from the world’s center.”
“…Last eternal.”
Surely, that was meant as a blessing—a wish shared by all citizens.

But today, to Helena, it sounded like mockery.
This kingdom had once basked in a golden age beneath a small predator.
But is that still true now?

She couldn’t answer.
Even she could no longer say with certainty.
As she drifted deep into thought—
—Thud.

A heavy sound. Several strong men barely managed to set down a mountain of stationery before the brazier.
“These are the last of the princess’s writing papers, Your Majesty.”
A vassal spoke.

“What shall we do with them, Your Majesty?”
Helena slowly turned her gaze toward the towering heap of paper her daughter had used.
Countless sheets reaching waist height.

She had read every last one of them.
Each and every line filled with words her daughter had never been able to voice aloud.
About her daily life, her hopes for the future, her longing for her brother, and the guilt over what she had done.
Even her feelings toward the queen were there.

“That woman always says I’m in the wrong. And she’s right. But still… just once, I wished my mother would hold me.”
A truth she had never heard—not even once.
Helena spoke in a cold voice.

“Burn them. Leave nothing behind.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
For the princess, nothing was more dangerous than emotional agitation.
To avoid repeating tragedy, nothing—nothing—must be allowed to provoke her.

Not even a fleeting joy.
—Fwshhh.
Hundreds of letters tumbled into the fire.

All the words the princess had densely packed onto each page, her feelings and her hopes, burned with them.
—Whoom.
The flames danced without mercy, devouring the rain of paper.

Then, just as one letter was about to fall into the brazier, a breeze blew it astray, dropping it at Helena’s feet.
The short line on it was already blackening from the edge:
“From your frien…”

Helena’s expression twisted.
A vivid memory rose with the wind, her daughter’s cries echoing in her ears.
—Aaah…!! Uuuhhh!!!

When the maid who had dared to whisper such dangerous wishes into the girl’s heart was dragged away to be punished…
The way Elaine had screamed and cried—that haunted her.
Such raw emotion. Rarely seen.

The queen muttered quietly to herself, as if justifying her actions:
“This is something I have to do.”
The tragedy must not repeat.

The day her beloved son died.
The day her daughter’s power spiraled out of control and brought ruin.
That day, the Pope had said:

“Though the Lord bestowed His blessing, the father prevented the Holy War. That wrath was righteous.”
“But we can soothe His anger, Your Majesty. Through our blessings and prayers, we can suppress the princess’s power.”
Divine blessings. The rampage of a Talent Emergence.

The siblings had adored one another.
The prince and princess had never once fought as children.
The prince always indulged her, and the princess followed him with affection.

Perhaps, as Esbacaor said, this truly was divine wrath.
Why Elaine, who had always controlled her powers so easily, had suddenly lost control… no one knew.
But just as the Pope promised, the priests of the Holy Order had truly suppressed her powers—at least for a time.

It was the only reason Helena still believed in God.
Because the Pope had shown her a way—
The only path to stop this cursed cycle from repeating.

But now, even that was crumbling.
Because of one man.
“…Chief Officer.”

Just speaking the title gave her a headache.
The man at the center of it all.
The one who openly opposed the Pope… and yet was protected by the divine.

The one to whom every letter her daughter wrote was addressed.
The “friend” she referred to—was none other than Chief Officer Nathan Kell.
Everything twisted after that immigration officer arrived.

Even the queen’s faith.
She recalled the anomaly from the trial.
“T-The Bracelet of Paluva…!”

The divine power was returned to the Saintess… and taken from the Pope.
There’d been no word from the Pope since.
As if some fraud, caught in the act, had simply run away.

He had severed all ties even with priests inside the kingdom, choosing only silence.
So what am I supposed to believe now?
Staring into the fire, Helena was overcome with doubt.

If the divine had chosen the Chief Officer and the defrocked Saintess—
—Then what was all that she had done for?
What were the Pope’s words and blessings?
One word flashed through her mind.

