The air inside the carriage carrying Seraphina toward the Aethelgard Capital felt stifling, even though only she and Elara occupied the space. It wasn't because of its size—the Argentos carriage was among the most luxurious, lined with deep blue velvet and equipped with magical heating beneath the floorboards—but because Sera's thoughts were far more cluttered than the mountain of luggage in the rear.
Sera gazed out the window. The scenery of the Argentos ice mountains was slowly being replaced by rolling meadows turning green under the brush of spring winds. However, her mind drifted back to the events hours before her departure.
That night, after her father had given her the sapphire necklace, Sera hadn't gone to sleep immediately. She waited until the entire castle was submerged in slumber, including the guards who typically changed shifts at three in the morning. With footsteps light as a feather, she slipped back into Duke Frederick's study. One thing had bothered her since their afternoon meeting: her father seemed far too calm for a man who knew he was sending his daughter into the wolf's maw.
The Duke's study smelled of a mixture of expensive tobacco, ink, and cold iron. Sera wasn't looking for standard political documents; she was looking for something more personal. Her instincts as a former elite assassin told her that every great man possessed a "secret drawer"—a place where they stowed the fears or plans they couldn't share even with their most trusted confidants.
Sera inspected the massive bookshelf behind her father's desk. She didn't look for a cliché secret button. Instead, she felt along the gap between the wooden floor and the desk's legs. Sure enough, there was a small, asymmetrical scratch. Using her fingernail, she pressed a tiny lever hidden behind the eagle-claw carving of the desk leg.
Click.
A secret drawer slid open from the side of the desk. Inside, there were no piles of gold or vials of poison. Only a small, worn leather diary and an old map that looked vastly different from the military maps she was used to seeing.
Sera opened the diary. The handwriting was erratic, indicating the writer had been in a hurry or under immense emotional pressure. It was her father's script.
"March 12. Emperor Valdemar has begun asking about the 'Ghost Power.' He thinks I am a fool. He thinks I don't know he sent spies to my late wife's funeral just to search for that artifact. If he ever discovers Sera possesses that potential, he won't make her a concubine. He will make her an experimental subject, just like the ones they hold in the Church laboratories."
Sera's hands trembled. "Church laboratories?" she murmured softly. "So, Father knew?"
She continued reading.
"I must send her to the Capital. Appearing to surrender is the only way to buy time. Alaric von Xerxes is an unpredictable variable. My student is mad, but he is the only one strong enough to stand between Sera and the Emperor if I fail. I have left the 'key' in the Capital's underground, beneath the old Argentos residence. Sera must find it before they realize she is no longer a weak child."
Sera closed the book, her heart racing. So, her journey to the Capital wasn't merely a submission to the Emperor's command. It was an escape maneuver disguised as obedience. Her father knew she was in danger, but Frederick also realized that within the spy-riddled Argentos Castle, Sera was even more vulnerable.
"My Lady? Are you daydreaming again?" Elara's voice shattered Sera's reverie.
Sera blinked, returning to the reality of the carriage. "Just thinking about what I should wear when I meet the Crown Prince, Elara."
Elara let out a small huff. "You'd be beautiful in anything, My Lady. But in my opinion, that Prince doesn't deserve your smile. Rumor has it he frequently flirts with palace maids until they disappear."
"Disappear?" Sera's hearing sharpened. "You mean they die?"
"No one dares say it out loud, My Lady. But Madam Rose once whispered that Prince Bastian has a 'peculiar' taste for women with magical talent."
Sera leaned her head against the headrest. Elara's informants were already bearing fruit. Bastian wasn't just a vain prince; he was a predator. And now, he was targeting the daughter of the Argentos.
Five days of travel finally came to an end. The Aethelgard Capital, Lutetia, stretched before them. If the Northern territory was a silent monument of stone and ice, Lutetia was an oppressive orchestra of metal, glass, and opulence. Its buildings soared high with sharp Gothic spires, as if trying to pierce the heavens. Teal mana lights adorned the main streets, casting a magical yet cold glow.
The Argentos carriage passed through the main palace gates. There, rows of the Iron Guard—the Emperor's elite force clad in pitch-black armor—stood rigid. Their leader, General Mordred, stood at the front with his hand resting on the hilt of his greatsword. Mordred was a man with a vacant stare who was rumored to have discarded his humanity in exchange for absolute loyalty to the Emperor.
