The members of the Blake Imperial Family, born with dragon blood in their veins, were always driven by intense greed and constantly coveted the imperial throne.
By fate, imperial descendants were divided into four magical attributes—fire, wind, light, and ice—and fought wars of succession while backed by powerful noble houses from the four cardinal regions.
- The Blueheart Ducal House of the North.
- The Redford Count House of the South.
- The Silverstone Marquess House of the West.
- And finally, the Blackwood Marquess House of the East, Leonard's family.
Whichever house won would wipe out all the others, yet in the next generation another struggle for succession would inevitably begin.
That was why war constantly plagued Blake. It was a curse in all but name.
Then, in this generation, the protagonist was born.
Though he inherited dragon blood, he was unusual in that he loved peace. Rather than conquering Blake, he sought to unite it through harmony.
However, the villain came to hate the protagonist for "some reason" and tried to kill him.
The story of Blake's imperial succession struggle, unfolding between the protagonist and the villain, was none other than—
"The Song of Heaven, Fire, and Moon."
"A truly classic fantasy story."
I was startled by how different it was from Breath Hidden Among the Stars, but I didn't show it.
"But I don't see how that has anything to do with Sinkester's destruction."
"It does. The villain wants the Holy Knights of Sinkester to disappear."
"What?"
Startled, I slammed the table and shot to my feet.
"What kind of villain would think something so ridiculous? If the Holy Knights disappear, exterminating monsters in this world will become incredibly difficult!"
Monsters were beings from the Demon Realm that crossed into the human world through distortions in space and time.
Normally, each nation dealt with them on its own. But when a situation became unmanageable, they would request aid from Sinkester's Holy Knights.
This was because monsters possessed demonic power, the opposite of holy power, making them especially vulnerable to holy knights.
Furthermore, whenever a request for assistance arrived, the Holy Knights were obligated to respond.
As guardians of the Elysium Continent, they had sworn an oath to eradicate monsters and had been granted holy power because of it.
If a holy knight refused a deployment order, the goddess Elysia would immediately revoke their holy power.
Because of this, every nation had agreed never to interfere with Sinkester under any circumstances.
If Sinkester fell, there would be no one left capable of defeating the monsters.
Yet now the villain of Heaven, Fire, and Moon supposedly wanted to eliminate those sacred protectors.
"Who is this villain? Why does he hate the protagonist and want to destroy Sinkester?"
Leonard looked troubled at my question.
"As I said earlier, I transmigrated into this world without knowing the ending. So I don't know why he hates the protagonist. But I do have a suspect. The First Prince, Damian."
Born into the Blueheart family that ruled Blake's northern region, an ice-attribute mage and the son of the current empress—
Damian Blueheart Blake.
"The one competing against you for the throne?"
Leonard nodded and continued.
"Right now, Damian is using dark magic to send monsters into the human world. The most effective people for dealing with monsters are those who possess holy power. In the original story, there was a priest, but for some reason he still hasn't appeared."
"Because you transmigrated into the story?"
"I don't know. But since I haven't found him yet, I was planning to ask the Saintess for help first."
Well, I understood. Ever since I had transmigrated, the original story had started to twist little by little. People who should have appeared earlier showed up late, while those who weren't supposed to appear yet arrived much sooner.
"Then there's one more thing I'm curious about."
"What is it?"
"Who is the protagonist of Heaven, Fire, and Moon? In the romance fantasy, they said the Third Prince becomes emperor."
I moistened my dry mouth with tea while carefully watching his reaction.
The answer that came back left my mind blank.
"There isn't one anymore. Good heavens."
"...What?"
What was that supposed to mean?
I gripped my handkerchief tightly.
"Don't tell me Prince Damian already killed the protagonist?"
More importantly, was it even possible to win in a world without a protagonist?
While I sat there biting my lip in shock, Leonard rose from his seat.
"Let's stop talking about this. It's not important."
"If this isn't important, then what is?"
"Proof that Sinkester is in danger of being destroyed."
Then Leonard spoke clearly—in Korean.
"Late tonight, I'll come to the library again. Let's go see the evidence together."
* * *
On the way back to the library, I agonized over whether I should follow him or not.
What if I went along without thinking and it turned out to be a trap?
"Princess, why did you grab His Highness by the collar?"
"He must have said something terribly rude to you!"
As I pondered, Abigail and Dorothy's voices kept ringing in my ears.
"If he insulted Your Highness, Sir Lucas wouldn't be out of line for challenging him to a duel."
"It could even escalate into a diplomatic incident!"
"Calm down."
If these two were this agitated, what would happen when Erdan and Aurora heard about it?
I really needed to explain my relationship with Leonard before they got the wrong idea.
"It was a misunderstanding on my part. Don't worry so much. I'll explain it to my brother and Aurora myself, so don't say a word."
"But, Princess..."
Just then, I noticed one of Aurora's attendants standing outside the library doors.
"What is it?"
"Princess, the Saintess has sent a message."
"Aurora?"
I unrolled the scroll she handed me.
It contained a request for me to come to the Altar of Sacred Blood immediately upon my return.
* * *
"Take a look at this, Charles."
The moment I entered the Altar of Sacred Blood, Aurora pointed at one of the three holy relics—a mirror made of pure gold.
The mirror, grandly titled The Beauty of Elysia, looked different from when we'd last seen it.
A person was reflected inside it.
There was only one reason someone would appear in the Golden Mirror.
Because they posed a threat to Sinkester.
"Aurora, isn't that Evelyn?"
In the original story, Evelyn was Aurora's fellow temple trainee and one of the extras who assisted Nox Glaston.
She had platinum-blonde hair and blue eyes, as though the author had deliberately made her a copy of Aurora.
Unfortunately for her, she couldn't compare to Aurora in beauty, talent, personality, or anything else.
Consumed by jealousy, she eventually sided with Nox Glaston's scheme to harm Aurora.
But she was only a minor extra. I never thought she'd need to be dealt with. She only appeared up to Chapter 10.
Looking flustered, Aurora immediately began offering excuses.
"Evelyn is serving as an acolyte in a small rural temple right now. It would be difficult for her to threaten Sinkester, wouldn't it?"
"But a holy relic wouldn't lie, Aurora."
I rejected the argument outright and sighed.
Aurora fidgeted, wearing a rare expression of guilt.
"Charles, I'm really sorry that something like this happened right before you were supposed to leave. And she's my fellow trainee too... Though, to be fair, Evelyn was always jealous. She often slandered, bullied, and even hit other people. She also loved men and gambling, so she frequently sneaked off to clubs. And she even got thrown into prison once for stealing."
"Wait, hold on."
"Still, I never imagined she'd become a threat to Sinkester."
That was true, but those qualities were far too terrible for someone serving as a holy woman.
Just what had the priests been doing instead of expelling her?
Aurora spoke firmly.
"Charles, I'm sorry. The moment I leave here, I'll dispatch the Moonlight Shadows."
The Moonlight Shadows were holy assassins who obeyed Aurora's commands.
Without a doubt, within a few days they would kidnap Evelyn and bring her before us.
I turned back toward the altar where the holy relics rested.
There was no sign whatsoever of Leonard.
"Leonard's image isn't appearing."
"I found that strange too. He looks suspicious no matter how you see it. What exactly is that man's true intention?"
The reason the relics didn't reveal Leonard was probably because, despite his suspicious behavior, his ultimate goal was to help Sinkester.
"Aurora. Tell my brother about this today."
In the end, I made my decision.
Tonight, I would meet Leonard.
