Prologue
Beneath the dusky lake, Rune slowly opened her closed eyes.
When she quietly lifted her head, bluish beams of light shimmered across the surface, wavering with the ripples.
“The full moon.”
It was a massive moon, as though it would swallow the entire world whole. She reached out her hand toward the trembling moonlight.
The body that had been sunk deep in the abyss began to rise back toward the surface of the lake.
The moon grew clearer, as if it were within her grasp.
“Puh—ha.”
When she broke through the surface, the moon that filled the sky entered her sight. The lake, covered in pale moonlight, glittered like stars each time her arm swept through the water.
It was a breathtakingly beautiful sight.
Reaching the lakeshore, she slowly stood up. The water, lapping below her waist, was so clear the bottom could be seen. White pebbles clattered softly under her bare feet.
“…My hair… it’s longer?”
Rune lifted a trembling hand and touched the back of her neck. The sensation of wet, clinging hair felt so foreign.
Her platinum hair, which had barely brushed her ears before, now flowed down her curved back in long strands.
That wasn’t the only strange thing. The horrible pain that had once torn through her chest was gone.
“It doesn’t hurt anymore.”
From deep within her chest—where the pain had been—she now felt a power, both familiar and unfamiliar.
“This feeling…”
She looked down at her palm, then cautiously clenched her hand.
Drip. Drop.
Water slipping from her fingers formed golden ripples across the surface. The power that had begun in her heart coursed through her entire body, overflowing even to her fingertips.
It felt as though she had been reborn in this very lake.
Rustle. A presence stirred beyond the thicket.
“……!”
Rune quickly hunched down and raised her head. Soon after, a knight clad in black armor stepped out from between the dark trees.
“You…”
That low, steady voice was familiar. Yet the man’s eyes now held a confusion he had never shown before.
“…Ha. What in the world…”
He let out a heavy sigh, as though unable to believe what he was seeing.
In the deep forest, beneath a shining full moon, the woman’s pale skin glowed brightly with moonlight.
She looked just like the goddess of the moon, Claudia.
Yes—if not for the fact that he knew that face, he truly would have believed it.
The Rune he had sought for so long now stood before him, yet in a form far too unfamiliar.
Her figure, revealed between strands of wet hair, was soft and curved—astonishingly so.
Why did the one he thought a man… look like this? The situation was beyond comprehension.
“You, come here at once… damn it.”
He dropped his outstretched hand and rubbed his face in frustration.
“Just… don’t move from there.”
A naked woman. Certainly, it was a sight he had no defense against. The moment he realized it, heat surged to the tips of his ears.
And the fact that she had deceived him all this time only fueled his anger further.
“How far were you planning to—!”
At his raised voice, Rune flinched and shrank back. He had rarely ever shouted, even when angry.
Seeing her trembling shoulders and drenched figure made his brows knit tightly together.
“Damn it.”
Running a rough hand through his hair, he tossed off his cloak with a heavy sigh. The priority now was pulling her out of this cursed lake.
“I’ll come to you. Wait there.”
Biting her lip, Rune fixed her gaze on the man wading through the water toward her.
She, too, had no idea how to explain this.
The truth would have been revealed eventually…
But not like this.
Her head spun with tangled thoughts. Her body felt heavy, soaked like cotton.
She just wanted to disappear.
Closing her eyes tightly, a droplet slid from her lashes and fell into the lake.
At that moment—
The moon filling the sky shattered like sand scattering apart.
Blue mana erupted into a whirlpool, wrapping around her.
Shhhhk—!
The shards of light vanished, sucked into the mana that enveloped her.
The man’s eyes widened in disbelief.
The moon… was gone.
As the raging mana subsided, the forest around the lake fell instantly into deep darkness.
Rune felt overwhelmed by the immense power surging inside her, and her vision went hazy. Her feet seemed to sink endlessly into a bottomless pit.
Soon, a crushing weakness overtook her, and she collapsed helplessly.
“……!”
The man’s voice, calling her name in a desperate cry, grew faint.
Through her dimming vision, she saw him running toward her. Just before she could imprint his face in her eyes—
“Rune!!!”
Everything went black.
The man strode swiftly through the forest, carrying Rune wrapped in his cloak. Not the slightest movement came from her. The chill of her body through the soaked fabric only made his heart race with urgency.
At the forest’s edge, a young maid stood with a lantern, her face pale with anxiety. When she saw Rune in his arms, she went deathly white and ran toward him.
“You’re called Evelin, aren’t you?”
His harsh voice rumbled low. Evelin, trembling, clenched her shaking hands and nodded quickly. His sharp eyes narrowed further.
“…So. That’s why a noble knight, bound to honor, insisted on keeping a maid at his side.”
This girl must have known all along that Rune was a woman.
His teeth ground together.
Only now did everything start to make sense.
“Ha… So it was true. A ‘woman.’”
The memory of a young boy introducing himself with a bright, bold face flickered in his mind, and he let out a hollow laugh.
“I am Rune Adeluuz Este, heir to House Este.”
The audacity of that lie had fooled him for years.
“You’ve hidden your master’s secret well.”
His sharp voice lashed down at Evelin as he glared.
Cough.
Rune let out a faint cough and curled weakly against his chest. The hot breath against his neck made his jaw tighten.
Her pale cheeks shivered violently from the cold. Suppressing his rising fury, the man forced himself back to calm.
“…Take me to the camp.”
At his command, Evelin hurried ahead, lighting the dark path with her lantern. Following behind, he swallowed heavy sighs with every step.
She was lighter than he’d thought.
Perhaps that was why—he felt as though she might slip away, vanishing from his sight at any moment.
His arms closed more tightly around her fragile form.
It never mattered from the beginning.
Now that he knew her secret, what difference did it make?
Whatever you are, I would have held onto you, again and again.
His eyes burned with a flickering crimson light.
