The Midnight Assassin
It had been about ten days since Era arrived at the imperial palace. That day, dance practice had dragged on late into the night.
“Aigoo… Your Highness…”
Era kept begging for just one more song, just one more, so by the time I left the practice hall, midnight was nearly upon us.
“Ugh, I’m exhausted…”
Lanterns hung at regular intervals along the imperial palace corridors, but thick darkness pooled in every corner the light couldn’t reach.
Step. Step.
I was walking back to my quarters when I suddenly stopped.
“…”
Something felt wrong.
The nights in the imperial palace were always quiet. But tonight’s silence had a different texture. The patrol guards’ footsteps, which should have come at steady intervals, were missing. Even the constant chirping of insects from the garden had abruptly cut off at some point.
It was the kind of silence that felt like something was holding its breath.
Whether from living in this body so long or from my original senses, the fine hairs on the back of my neck stood on end.
I slowly turned my head and scanned the far end of the corridor where darkness gathered. There was only pitch blackness. Nothing out of the ordinary.
Yet that made it even more ominous.
I tried to take a step, then stopped again. For no clear reason, a heavy weight sank into my chest—an inexplicable anxiety. It felt as if someone were staring at the nape of my neck from behind.
“……I’d better head back.”
In the end, I turned around. Not toward my own quarters, but toward Era’s.
“…”
There was no clear reason. My feet simply moved that way on their own. I knew I wouldn’t be able to sleep tonight unless I at least checked on Era’s sleeping face.
I retraced my steps down the corridor toward the annex where her quarters lay. With every step, the ominous silence grew thicker.
And the moment I rounded the corner leading to the annex—
“…!”
I froze where I stood.
Beneath the moonlight, three black shadows clung silently to the window of Era’s quarters.
They were wrapped head to toe in black cloth, indistinguishable from the darkness itself. Faces, hands, even the tips of their toes—black garments that reflected not a single speck of light. One of them was silently pushing the window upward. The way he slipped a thin tool between the iron bars to pick the lock was chillingly expert.
“…That’s—!”
My heart plummeted.
Shadows. Trained assassins who had infiltrated the imperial palace. And the room they were trying to enter was where Era lay sleeping.
“…”
What now?
My mind went ice-cold and boiling hot at the same time. Should I shout? Call the guards? But the instant I called for them, the shadows would move faster. The ones already so close to Era would slit her throat long before I could arrive with reinforcements.
“First…!”
There was no time to think. I simply ran.
“Era!!”
I screamed at the top of my lungs and hurled myself toward her door.
First, I have to wake Era.
At my shout, the shadows at the window all turned their heads at once. But there was no surprise or panic on their faces. They merely looked annoyed and moved even faster.
“…Tch.”
The lead shadow flung the window fully open and slipped inside. The other two followed right behind.
I kicked the door open.
Bang—
The room was steeped in darkness. Only the moonlight seeping through the window barely outlined the shapes.
“…”
Era lay on the bed. Three black shadows were silently closing in on her head.
The lead shadow raised his hand. The dagger he held gleamed coldly in the moonlight.
“Get away!”
I threw myself at the nearest shadow. The moment I lunged, the shadow flinched and twisted away. The reaction was far too fast to be human. Just before my hand could reach him, he flowed sideways like smoke. Then, in retaliation, he drew a dagger—sheathed and all—and struck my abdomen.
Thud—
My clothes crumpled. A heavy pain bloomed across my stomach.
“Urk.”
I gritted my teeth and staggered. A sharp, wrenching pain spread from my side. But the commotion woke Era on the bed.
“Leon?!”
Still half-asleep, she sat up. In that instant, the shadow standing by her head raised a now-unsheathed dagger toward her. Beneath the moonlight, the blade slowly traced an arc—straight toward Era’s throat.
Suddenly, time slowed.
Era’s face showed she still hadn’t grasped the situation. With dazed eyes, she stared up at the black shadow looming over her and the flashing blade.
The moment the knife plunged downward—
“Eraaaa!!”
I reached out desperately. But the distance was too great. Between me—staggering, clutching my injured side—and Era, there was no way a single step could close the gap.
Not reaching meant I couldn’t stop it. Which meant Era would die right before my eyes.
“…”
That single fact burned my mind white.
No.
No other thoughts came. Only that one word filled my entire body.
