A Fragment of Light Fallen into Darkness
In the emperor’s bedchamber, where pitch-black darkness had settled, a faint sliver of moonlight slipped through the slightly parted curtains and illuminated the face of the man lying on the bed.
Long, neatly lowered lashes. A sharp, elegant nose. And those firmly pressed, crimson lips.
Even his disheveled black hair completed the image of a flawless sculpture. This man had clearly received the gods’ abundant love.
But I knew better.
The moment those beautifully red lips parted, my life would plunge straight into hell.
'If only he’d keep his mouth shut, he’d be perfect.'
I stood at the head of the bed, gazing down at the sleeping Kaelus Esterion, and clicked my tongue softly.
But I mustn’t be fooled!
The instant this man woke up, he was the type to suddenly demand, in the dead of night, that I count the number of salad leaves.
'If it’s an odd number, it ruins my mood. Count them again.'
Just thinking about it sent a shiver down my spine.
If not now, there would be no other chance.
I carefully bent at the waist and picked up the worn-out shoe that had fallen to the floor. Holding my breath so as not to make a sound, I crept backward toward the door, one cautious step at a time.
“Farewell, Black Imperial Palace! And goodbye to you too, you crazy emperor. Let’s never meet again. Sayonara~!”
The moment my hand finally grasped the door handle, I whispered those victorious words without making a sound, a smile blooming on my lips. My steps as I slipped out the door without looking back were filled with desperation and pure delight.
This was it. My one and only chance to escape this absurd situation. It was the perfect night for running away—even the moonlight had hidden itself behind thick clouds.
I pressed my body tightly against one of the palace’s massive marble pillars and held my breath.
Clank. Clank.
The regular metallic sound shattered the silence, echoing down the corridor. I had to suppress my wildly pounding heart until the footsteps of the armored knights had completely faded into the distance.
The urge to bolt and run as fast as my legs could carry me surged all the way up to my throat, but unfortunately I possessed neither the strength nor the luck to face them head-on. The only escape strategy available to me was to vanish silently, like a shadow.
“Haa… What did I do to deserve this fate?”
I had only stepped into the palace to deliver a single message. It should have taken half a day at most… yet somehow an entire month had passed, and here I was, suffering like this.
The whole ordeal had begun exactly one month earlier.
My second eldest brother, Cassian Lucerne—the greatest troublemaker in our family and simultaneously the head of the empire’s top information guild—had thrust a crumpled note into my hand.
I never dreamed that scrap of paper would become the invitation that hurled my peaceful daily life straight into hell.
[A foreign substance has contaminated the solid barrier.]
“What is this?”
“It means a rat has slipped into the Imperial Guard that protects the emperor’s authority—or among His Majesty’s closest aides. An impurity plotting rebellion, in other words.”
“…And? Why are you giving it to me?”
Instead of answering my question, my brother flashed the most wicked yet somehow lovable smile in the world and whispered into my ear.
“My beloved little sister, Elinor Lucerne. Did you really think I wouldn’t notice you sneaking into my room every so often to steal a transformation artifact?”
My face turned deathly pale in an instant.
I had been certain I’d taken them without leaving a trace. Just what kind of monster was this man?
The warehouse was practically overflowing with artifacts shoved into every corner, yet he had noticed the exact one or two that had gone missing. His precision was terrifying.
Anyone watching might have thought the artifacts had name tags on them.
My second brother, who usually couldn’t open his mouth without saying, “You know how much your big brother loves our youngest, right?” was now gripping my weakness with a thoroughly satisfied and diabolical grin.
“All you have to do is go and deliver this message to the knight commander. It’s easy, isn’t it?”
But the mission that came out of his mouth was anything but easy.
Infiltrate the palace alone, meet someone as important as the knight commander, and pass on a cryptic phrase? Did this man even remember that I was his precious, beloved blood relative?
Honestly, it was no different from being told to walk into a tiger’s den and pluck a whisker from its nose.
Still… having committed far too many sins to count, I couldn’t even muster a single word of protest. Once again, I borrowed the power of an artifact and transformed into an entirely different servant.
When I looked in the mirror, a boy who looked like a generic extra stood there.
Plain brown hair and ordinary emerald eyes.
Yes. This was the look I needed if I wanted to run away or sneak in. My real face was far too obviously the heroine of a romance-fantasy novel.
People might call me crazy if I said it out loud, but my beauty was practically at a national-treasure level. The combination of brilliant platinum blonde hair and cool blue eyes had the charm to make even a passing dog stop and admire it.
My appearance itself was the narrative and the probability. Sneaking around with a face like that would have been nearly impossible. No doubt about it.
Since there was nothing to lose by being careful, I entered the palace in the guise of that innocent-looking boy.
The plan was perfect, at first.
I would pretend to clean the knight commander’s office, mutter the code phrase as if talking to myself, and slip back out. Whether he heard it or not was none of my business. I just had to finish the job I’d been given and leave.
But of course, things in this world never go exactly according to plan.
“A foreign substance… has contaminated the solid barrier…”
The moment I finished reciting my final line while waving the feather duster, a chilling presence crashed down on me from behind like lightning.
“From such a dainty little mouth, secrets even the knight commander doesn’t know come pouring out so easily?”
At the low, suppressed voice, my heart plummeted all the way to my toes.
When I slowly turned my head, there sat Kaelus Esterion, leaning against the deep sofa in the office, swirling a glass of wine.