“Meaningless.”
Wasted effort. Wasted time. Wasted feeling.
The thought she least wanted to accept crept up and wrapped itself around her.

—Clench.
She gripped her fan tightly.
“…There’s no turning back now.”

It was too late.
She had tried to kill the Chief Officer. That was public knowledge.
She couldn’t now ask him for help—now that he was the one chosen by God.

Much less ask forgiveness.
The Pope who had helped suppress the princess’s power had vanished.
Her husband, Rio Castor, no longer shared her bed.

Though the king had regained clarity, he hadn’t left his room in days since the trial.
Only his proxy met with others, receiving endless reports from the Intelligence Bureau.
Everything was unraveling.

The stitched-up peace she’d barely held together—now tearing at the seams.
Dread crept in like smoke.
To shake it off, she asked her retainer:

“What of the princess?”
My daughter.
My only blood.

And the one who killed my son.
The priest lowered his head deeply and answered:
“She’s under the Blessing of Peace. She should be stable for now.”
“Are you certain?”

Even they were no longer easily trusted.
But they were all she had left.
A sandcastle built on contradiction—

That was Helena’s throne.
“Place the blessing on her every other day. Monitor her emotional state constantly.”
Every time she said the name, conflicting feelings clashed in her heart.

But this is all for you.
She had to believe that.
Otherwise, everything she had done would lose all meaning.

Just then—
“Your Majesty! Your Majesty!”
The shout struck like a hammer on glass, shaking her already fragile state.

Helena snapped open her fan with an irritated voice.
“What is it?”
But something was off.

The attendant’s face was as pale as a corpse.
“T-The Princess…!”
Dread.

Helena prayed the words that followed wouldn’t be what she feared.
“She’s begun rampaging again!”
The tragedy was not over yet.

 
****
“…”

When Princess Elaine was young, there was one fairy tale she always asked her brother to read.
“The Princess and the Dragon.”
“The princess was trapped in a tower, guarded by a terrible dragon.”

“But then, a brave knight appeared, defeated the evil dragon, and set the princess free.”
Why am I remembering this now?
Just when she’d finally made up her mind—her brother’s fairy tale came to her.

Elaine quietly bit down on her lip.
Soon after, footsteps echoed toward her door.
—Creak.

It opened.
“Your Highness, it is time for your meal.”
And just like yesterday, a new maid she’d never seen before stepped into the room with an indifferent face.

But today was different.
The princess didn’t look at the fireplace.
She stared coldly—straight at the maid.

“…Your Highness?”
She raised her hand.
And clenched it.

—Crack.
An invisible force seized the maid, lifting her off the ground.
“G-Ghh… urkk!!”

The girl choked and kicked, unable to breathe.
“P-Prin… cess… your power…!!”
—Craaaack.

Elaine squeezed harder.
I hate you all.
You called me a monster. No one ever came near. I hate you.

I hate myself.
The one who caused everything.
The one who did nothing—who couldn’t even protect the person she cared about most.

The one who just cried when Hannah was dragged away.
Mother… Father…
The pity, the affection, and the hatred in your eyes—it hurt so much.

I shouldn’t have tried to understand my mother’s tears and curses.
I shouldn’t have tried to feel my father’s silence.
Brother, too…

 
"You should’ve hated me instead."
The brother who kept comforting her to the very end, telling her it was okay.
You were the one I wanted to protect, no matter what.

I thought this power existed for that reason.
But I couldn’t do it.
Let them all die.

Her hand trembled.
Reality had never once resembled the fairy tale.
There was no brave knight to come save her.
And no princess in the tower.

Only the dragon, trapped and roaring, resenting the world.
And that dragon—
—it now longed for freedom.
Freedom from life, from the world.

She wanted the tower to come crashing down completely.
And that collapse…
…would begin with this maid.
—Craaaack.

Slowly, she tightened her invisible grip around the girl’s neck.
And then—
“Guh… it… hurts…!”

