The door groaned open with the weight of centuries.
Dust fell like snow. The air inside was stale, thick with the kind of silence that felt alive—watching and waiting.
The librarian had sworn this chamber was empty, "just old scrolls with dead languages."
He was wrong.
Because at the center of the room, resting on a stone pedestal, was one scroll.
Just one.
And it was glowing.
Not faintly, not softly—glowing like moonlight trapped in ink.
My pulse jumped. "Yep. Nothing is creeping me out."
Each step made the air colder. My boots crunched over cracked sigils and broken seals. The scroll pulsed once—like it was breathing.
I reached out, hesitated, then whispered, "If I explode, I swear I'll haunt whoever sealed this damn thing."
My fingers brushed the parchment.
BOOM.
Pain slammed through my skull—white-hot lightning tearing through my brain. Colors bled and light bent. I staggered back, clutching my head.
"What the f—"
And then—letters.
Flowing, glowing characters.
"What the actual—" I blinked so hard my eyes watered. The floating characters burned brighter.
"Is this—!? No no no—wtfff it's Korean!?"
Rubbing my eyes did nothing. The letters shimmered and rearranged themselves midair, forming lines that hung before me.
"Only those blessed by Luna may wield the Moon Pendant."
The words pulsed like a heartbeat.
"The pendant shall call forth the field of moonlight and unseal what the moon confines."
The sentence seared into my sight until it felt like it was carving itself behind my eyes.
—My ancestors were Korean?! I don't think Korea even exist now!! And wait… what?! Moon pendent?—
A gloomy, ridiculous story clicked inside my brain.
Oh fuck…
Yuriooooo!
I stumbled back. Not a single choice that brat made in the past was helping me. Only pain was real in this world. Ahh!
The glowing letters flickered again, like they were mocking me.
I glared up at the empty air. "Don't you dare judge me, ancient magical scroll!"
My voice echoed through the chamber—
ridiculous, desperate, and slightly hysterical.
The light didn't fade. It lingered, spinning gently before folding back into the parchment.
When the glow finally dimmed, the scroll sat quietly in my hand—warm, alive, waiting for something it knew I didn't have.
I read the line one last time. "Only those blessed by Luna…" I mumbled. "So I need the Moon Dragon's blessing. Which means…"
My stomach dropped.
The pendant.
Past Yurio had given the pendant to Eliza Moonheart—the heroine of this book—to win her favor.
Which didn't work. Of course it didn't!
That girl was obsessed with Fenris Emberheart, the first prince. Let those two get their tragic reunion. Why the hell did past-me interfere?
And now I have to clean up his mess. Brat.
I groaned into my palm. "Past me, I hope you're happy wherever you are and stay there, because if I saw you infront of me I'm gonna fucking strangle you."
Wait… The Lunar royal ball is in a week.
Should I steal it? I mean, I'm just getting my item back, not stealing, right!?
But the catch—everyone will be there. Zinac, Luan, Alfer… and the worst—Fenris and Odys. Those two are a walking dumpster fire of jealousy.
That will be fun.
Who am I to judge? Yurio was the biggest freak of them all, after all.
Knock.
"Young master," Argos said, popping his head in like a clockwork guilt trip.
"Yes? What now?"
He gave that look—like he knew I couldn't open the scroll. That bastard. I almost bit my tongue.
Manners, Yurio. Don't forget.
Argos cleared his throat. "Lady Geisel is waiting. She have prepared your clothes, accessories, and lessons, but… since you still haven't tamed the Pixie, she hesitates to proceed with your etiquette training before the ball."
Oh right. Royal etiquette. As a reader, I can assure you, I don't remember the damn rules.
"I'll head there now."
Argos looked suspicious. "To the—"
"The basement," I cut him off. "I can't show my mother an incompetent son, right?"
"You're saying that?" he asked, incredulous.
I shot him a look and he shut up. Argos really has a talent for pissing me off.
"Now then," I said, chest tight with equal parts dread and weird excitement, "I shall tame my dragon."