Chapter 1. Bloodline
Red smoke swallowed the dawn sky.
Silesia, the border fortress of the Beldoren Empire, had fallen to the wyvern corps of the Kingdom of Drakant. The mighty walls that had once been praised for their strength had collapsed, and the House of Raul—known as Beldoren’s Iron Shield—had been shattered beyond recognition.
“My lady, we can’t afford to delay any longer!” Antoine shouted desperately.
But Hermina paused and looked back.
Everything before her was engulfed in flames. Even the silver wolf banner that had flown proudly atop the citadel was swallowed whole by the raging fire.
Mother is still in there…
“Hermina!”
A hand suddenly seized her arm. Arnaud pulled her back roughly.
“Mother is still—”
“Get a grip!”
A sharp sting exploded across her left cheek. Stunned, Hermina looked up at her brother. She was the one who had been struck, yet it was Arnaud’s eyes that were red with grief.
“Mother is already gone. You saw it with your own eyes.”
Not long after their father had fallen in battle, their mother had also passed away after a difficult childbirth. The moment Hermina forced herself to acknowledge that cruel reality, her vision blurred and tears streamed down her face.
“Stop standing there and move.”
“What are we going to do now…?”
“What else? We run.”
Twenty days ago, the Kingdom of Drakant had invaded the border. In a single day, they had broken through defenses that had been considered unassailable. In less than a month, House Raul and all its vassal families had suffered complete defeat.
Was there any point in struggling to escape?
Their parents were dead.
Emperor Cyril, whom they had trusted, had never sent reinforcements.
Did it no longer matter whether their family lived or died?
Hermina collapsed onto the frozen ground. The bitter cold immediately crept up her legs.
The sensation was horrifyingly vivid. It felt strange that she could still notice the cold after losing both of her parents.
The day before the war began had been her birthday.
A grand banquet had been held within the castle, and all of Silesia had celebrated. Back then, she had been happy.
She truly had.
But the moment Drakant’s wyvern corps darkened the sky, Hermina’s world crumbled. Nothing remained now but fire.
“I’m suffering too, Hermina,” Arnaud said quietly. “But we have to endure. We are Rauls. We are the Rauls known as Beldoren’s Shield.”
Hermina raised tear-filled eyes toward him.
His gaze shone like the morning star in the heavens. Even now, when everything had burned to ash, her brother still carried the pride of the family’s heir.
“So don’t fall apart here. Move.”
Right.
As long as the heir of House Raul still lived, all hope was not lost. Arnaud could avenge them. He could restore their family.
Hermina rose to her feet and wiped her tears away.
Then a deafening roar split the air.
The infant sleeping in Antoine’s arms startled awake and began to cry. The loud wailing instantly twisted Arnaud’s expression.
“Antoine. Silence the child, even if you have to cover its mouth.”
No sooner had the order left his lips than a dark shadow fell over them.
Hermina looked up.
Her breath caught.
A massive creature was diving straight toward them.
Enormous wings blotted out the sky. Razor-sharp claws gleamed beneath its body. Its yellow eyes burned with predatory malice.
“A wyvern! Get down!” Antoine shouted from a distance.
For the first time in her life, Hermina faced the terror of death. Her entire body trembled uncontrollably.
“Run, Hermina!”
Arnaud grabbed her wrist and sprinted.
Behind them came the thunderous beating of wings. A violent gust followed, sharp enough to strip flesh from bone.
Hermina screamed.
Stones and branches whipped through the air, striking her face. The pain confirmed that this was no nightmare.
A tremendous crash shook the earth.
Along the castle wall, rows of birch trees splintered and toppled.
“Into the drainage tunnel! Now, Antoine!”
Even in the midst of terror, Arnaud never lost his composure. The narrow passage seemed like the perfect place to escape a creature as massive as a wyvern.
A spark of hope strengthened Hermina’s trembling legs.
Antoine reached the tunnel first. Throwing open the iron gate, he rushed inside.
Hermina gathered her cumbersome skirts in one hand and ran after Arnaud, fixing her eyes on his broad back.