No no I have to stop it I have to save Era.
And in that moment, something surged up from inside me.
Whoosh—!
From deep within my chest, from a place I had never touched before, something dark and viscous erupted like a broken dam.
“…!”
It was the same black holy power that had burned the ropes binding me back in that rundown border house. But this time its power was on an entirely different level. It felt like a long-dormant beast opening its eyes.
Regardless of my will, the black power seemed to know exactly where to go. It gathered at my fingertips.
Boom—!
The black energy flowed down my arm and exploded outward. Straight toward the shadow about to bring the knife down on Era.
Crunch—!
Black fog-like energy swallowed the shadow whole. There was no sound. No scream, no loud explosion. The instant the black power wrapped around him, the shadow’s movement simply… stopped.
Knife still raised, frozen in that exact pose. As if time itself had been halted. The shadow hung motionless in midair. Then, slowly—very slowly—the dagger slipped from his fingers.
Clang.
The sound of the blade hitting the floor tore through the silence. Then the shadow’s body collapsed powerlessly.
Thud—
The shadow that fell to the floor didn’t move again.
“Huff… huff…”
I staggered closer and checked his condition. He was still breathing—his chest rose and fell faintly. But his eyes were wide open and completely empty.
…A coma.
A deep, unconscious state. From my fingertips, black smoke still rose in thin wisps. This was on a completely different scale from burning ropes.
What the hell did I just do?
The remaining two shadows were visibly shaken by the sight. Their comrade had fallen in a single move to some unknown black energy and been reduced to an empty shell.
“……What is that?”
One shadow spoke for the first time. His voice carried clear bewilderment.
“……That’s not power a human should be able to use.”
The other took a step back. In that opening, I staggered to the bed and positioned myself in front of Era.
“Era. Get behind me.”
“…”
But Era didn’t answer.
“…?”
Sensing something wrong, I glanced back. Era was slowly sitting up on the bed. Those eyes—empty, pitch-black, just like that night.
“…Don’t—… protect….”
Her lips moved faintly. A low murmur I could barely understand. And from her fingertips, something like heat haze began to shimmer. A transparent distortion, like the haze rising from sun-baked ground on a hot summer day. The air twisted, and the darkness bent strangely.
“…!”
It was an unconscious defense. She was trying to protect herself from those who sought to harm her.
I have to stop her.
If Era used that power now, the guards who would soon burst in would see it. And then Era’s true identity would be exposed to the entire world.
Then it’s all over.
The Maryeokche, the emperor, the whole empire—they would never leave her alone. Everything I had fought so hard to prevent would be destroyed in this single moment.
No.
Forgetting the pain in my side, I turned to Era and seized her wrist.
“Era. Don’t.”
She looked at me with those empty eyes. There was still no focus in them. She stared at me, yet she wasn’t seeing me. The haze at her fingertips grew thicker.
“Era. Snap out of it. Please.”
I gripped her wrist harder.
“Please come back to me.”
But Era didn’t return. My voice, my touch—none of it seemed to reach her beyond that pitch-black darkness. The haze at her fingertips thickened further. The air grew sticky and warped; the darkness in the room twisted.
“Damn it…!”
There was no time. The guards would burst in any second. If I couldn’t stop her before then, everything would truly end.
I racked my brain. Shake her awake? Slap her cheek? Shout? Last time in the borderlands, ordinary stimulation hadn’t brought her back.
“Shit…!”
This wasn’t something that could be fixed by simply waking her. I needed a single phrase that could pierce straight into the deepest part of her heart.
What do I say to bring her back?
My mind burned white. My side throbbed. The haze at her fingertips grew denser. Footsteps drew closer down the corridor. All of it pressed down on me at once.
And then I spoke.
“Hey. I—”
My voice cracked. I hadn’t even organized my thoughts, yet my mouth was already moving. The one thing that could pull her out of that darkness. The one thing she wanted to hear most. Not something chosen by my head, but words that rose from the very bottom of my heart.
“I…!”
“I like you!!!”
The shout reverberated through the dark room.
“…!”
Even I flinched at my own words. I had spent all this time hammering in that it was a fake engagement, telling her not to misunderstand. Yet in this moment of crisis, what flew out of my mouth was a confession.
There was no taking it back.