The maid was crying now, thrashing wildly—
—and the moment Elaine met her eyes, her brother’s face overlapped with the girl's.
Elaine… I’m okay…
“Ah…!”

She released her grip without thinking.
—Thud!
The maid crashed to the ground from midair.

“Cough, cough! Hic—cough!!”
Elaine looked down at her in a panic.
Even though she’d resolved herself—

A sickening wave of resistance surged up from deep within.
I… I…
Is this what he would have wanted?

She didn’t know.
If I keep doing this… will I become something else?
She didn’t know.

But it feels like I’m crossing a river I can’t ever return from.
The thought came suddenly.
If she took even one more step—
She would become a monster.

…I’m not a monster.
She might rage, but she was still human.
And she wanted to stay human.

So instead, Elaine swept her hand to the side.
The heavy double doors crumpled and were blasted off their hinges, slamming into the wall.
—BOOM!

A blinding flood of sunlight poured into the room.
She turned her body and pointed down the hall.
At the maid.
“Ah…”

Get out.
Before I change my mind.
The maid scrambled up and bolted out of the room in sheer terror.

And then, screamed at the top of her lungs:
“Th-The Princess’s power is rampaging!!”
As that frightened cry rang out, Elaine began walking forward.
—Step, step.

She left the darkness of the room she’d locked herself in for so long.
Toward the blinding light that now filled the corridor.
Down the hall, guards and attendants rushed into view.
“Summon the priests!”
“Inform Her Majesty at [N O V E L I G H T] once! Hurry!”

Voices filled with fear.
They stared at the princess in horror.
And one of them…
…spoke the one thing that should never have been said:

“Monster…”
That single word pierced her like a blade.
“Ah…”

The moment she heard it, Elaine understood.
To them, she wasn’t someone to be pitied.
She was just a monster in chains.

So that’s how it is.
Her heart shifted again.
Not to a human heart—
But to the heart of a dragon trapped in a tower.

If that’s what you’re all so afraid of…
Then I’ll become it.
She slowly extended her right hand forward.

And closed her fist.
—CRACK! SHHHHHRACK!
With a chilling sound, the columns lining the corridor began to splinter and collapse.

“G-God have mercy…!”
“The Blessing—why isn’t the Blessing of Peace working?!”
“The castle’s falling! Evacuate! Run!!”
The very spells the priests had been so confident in meant nothing now.
Elaine had already become a flame burning cold and furious.

“U… uuh…”
She couldn’t speak—
But it didn’t matter anymore.
She didn’t have to.

She’d destroy everything and leave.
To a place no one could find her.
A place without hope… without despair… where I can be near my brother again…

And then—
“Stop, Princess!!!”
A young woman’s fierce yet trembling voice rang in her ears.

A familiar voice.
“…Ah.”
Elaine turned her head, slowly.

And saw her.
“Haa… haa… please don’t… don’t do this…”
Her personal maid.

Unlike herself, this girl was always emotional, always bright—
—and always by her side.
Red-haired.
Hannah Meyer was standing there, breathless, staring at her.

And then—
“Princess Elaine.”
Another voice followed.

Calm, yet weary. A man’s voice.
“…It’s been a while.”
Her friend.

The only one who understood her.
Black hair, black eyes.
“The last time we met was at the royal tombs, wasn’t it?”

The Chief Officer stood beside Hannah.
He looked like he’d run full-speed all the way here—
His clothes disheveled, his hair a mess, his breath ragged.
But it was unmistakably Nathan Kell.

The two people dearest to her.
The ones she’d thought she would never see again.
Were now standing in front of her.

“…Ah.”
The strength left her hand.
The tremors that had shaken the corridor slowly faded.

Am I dreaming…?
She didn’t know.
If this was a dream, she never wanted to wake up.

She wanted to live here forever, forgetting the cruelty of the real world.
Nathan spoke.
“I kept waiting for your letters, but they never came. I started to worry… so I came.”

There were no heroes in this merciless world.
But there was still… a friend.