とろける関係　カップルが愛を祝う日とされるバレンタインデー。
　虎杖家のキッチンでは青年が何やら準備をしている。高い身長に鍛え上げられた肉体、鼻筋と目元に残る傷跡――長子の宿儺である。台上には丸と長角の型、搾り袋、オーブンペーパーなどが揃えられており、これから行われるのはお菓子作りだと分かる。
　宿儺が背丈のせいで小さく見える冷蔵庫から生クリームや食塩不使用のバターを取り出していると、キッチンの扉が開かれた。
「ごめん宿儺、遅くなった！」
　学生服に身を包んだその青年は伏黒恵。お隣の伏黒家の次子で、現在高校二年生。宿儺とは二歳違いの幼馴染だ。
　現在時刻は午後三時半。帰宅時間としてはむしろ早いくらいだろう。伏黒と交流の深い宿儺もそれを理解している。

Blessing in the shadowsSilence, as absent as the beating of a withered heart. To his eardrums comes the deep reverberation of the domain of a cursed mind, lodging in them the echo of a cave cemented on the skeleton of a creature of great dimensions. The boy lying face up on the surface, floating on a vast dark crimson lake, seems to have been swallowed in one bite by the beast. His face remains completely pale: it's a white that represents purity without stain, or the death that corners his soul without having the luxury of touching it, still. His almond-shaped eyes refuse to open. He wants to believe that his guess is wrong, that it's all part of a nightmare, but the sudden echoing laughter of someone else forces him to swallow his saliva and face the gloomy landscape. What he sees first are the great vertebral bones of a colossal animal column hanging above him a few feet above the ground, the thick ribs stretching across the place like prison bars. Although this domain gives the illusion of warm