“…”
“…”
Only the heavy echo of my shout remained in the room. My ragged breathing. A silence like everything had stopped. And then—Era’s empty pupils trembled faintly.
Deep within those pitch-black voids, something stirred. Like something long submerged at the bottom of deep water slowly rising to the surface. The haze at her fingertips suddenly halted. Slowly—very slowly—focus began returning to her eyes.
Whoooosh—
The haze at her fingertips gradually faded. The warped air settled back into place. And then—
“……Mmm…?”
Era blinked slowly, like someone waking from a long sleep.
“……Leon?”
Those eyes, now focused, were looking at me.
“…Phew.”
They were the eyes of the Era I knew. I finally released the breath I’d been holding.
“…”
At the same time, my head spun. What the hell had I just shouted?
“……Yeah. It’s me.”
My voice trembled.
“……It’s okay. Everything’s okay.”
I hurriedly checked Era’s condition first.
“Did you hear what I said just now?”
“……What? What did you say?”
Era asked back with a dazed expression.
“It seems I lost consciousness for a moment. I think I woke to Your Highness’s voice, but… I don’t remember what you said.”
Because she had been out of her mind, she had woken to my voice but remembered none of the actual words.
……Thank goodness.
Even as I thought that, I felt strangely deflated. I couldn’t explain why.
“……It’s nothing. Don’t worry about it.”
I hastily glossed over the moment.
“…I’ll handle this situation, so just stay quiet. Don’t do anything. Understand?”
Era stared at me blankly, then slowly looked down at her own hand.
“…!”
Her face showed she had realized—too late—what she had almost done. That hand began to tremble faintly.
I turned back toward the shadows. I drew up the black energy at my fingertips again. Summoning that beast-like power at will wasn’t easy, but a faint black mist still rose.
“If you take even one more step,” I said, raising my hand with its flickering black energy toward them, “you’ll end up like that too.”
I pointed at their comrade lying on the floor as an empty shell. The two remaining shadows looked back and forth between my hand and their fallen ally.
They were trained assassins. Men who wouldn’t flinch at ordinary threats. Yet now their bodies were visibly stiff.
“…”
Their instincts were screaming warnings about that black power.
“…”
“Huff… huff…”
Silence crushed the room. Only my ragged breathing and the faint sound of Era trembling behind me filled the space.
Finally, one shadow spoke in a low voice.
“……We retreat.”
“Mission failed.”
The other answered curtly.
“Withdraw.”
Both leaped at once toward the window they had entered through. It was instantaneous, like black smoke being sucked away.
“Stop right there!”
I reached out, but the shadows had already crossed the windowsill and vanished into the darkness.
And right then—
Loud footsteps thundered down the corridor.
“What happened?!”
“It came from Her Highness the Crown Princess’s quarters! There was a noise!”
“Hurry!”
It was the guards. They had come running late after hearing my shout and the sound of the falling dagger.
“Phew…”
The timing had been razor-thin—right after the shadows disappeared through the window, and right after the haze at Era’s fingertips had completely faded.
The door burst open. Several guards rushed in with swords drawn.
“Your Highness! Are you unharmed?!”
The lead guard quickly scanned the room: me clutching my side, the black-clothed shadow collapsed motionless on the floor, and Era on the bed, pale and trembling. He seemed to grasp the situation instantly.
“Intruders! Two fled through the window! Chase them immediately!”
When I pointed at the window and shouted, several guards immediately leaped out.
“Your Highness, you’re injured! Quickly, call the imperial physician—”
“I’m fine.”
I cut him off and pointed at Era.
“Check on the Crown Princess first. Make sure she isn’t hurt anywhere. See if she’s been cut.”
The guards approached Era. She gripped the edge of the bed tightly, staring at me with a blank expression.
The fallen shadow was carried out on a stretcher, still in a coma.
“No external wounds, but how did he lose consciousness like this?” one guard asked, puzzled.
I answered casually. “During the struggle, he hit his head hard against the wall. That’s why he collapsed.”
I couldn’t mention the black holy power. I didn’t even fully understand it myself, and if it became known that I possessed such strength, it would complicate things in an entirely different way from Era’s identity.
After that, the imperial palace was thrown into chaos. It was only natural—shadows had infiltrated the Crown Princess’s quarters in the dead of night. Security doubled. Soldiers carrying torches searched every corner until dawn. The annex was surrounded by layers of guards.
