In one of the great cities of the Kingdom of Dawn, on the Third Wing, a cold darkness filled the place.
Below the structure stood a magnificent palace, its wide windows reflecting dim lights, as if the night itself were seeping between its walls.
Inside the palace, its owner examined something in his hand—a strangely shaped symbol—after his guest had quietly vanished.
He looked at it with caution, opening his palm to inspect it: a ring bearing a large cross, its edges cracked and jagged, cold against his skin.
He stepped into the corridor, leaving behind the vast and luxurious reception hall in an unsettling silence.
Surrounded by his orderly servants, everything appeared normal—yet elsewhere in the palace, the sound of steady, calculated footsteps echoed through a long hallway, accompanied by a wavering shadow sliding beside the windows.
Suddenly, the lights illuminating the path went out as a cold breeze swept through.
"Why have the lights gone out? Has the spirit stone been removed from its place?" the noble asked, struggling to conceal his tension.
"This has never happened before, sir," replied one of the servants, attempting to release his spiritual aura to illuminate the area.
There was a brief silence before the noble continued,
"I suppose that… no— we will resolve this quickly. You may proceed."
He let out a breath and added,
"I'm counting on you. I don't want any mistakes."
Sweat dampened his features as he whispered to himself, I need to leave this thing somewhere safe… somewhere no one will notice…
Suddenly, a maid screamed in a trembling voice,
"Aah!! Did you hear that?! This isn't a coincidence!!"
The sound of furniture and dishes shattering echoed in the distance, screams reverberating through the halls, destabilizing the auras in the air. Despite this, the noble continued onward, his heartbeat and breathing quickening with every step.
He reached his office and finished what he had intended to do. Then he exited quietly, approaching the servants waiting outside.
Yet he failed to notice a window left open. Despite his caution, doubt crept in—was the window closed before, or had it never been?
As he caught his breath, a gentle wind flowed through the heavy curtain, and the pages of books flipped one by one. Suddenly, a chilling stiffness seized his body.
He turned sharply—before him stood the maid who had screamed earlier, trembling in silence. In front of her was a teenage girl with long black-gray hair cascading over her dress. The noble felt as though he was facing something impossible to overcome.
He stepped forward instinctively and snapped,
"What is a child doing in a place like this?!"
The girl stood calm and motionless. She did not turn toward him when he addressed her—she simply remained there, radiating an absolute dread. The noble noticed half of his servants lying on the ground, drowned in their own blood, and terror carved itself deep into his heart.
"I'd prefer you didn't interrupt my evaluation of this… lavish place. Agreed?" said Yuki Nakamura, her voice lethally cold.
When the noble tried to push her aside, deep gashes suddenly burst open along his right arm, tearing through his sleeves.
Instinctively, he grabbed his sword and pointed it at her—but Yuki stopped the blade with her right index finger, wearing a calm, mocking smile.
The clash cracked the ceiling, and the shockwave struck the maid who had been running to call for help.
The noble's hand trembled. Yuki seized his grip, forcing it downward with her left hand, then clamped his jaw and mouth shut with the other. Her face was close to his, her silver-red eyes piercing deep into his soul.
In a quiet voice, she said,
"I was close to making up my mind… and now you're breaking the place."
Her expression shifted completely—serious, terrifying.
"Aren't you ashamed of yourself? How are you going to compensate for this?"
His eyes widened in hesitation as anger slowly welled up inside him, fueled by how far he had fallen.
Before he could react, Yuki blasted him away with a powerful gust of wind.
He smashed into wall after wall until he landed near the servant he had entrusted with examining the spirit stone.
Bleeding and gasping, he thought, Hah… hah… thank goodness… I saved myself at the last moment.
Raising his shaking head, he muttered,
"Just who is this girl? Could she be the one who caused the stone to explode…? But why?!"
A group of palace knights arrived, forming a protective formation in front of him, while a servant checked on their master with desperate expressions.
Yuki then appeared openly before them, walking gracefully across the courtyard. The knights charged toward her through a breach in the wall. When they reached halfway—
Their lord shouted loudly, his teeth stained with blood dripping from their edges,
"Don't come any closer!! It's useless…!"
One knight turned toward him and protested,
"But this is our duty—!"
She cut him off while dusting off her elegant dress.
"I apologize… but could you perhaps keep your final words to yourselves?"
"How dare you speak to our lord like that!"
"Your lord? I don't care. I meant you specifically. How incompetent you all are," she remarked with mocking sympathy.
She stopped, bowed slightly forward, placed her right hand lightly on her chest, and closed one eye. Then she spoke gently and politely,
"It's a pleasure to meet you~ My name is Yuki Nakamura. And now… your end has come~!"
At that moment, the clouds drifted aside softly, allowing the moonlight to shine with greater brilliance.
Yuki's full figure was revealed—pure white hairpin shaped like a feather, and a silver aura slowly emanating from her body.
She opened her sharp eyes like blooming red flowers. Everyone froze in place as she stepped calmly toward the noble.
Enraged and provoked, the knights charged at her in madness. The first swung his sword toward her chest, but just before it touched her—
He exploded into the air. Nothing remained of his body—only waves of red liquid mixed with fine fragments of bone.
Terror deepened in their lord's heart and mind, until paralysis overtook his body. His words slipped from his lips unconsciously,
"What is wrong with this girl?! No—!"
As she approached the noble, every remaining knight exploded into the air as well. One servant stepped forward bravely, spreading his arms despite his trembling legs,
"Take my head instead! Please—spare him!"
Yuki replied with feigned courtesy, her words carrying lethal coldness,
"What a loyal man, defending his master with such courage."
She advanced toward him with steady, confident steps, adding in a mocking tone,
"Truly… admirable!"
Her silver aura flowed elegantly around her body, as if teasing the shadows scattered throughout the palace.
Before their bodies were scattered into the air like minced flesh, she whispered softly,
"But… I will have to kill you all."
Then she continued calmly, a small wicked smile on her lips,
"Seizing a luxurious palace matters more to me than wasting time…"
She placed a finger on her lips and added,
"So, would you kindly leave?"
All that remained in the corridors were grotesque stains splattered across the walls up to the ceiling—a sight enough to rob any human of consciousness or courage.
And the silence howled through the frozen air.
Quietly, she turned into a fleeting breeze and vanished atop the palace roof. Yuki raised her gaze toward the moon above the city lights and said,
"My work here is finished. I most likely obtained what I came for."
She tilted her head slightly, touched her cheek with her right hand, and whispered to herself,
"But that man from the Peacock-Tail Guild… how long will he keep drowning me in requests? How annoying."
She spoke confidently without turning around,
"O Keeper of the Peacock's Crest… are you still following me?"
A hand holding a notebook flipped through its pages, bearing witness to yet another ordinary night.
——
To be continued…