The pain struck just as she neared the entrance.
“Ahh—!”
A scream escaped her lips.
She collapsed onto the ground.
The agony was unbearable.
Far beyond anything she could have imagined.
If I want to live, I have to get inside.
Grinding her teeth, Hermina crawled forward.
“Move!”
A shout exploded behind her.
Before her mind could process it, her body reacted. She rolled aside.
The ground where she had been lying was gouged open by massive claws.
The enraged wyvern’s roar tore through the dawn.
“Get inside, Hermina!”
Forcing her trembling limbs to move, she dragged herself into the tunnel.
Her back felt as though it were on fire. Something warm trickled down her spine.
Blood.
But she couldn’t stop.
The creature’s breath was right behind her.
The wyvern’s foul scent filled her nostrils.
The smell of death.
Then Arnaud drew his sword.
Has he gone mad?
Horrified, Hermina watched him charge.
Without a moment’s hesitation, he hurled himself toward the wyvern’s gaping maw.
Rows of needle-like teeth lunged forward.
“Brother!”
Her cry was drowned out by the monster’s shriek.
Arnaud’s blade pierced upward through the wyvern’s lower jaw.
In one fluid motion, he twisted and severed the jawbone completely.
The beast thrashed and screamed.
Hermina had always heard that a wyvern’s bones were as strong as iron and its scales could deflect steel. Yet Arnaud had sliced through it with a single strike.
Shock and admiration filled her eyes.
Then another figure emerged from the darkness.
A towering man.
Though clad in heavy black armor, he moved without making a sound.
Instinctively, Hermina felt danger.
“Watch out!”
The warning left her lips too late.
A gauntleted hand shot forward and seized Arnaud by the throat.
His feet lifted off the ground.
“So you are Arnaud, heir of Duke Raul?”
The man’s voice was low and rough.
Strangely, it cut through the chaos with perfect clarity.
Arnaud struggled and twisted in his grip.
Hermina had believed that a man capable of slaying a wyvern could easily break free.
She was wrong.
The black knight overpowered him effortlessly.
“Where are you, Antoine?!”
Keeping her eyes fixed on the knight, Hermina called for their guard.
Then the figure turned toward her.
The moment she saw his eyes, terror rooted her in place.
They were not human eyes.
Golden irises gleamed beneath the visor, their pupils slit vertically like those of a beast.
“Stubborn, every last one of you.”
The armored man muttered.
Then he tossed Arnaud aside.
Her brother’s body rolled helplessly across the ground.
Something ignited inside Hermina.
“Aaaah!”
With a cry, she drew the amethyst dagger hidden beneath her skirts and charged.
Steel collided with steel.
Clang!
The impact rang through her ears.
Pain shot through her hand, threatening to shatter her resolve.
Still, she searched desperately for an opening.
The knight’s armor was flawless, black as obsidian.
The only vulnerable spot was the eyes visible through the helmet.
“You bear Raul blood as well? Your movements are impressive.”
The knight said something else, but Hermina barely heard him.
The thunder of her own heartbeat drowned out everything.
“And you’re left-handed.”
Grinding her teeth, she lunged again.
Her eyes never left his.
The knight moved with economical precision, blocking every strike.
While Hermina fought with all her strength, he remained utterly composed.
When she launched her final attack, he casually knocked it aside with his vambrace as though it weren’t worth acknowledging.
Hermina staggered back, breathing hard.
The hand gripping her dagger trembled violently.
Blood soaked her back, yet she felt no pain.
Rage consumed everything.
“Enough playing around.”
The knight’s voice was chillingly low.
A pale blade flashed toward her throat.
She twisted away at the last second.
Something fell past her shoulder.
Locks of hair scattered across the stone floor.
For a moment she stared blankly.
By the time she realized the knight had already closed the distance, it was too late.
His hand clamped around the wrist holding her dagger.
“For a little girl, your eyes are remarkably sharp. How long have you studied swordsmanship?”
Was it his emotionless voice?
Or those terrifying eyes?
A chill of fear crawled down her spine.