When the commotion had finally died down and the guards withdrew outside for patrol duty, only Era and I remained in the room.
Era quietly approached my side.
“Mmm…”
She examined my injured side. My clothes were badly crumpled; when she lifted them, a vivid, dark bruise was revealed.
“……That’s a bad bruise. It must hurt terribly.”
Her voice was hoarse.
“It’s nothing. Just a graze.”
“It’s not nothing.”
“……Wait a moment.”
Era brought clean cloth and water from somewhere and began cleaning my wound with trembling hands. Her fingertips shook noticeably.
Silence filled the room for a while. Only the sting whenever the cloth touched the bruise and Era’s careful touch broke it.
I spoke first.
“……Era.”
“…Yes.”
“Are you really unhurt?”
“……I’m fine. Leon protected me from everything.”
Era answered softly as she wet the cloth. But her voice sounded sunken.
“……But Leon… because of me… got hurt again.”
“You hurt your foot back in the borderlands too, and this time… trying to protect me.”
Era stopped cleaning the bruise.
“……I keep making Leon get hurt.”
I looked at her. She kept her head down, biting her lip. It seemed to weigh heavily on her that I had been injured because of her.
I sighed and deliberately spoke lightly.
“Hey. What’s the big deal about a little bruise like this?”
“It’s not little. It’s all purple and swollen…!”
“It’ll fade in a day or two. Besides—”
I lightly tapped her head.
“I did it because I wanted to. No one forced me.”
Era slowly lifted her head.
“……Because you wanted to?”
“Yeah. When my fiancée is about to get stabbed, how could I just stand by and watch?”
I spoke gruffly and deliberately looked away. But Era mulled over my words, and slowly a smile spread across her lips. The sunken look on her face gradually melted away.
“……Hehe. I see.”
“What?”
“…Hihi.”
Era picked up the cloth again and began gently cleaning the bruise. This time her touch was much softer. The trembling had completely stopped.
“When I think of it that way, this bruise looks different.”
“……Different?”
“Yes. It’s proof that Leon protected me.”
Era stroked the purple bruise as if it were something precious.
“……I hope it doesn’t scar. But at the same time… I kind of hope it does.”
“Why would you want a scar? Are you crazy?”
“Hehe. Then the proof that Leon protected me would stay with you forever.”
Era smiled brightly. Watching that smile, I was so dumbfounded I let out a helpless chuckle.
“……You really say the strangest things.”
In a room where shadows had burst in, blades had flashed, and black energy had exploded just moments ago, a peaceful atmosphere now settled between us. It was hard to believe.
After finishing with the bruise, Era carefully wrapped my side with clean cloth.
“…All done. Don’t overdo it anymore. Okay?”
“Yeah. You should get some proper rest too. Today must have been quite a shock.”
“……I’m fine.”
After tying the knot, Era suddenly stared at me intently.
“……Leon.”
“……What now.”
“Thank you for coming today.”
Her voice was serious.
“…It’s nothing. So from now on, lock your doors properly. If anything feels even slightly off, call for help immediately. Understand?”
“Yes.”
Era nodded.
At the same time, in a deep room of a mansion far from the imperial palace. Thick curtains covered every window, allowing not a single ray of light to escape. On the candlestick atop the table, a single thin flame flickered.
“…”
Before that wavering light, two black-clothed shadows knelt on one knee with their heads deeply bowed. They were the very pair who had fled from the prince’s quarters.
And before them, seated in a high-backed chair, was one person. Their back was to the candlelight, so their face remained hidden in deep shadow. All that could be seen in the light were the hem of elegant clothes made from expensive silk and a white, slender finger languidly draped over the chair’s armrest. No family crest symbolizing nobility was visible anywhere.
“……We have failed.”
One shadow reported lowly toward the floor.
“We are deeply sorry. We successfully infiltrated the target’s sleeping quarters, but unexpectedly, His Highness the Prince burst in.”
“His Highness the Prince?”
The woman slowly opened her mouth. Her voice was soft as silk, yet beneath that softness lay an icy chill.
“His Highness the Prince—at this late hour—why was he there? In that lowly thing’s room, not even his own quarters.”
“That… we could not fathom either.”
The shadow hesitated a moment before continuing.