As the carriage door opened, Sera inhaled the Capital air, which smelled of expensive perfume and industrial mana pollution. She stepped down with the assistance of Sir Kael, who was already waiting.
"Lady Seraphina von Argentos," Mordred's voice was heavy, devoid of intonation. "Welcome to the Solar Palace. The Emperor and the Crown Prince are awaiting you in the banquet hall."
Sera bowed her head slightly, playing the role of the shy girl. "Thank you for the welcome, General Mordred. Please forgive my slight delay; my health has been quite delicate."
Mordred stared at Sera for a long time. His gaze felt as if he were dissecting her skin to find something hidden. "Health is a priority. Please follow the servants to your pavilion to prepare."
As Sera walked past Mordred, she could feel a surge of magical pressure emanating from the man. Mordred was no longer an ordinary human; there was something "wrong" with his energy flow. It felt like dark magic forced into his veins.
The Argentos Pavilion at the palace was an ancient building, rarely used but well-maintained. After Elara helped her bathe and dress in a pale blue silk gown that matched her sapphire necklace, Sera requested a moment alone.
She opened the pavilion window overlooking the lower city. From here, she could see the flickering lights of the slums—the place where Old Man Gus and his network of informants resided.
Suddenly, a shadow landed on her balcony without a sound. Sera wasn't surprised. She already recognized that masculine scent mixed with the smell of snow and blood.
"You're three minutes later than I expected, Alaric," Sera said without turning around.
Alaric von Xerxes stood there, still in his all-black traveling clothes. He looked weary, but his eyes remained as sharp as an eagle's. "I had to take care of a few 'rats' following your carriage the whole way. Valdemar doesn't intend to let you travel in peace, you know."
"How many?"
"Six mid-level assassins. Carrying poisoned arrows. It seems they didn't want to kill you—just incapacitate you so they could carry you to the lab without a fight."
Sera turned, her eyes flashing cold. "I see. So they've already started moving even before the banquet begins."
Alaric leaped into the room, perched on the edge of Sera's vanity as if it were his personal throne. "Mordred greeted you at the gate, didn't he? Be careful with that one. He is no longer the General who studied alongside your father. He is a magical puppet created by Archbishop Balthazar."
"A magical puppet?"
"The 'Eternal Knight' experiment. They take dying soldiers and fill their bodies with cursed, pure mana crystals. They have no pain, no emotions—only orders." Alaric stared at the sapphire necklace on Sera's neck. "That necklace... the Argentos Sapphire. Your father gave it to you?"
"Yes. Why?"
"It's a key, Sera. Not just jewelry. That sapphire is a stabilizer for your Ghost Aura. If you use it without that stone, the aura will consume your heart in minutes. Frederick truly loves you, doesn't he?"
Sera touched the sapphire. So this was why her father gave it to her. Frederick knew Sera would be forced to use that power in the Capital.
"I have new intel," Alaric lowered his voice. "Tomorrow night's ball isn't just a banquet. It's the stage for the announcement of your engagement to Bastian. The Emperor will force you to sign a document surrendering the Northern territories as your dowry."
Sera smiled, but the expression made Alaric flinch slightly. "Engagement? Interesting. I've always wanted to know what it feels like to break a Prince's heart in front of the entire imperial nobility."
"What's your plan?"
"Bastian wants a magically gifted woman, doesn't he? I'll give him a performance he'll never forget. But I need you, Alaric. I need you to cause a riot in the financial district while the party is underway."
Alaric smirked, showing his neat fangs. "Destroy a bank or burn a grain warehouse? Name it, My Lady. I'll do it with pleasure."
"Both. And make sure you leave a trail leading to Count Malphas. Let's see how loyal the Emperor is to his cunning advisor when his money starts disappearing."
Alaric stood, approaching Sera until they were barely a finger's width apart. "You truly are a devil in an angel's body, Seraphina. Sometimes I wonder... is Rei the true name of the Reaper?"
Sera grabbed Alaric's collar, pulling him closer. "Rei is the name of someone who has nothing to lose but her own life. Never forget that, Grand Duke."
Alaric didn't pull away. Instead, he brushed Sera's cheek with his rough thumb. "And I am a man who has nothing to do but ensure your life remains mine."
Alaric's shadow vanished into the night, leaving Sera alone with her solidifying plans. At her vanity, she took a slip of paper and wrote instructions for Elara.
Tomorrow was the day the mask of the "Sickly Princess" would begin to crack. And the world would begin to know the name that would haunt their nightmares: The Phantom of Argentos.