Chapter 1

Argan, the empire of the holy morning, was the land of wizards who had defended the continent against the light dragon. Its most noble princess, Elizabeth, was a prisoner of the barbarian kingdom of Ugel, which had invaded and conquered the empire with its superior military force. The empire was mercilessly torn apart by the Northern League, which had been keeping them in check.

As the Argans were defeated and enslaved, most were presented to the barbarians of Ugel, while others were taken to the northwest of Van Yela or the east of They. Elizabeth had been spared because her younger brother, the last emperor of Argan, had disguised her as a commoner and smuggled her out of the imperial castle.

“You have to go, sister. It’s better for you to stay alive even if you become a slave than to be killed here,” Andrei had told her. As the only surviving member of Argan’s imperial family and the heir to the throne, Elizabeth had to survive at all costs. “If my sister is alive, Argan has not been defeated. Remember that,” Andrei had said before they parted ways.

Elise knew that her dear brother had likely died the day the imperial castle fell. His decision to push his sister away and sacrifice his own life was a testament to his pride as the great Emperor of Argan, choosing death over capture. At that time, Elise wished she had stayed by her brother’s side.

Now, Elise crouched in the darkness, her sight unable to reach even an inch in front of her. Her hands and feet were tied, her mouth gagged, and a filthy cloth covered her eyes.  She had no idea where she was or what would happen to her in the future. 

Elise had managed to cross the Argan border without any weapons or tools, relying solely on her own skills and cunning. But she was caught while attempting to cross into Regal, Argan’s ally, through the meadows. Unfortunately, she was met by the army of the Van Yella Empire, who had likely played a major role in defeating Argan’s allies.

The three escorts who were disguised as commoners and fleeing alongside Elise were immediately beheaded on the spot. Elise was the only one left alive, and she knew why. As a young and beautiful woman from the defeated country, she would likely be sold into slavery rather than killed. Eight out of ten of Argan’s women, known for their beauty, were sold into slavery instead of being killed. Her situation would be no different.

 As she was tied up and waiting for her fate to be decided, Elise couldn’t help but think that it might be better to take her own life rather than face the insults and abuse of the enemy. But then she remembered the last words of her brother Andrei: “My sister has to live. Come alive and build my grave.” Elise knew that she couldn’t give up, not when her brother’s last wish was for her to survive and honor his memory. She resolved to live on, even if it meant enduring slavery or worse, as long as it meant she could eventually return to Argan and give her brother the proper burial he deserved. Even if she died, she must die in the land of Argan.

As she lay there with her eyes closed, Elise’s body became more attuned to her surroundings due to the cloth covering her eyes. She could hear the sound of someone approaching, and her muscles tensed in anticipation. Desperately, she struggled against the ropes binding her hands behind her back.

Elise came from a long line of powerful mages in Argan, a mysterious and almost mythical power that had all but disappeared from the continent. Every few generations, a wizard would be born into the Argan lineage, and the current emperor was rumored to be one such wizard. 

Elise thought of the magic formulas that her brother Andrei had carved into her skin. He had placed one deep in her left forearm, one under her left wing bone, one on her spine, and one on the back of her left ankle and knee. In total, her body was marked with five magic circles. Andrei had told her to place her hands on the circles and recite his name, but Elise knew that it wouldn’t do any good. With her hands and feet tied up like this, she was completely at the mercy of her captors.

Suddenly, the door to her cell creaked open and someone entered.

“Is she an Argan woman?” a voice asked.

“Yes. She must have been caught as a runaway near the border,” another voice replied.

“Take off her blindfold. I need to look at her face to get a quote,” the first voice said.

As the blindfold was roughly removed from Elise’s face, she was confronted with the sight of a group of soldiers standing in front of her. One of them, a man in colorful armor, reached out and grabbed her chin, examining her face with a lecherous expression.

“Is it special?” he asked, leering at her.

Elise struggled to avoid his touch, but the more she fought, the more it seemed to excite the man’s sadism. He smirked and grabbed her cheek, saying, “Her hair is silver, so she looks like a silver fox. This isn’t too bad either. It smells good. B*tch like this is fun to subdue. Bring this to my dwelling tonight.”

Elise’s fury boiled over at the man’s words and she glared at him with all the hatred she could muster. 

But it seemed that her fate had already been sealed. She was one of many Argan women who would be sold into slavery in the Van Yela Empire.

***

As the day began to fade, Elise was roughly grabbed and thrown into a barracks. She struggled against the restraints on her hands and feet, desperate to move even just one of her arms. If only she could press the magic circle tattooed on her forearm, maybe she could escape this terrible situation.

But her captor, a knight from Van Yella, had no intention of releasing her. He kept her gagged and bound, even lifting her hand tied behind her back and pinning it somewhere above her head. Elise’s blindfold had been replaced, so she was completely unable to see what was happening.

“I’ve been starving for a month, but what a delicious prey you are,” the man said, his voice dripping with lust. “You’re lucky to have caught my eye. With skin as pale as yours, it’s hard for even a Kyrstan man of stone to resist being seduced.”

Elise’s helplessness and inability to fight back filled her with terror and crushed her pride. The man’s touch felt disgusting and violating. All she could do was repeat the name of her twin brother, Andrei, over and over in her head, hoping against hope that he was still alive somewhere. “Help me,” she pleaded silently. “Help me, anyone, please.”

Just as the man was about to rip off Elise’s cloak, something burst out of her body, causing the man to make a choking sound. Elise couldn’t see what was happening, but she could feel the warm, sticky liquid coating her shoulder and the faint smell of blood in the air.

Suddenly, the ropes binding her arms were cut, and Elise quickly sat up, tearing off her blindfold. She was met with the gruesome sight of the man’s torso, ripped into a half-moon shape. She couldn’t believe what had just happened, but one thing was certain: she had been saved by some kind of miraculous force.

As Elise clenched her teeth, surrounded by the gruesome sight of the man’s massive body, she couldn’t help but feel overwhelmed by the sudden turn of events. She hadn’t even had a chance to activate the magic circles engraved on her body, yet somehow she had been able to defend herself and kill her attacker.

Shaking with fear and grief, Elise pushed the man’s body aside and crawled under the bed, hoping to escape unnoticed. To her surprise, there were no guards outside the barracks, and she was able to make her way out without being seen.

But her escape was short-lived. Suddenly, she heard the sound of soldiers running and shouting, “Emergency!” It seemed that someone had discovered the body of the dead knight.

Elise’s heart raced as she heard the footsteps getting closer and closer. She fled to the nearest barracks, hoping to find a place to hide. As she stumbled inside, her legs gave out and she collapsed to the ground.

As she lay there, covered in blood and tears, Elise fumbled for the magic circles on her forearm. Andrei had told her that these spells were simple defensive and offensive magic, as it was difficult to engrave complex formulas for long distances. But now, as she thought about the possibility of being caught and taken back to the Van Yela Empire, Elise couldn’t help but wish that she had more powerful magic at her disposal. She vowed to ask Andrei to cover her entire back with a moving spell, no matter how excessive it might seem.

Elise sat on the ground, tears streaming down her face as she heard the footsteps of the soldiers approaching the barracks. She absentmindedly rubbed the magic circle tattooed on the inside of her forearm, trying to calm her nerves.

Suddenly, someone shouted out loud right outside the door. “His Majesty the Grand Duke!” The announcement was cut off mid-sentence.

Elise froze, her breath catching in her throat as a figure emerged from the shadows in the corner of the room. She had thought the space was empty, but now she saw a pair of piercing blue eyes looking straight at her.