“However. There was one strange occurrence.”
“A strange occurrence?”
“His Highness the Prince used a power we could not identify.”
A faint tremor entered the shadow’s voice—one that rarely came from a trained assassin.
“It was like black fog. The moment it wrapped around our comrade, he lost consciousness on the spot without a scream. The blade never even touched him. It was as if his soul had been drained.”
“……Black fog.”
The woman’s fingertips paused on the armrest for a moment. After a brief silence, a low laugh slipped from her lips.
“……Hoo.”
It sounded intrigued, yet somehow chilling.
“So His Highness possessed something like that.”
The woman slowly stroked the armrest with her fingertip.
“Hmm…”
But that interest soon cooled.
“Well. That’s… something we can investigate in due time.”
The woman leaned deeply back into the chair. Her face, already hidden in shadow, sank further into darkness.
“Is there anything else to report?”
“And… it was dark, so it wasn’t clear, but we confirmed something like haze rising from the hand of the target to be disposed of.”
“Haze…?”
The woman tilted her head slightly, then quickly lost interest.
“Hmm… Yes. But is that important right now?”
“What matters now is only whether that lowly thing was disposed of or not.”
The two shadows simultaneously shrank their shoulders.
“……We could not… dispose of her.”
They bowed even deeper, foreheads nearly touching the floor. A heavy silence descended upon the room. The candle flame flickered silently.
“……Oh dear.”
Finally the woman spoke quietly. A faint sigh mixed into her silk-like voice.
“You failed.”
Those words held neither anger nor rebuke. It was the indifferent, languid tone one might use while looking at tea that had gone cold. Yet that indifference was colder than any scolding.
The woman’s finger tapped slowly against the armrest.
“Useless.”
At that single word, both shadows visibly stiffened.
“I sent three men after a mere commoner girl—while she was defenseless and asleep, no less. Not only did they fail to kill her, but one became an empty shell and was captured inside the imperial palace.”
Her voice grew even lower.
“You understand that if that shadow opens its mouth, I will be in trouble, yes?”
“……Shadows never open their mouths. Even if they awaken from the coma, they were raised that way. Please do not worry.”
“Yes. That would be the case.”
The woman gave a light nod.
“After all, the one who raised you that way was none other than me.”
At those words, the two shadows bowed their heads even deeper.
“……If you grant us one more chance, this time we will definitely—”
“Enough.”
The woman raised a slender hand and cut him off.
“Forget this matter cleanly. I was too hasty.”
She slowly rose from her seat. In the candlelight, her slender shadow stretched long across the wall.
“A mere commoner dared to covet the position of Crown Princess. It annoyed me, so I tried to quietly remove her.”
With one hand, the woman lightly lifted the thick curtain. Through the gap, the lights of the imperial palace submerged in darkness could be seen far away.
“She turned out to be more troublesome than expected.”
The woman stared at those lights.
“I truly don’t understand why His Highness clings to that lowly thing so.”
A cold smile colored her voice.
“Well. It’s fine. There’s no need to dirty my own hands.”
She slowly released the curtain.
“In one month, at the Imperial Great Festival, that lowly one’s true nature will be revealed before all the nobles of the empire. She will be humiliated and driven out.”
“……”
“Until then, let us handle this a bit more elegantly.”
The woman turned back toward the chair. With the candle’s flicker, the outline of her shadowed face briefly appeared, then vanished into darkness again. A slender jawline, elegantly swept hair. She was clearly an exquisite beauty, yet the smile on her lips was as cold as ice.
“After all, there are seven of us who have set our hearts on him.”
The woman murmured quietly.
“Whichever of those seven claims that position is a matter among ourselves. At the very least, it is not a place for a lowly thing without even a proper surname to intrude, is it?”
Seven. Seven women who desired the prince. The arrogant Lizel from a few days ago had been merely one of them.
“…I didn’t expect another case like mine to appear.”
“A wicked commoner trying to rise in status by receiving His Highness the Prince’s favor.”
“Well…”
“See you soon.”
The woman sank deeply into the chair once more and whispered softly in the darkness.
“His Highness the Prince’s precious fiancée.”
The candle flame flickered wildly one last time. The woman’s face remained hidden in shadow until the end. Only her chilling, elegant smile stretched long through the room’s darkness.