His blood-red eyes glowed with a piercing light, as if they would devour me whole.
“H-Hiiik! G-Greetings, Your Majesty…!”
I tried to drop to my knees in shock, but he gently caught me by the collar.
The distance between us closed in an instant. Just as I was about to be overwhelmed by his impossibly perfect features, a refreshing forest scent rode the breeze and cleared my mind.
The pleasant freshness made my shoulders, which had gone rigid with tension, unconsciously relax.
“For a rat, those eyes are far too noble. What are you hiding behind those emerald irises?”
His long fingers brushed past the artifact necklace at the nape of my neck.
Goosebumps raced across my entire body.
The mad emperor’s intuition had already seen straight through my crude disguise.
“I’ll have to keep you by my side and find out. Whether you’re the impurity you just mentioned… or merely a simple errand boy.”
Who would have thought that the mad emperor I’d only heard about in rumors would be lounging around in the knight commander’s office at that exact time on that exact day!
From that day on, my daily life became an endless series of absurdities.
“Elian, I’m curious how many feathers are on that bird flying over there.”
“???”
“What are you waiting for? Go count them.”
“?????”
“Before I eat, count every single leaf in this salad right now. I refuse to eat it unless the number is even.”
“???????”
These random missions were almost cute in comparison.
The real problem was that every time he swung his sword, my lifespan shortened by a year.
Whoosh—
The chilling sensation that grazed my cheek along with that sound. This wasn’t a master calling for his servant—it was closer to a warden toying with a death-row prisoner!
The eccentricities I had endured in the Sun Palace, which served as both his sanctuary and my forced prison, flashed through my mind like a panorama.
Scrubbing the floors until my hands and feet were raw, catering to his every whim—those humiliating days! But it was fine.
Yes, this horrific life in the Black Imperial Palace would finally, finally come to an end today!
Crackle—!
“Ugh!”
The pain digging into the back of my neck shattered my wistful reminiscence, and I bit my lip hard.
The disguise artifact was spitting out hot sparks.
This was bad. It was the worst possible signal that my mana was running dry.
The short brown hair that had been swaying gently began transforming into brilliant platinum at the tips. My ordinary emerald eyes also started to swirl violently, struggling to reclaim their original cool blue hue.
Whether by choice or by force, I absolutely had to escape this palace today.
If that mad emperor ever learned that I had deceived him—if he ever saw my true appearance…
Just imagining it sent a chill down my spine and raised goosebumps all over my body.
“Who goes there! Halt!”
At that moment, a sharp shout tore through the silence. It was one of the knights on night patrol, of all people.
I didn’t even look back. I simply ran.
My elegant, silent escape plan flew off into the night sky along with the knight’s thunderous roar.
“Catch him! An intruder has appeared near His Majesty’s bedchamber!”
Crash! Bang!
I had expected it wouldn’t be easy, but sure enough, the once-quiet palace turned into pandemonium in an instant.
Ignoring the burning sensation in the soles of my feet, I desperately chased after the exit.
In the distance, I could see the old side door connected to the northern garden. Yes—if I could just get past that door, I could disappear into the vast forest beyond the palace’s barrier!
Crack—!
At that exact moment, the artifact hanging around my neck shattered with a cheerful popping sound and crumbled into the air.
The suppressed true form poured out as if a dam had burst.
Pure white mana exploded like a wave over the pitch-black corridor.
“Aaaagh! My eyes…!”
The pursuing knights were overwhelmed by the sudden flash and all covered their eyes at once.
Platinum blonde hair cascaded down to my waist like waves, and my eyes—clear, deep, and chillingly blue—split the darkness.
It was a sight as if the Goddess of Light, Lucetia, had descended once more.
“Ahh…”
One knight, entranced by the light, dropped his sword and let out a dazed sigh. He looked completely overwhelmed by the noble aura possessed only by those of Lucerne blood.
But I had no time to admire the spectacle.
'Now!'
As a direct descendant of Lucerne who possessed platinum blonde hair, I was granted the absolute authority to erase the memories of witnesses once per day through a sincere prayer.
I quickly clasped my hands together, let my blue eyes shine with power, and chanted the incantation.
“Sever the end of the memories directed toward me.”
In that instant, the brilliant radiance enveloping me spread out like a wave and seeped into the knights.
The knights, their eyes losing focus, collapsed onto the marble floor like puppets with their strings cut.
'Sweet dreams, everyone~!'
For them, both the memory of chasing a brown-haired boy and witnessing a platinum-haired goddess in the darkness were now gone forever.
I left the sprawled knights behind and shoved the side door open with all my strength.
My steps as I threw myself into the pitch-black forest outside the palace were as light as feathers.
“Perfect.”
Trusting completely in my own ability, I even allowed myself a leisurely smile.
Now I could run without looking back, racing through the night forest until my platinum hair completely melted into the darkness.
But I didn’t know.
Within that brilliant wave of light, there remained one deep shadow that could never be erased…
Rustle.
Not far from where I had just been standing, from the darkness beyond the firmly closed side door, came the heavy sound of dry leaves being crushed underfoot.
A massive silhouette that had been perfectly blended with the darkness slowly revealed itself.
The gaze that had been looking down at the fallen knights with interest slowly turned toward the edge of the forest where I had disappeared.
“……A foreign substance in the solid barrier, you say.”
The low, deep voice scattered into the night breeze.
In the red eyes chasing the afterimage of the vanished light, a spark of interest flashed.
Elinor Lucerne
