Night surrounded the Magical Tower, and the wind moved quietly through the open windows of the highest chamber.
Lucas de Hein stood alone, his tall figure framed by the moonlight. His black hair shifted slightly as the cold air passed through the room, and his silver eyes were fixed on the distant lights of the capital.
But his thoughts were not on the city.
They were on one person.
June Astral.
Lucas slowly spoke to himself, his voice low and calm.
"…That woman."
He remembered her mischievous smile, the way she stood confidently in the market, and the fearless way she looked directly into his eyes in the Imperial Hall.
Most people avoided him.
Most people feared him.
But she didn't.
His silver eyes darkened slightly.
"…I want to touch her," Lucas murmured quietly.
"To see if she's truly real… or just another illusion."
He rested one hand against the stone window.
"And if she is as dangerous as she appears…"
A faint, cold smile appeared on his lips.
"…then I want her to stand beside me."
The Master of the Magical Tower was not a man who chased people.
But June Astral had awakened something unusual in him.
A dangerous curiosity.
And perhaps something even deeper.
Somewhere in the Imperial Palace, June looked up at the moon through her window, completely unaware that she had become the focus of the most powerful mage in the empire.
But one thing was certain.
Soon…
Lucas de Hein would no longer watch her from afar.