Episode 1
0. Prologue
“Phew.”
I swept up the last bit of dust in the hallway and finally straightened my back.
I tucked the necklace that had slipped out of my clothes back inside and looked out the window.
Behind the red moon that always hung in the sky, the world was dyed black.
Today was the last “Day of Harmony” of the year.
According to the original plan, it was also the day my job as a maid would end.
Things had not gone exactly as planned, but nothing really changed.
After putting away the cleaning tools I had used, I returned to my room.
Because I always made sure not to leave any traces, the room felt cold even though I had stayed here for about four months.
Even if I disappeared right now, nothing would feel strange.
I walked slowly to the window.
Knock. Knock.
At the sound of knocking, I turned my head. A man had already opened the door and stepped inside.
Still handsome, with golden hair and blue eyes.
Recht.
I gave the smiling man an annoyed look and turned my head away.
“If you’re going to open the door however you like, why bother knocking?”
“So you’d look at me at least once.”
Ignoring his footsteps as he walked toward me, I rubbed the necklace under my clothes with my thumb.
The Day of Harmony had begun.
The blue moon of the human world was swallowing the red moon of the demon world from below.
“You’ve given up on running away, haven’t you?”
Recht asked in a strangely cheerful voice. His eyes, scanning me from head to toe, were smiling.
I looked down at the clothes his eyes had passed over. The long black skirt that covered my ankles was definitely not good for running.
“You seem to be in a good mood, Recht.”
“Ah. Not bad.”
Of course he would be, with the red moon he hated so much finally disappearing.
“And I’m not running away. I’m quitting my job. I haven’t changed my mind.”
“Who said you can quit? Your prince is here.”
Even now, he shamelessly said that. A small laugh slipped out of me.
The prince I was supposed to rescue was no longer here.
No, he had never been here in the first place.
Recht, whom I had mistaken for the prince, was not the prince.
He… that man…
I stared at his shining blond hair and clear blue eyes and gripped my necklace tightly.
As if he noticed, Recht’s face instantly turned cold.
“You think you can run away? From here. From my side.”
“Ha…”
Anger rose in my chest. Anger toward him.
“What? Are you going to slaughter people again until you find me?”
“…”
“My home. My family. And me. Are you going to kill us again?”
“If I can keep you by my side, I’ll do it anytime.”
His eyes had turned red before I knew it, shining with a madness I could not understand.
***
1. Is This Terminal Too?
About four months ago.
At the edge of the northern continent, in the Kingdom of Akordo, at the estate of Baron Hafner.
The office door opened and Leo walked in.
“The Demon King kidnapped the prince.”
He said it out of nowhere.
I looked up from the documents in my hand.
“The king put up a reward. Ten million Libra.”
Ten million Libra was enough to build two large mansions in the capital.
It was tempting. But sadly, I had no time to take a new job.
The Hafner Merchant Group that I ran, along with the assassin guild , always had too many requests.
I was already buried in work.
“Maybe later, if I get the chance.”
After that, I forgot about it. Leo did not bring it up again.
Then, one year later—
The northern continent was destroyed.
By the Demon King.
The king had declared war on the demon world to get his son back, and he lost.
“…”
At the end of my life, I faced the Demon King.
Like me, he was surrounded by black demonic energy, and only his red eyes shone brightly.
As I closed my eyes, unable to withstand the pressure, I thought:
I can’t win against that.
And then—
If I was going to die like this, I should have at least spent all the money I saved…
My money…
Give me back my money…
Death did not hurt much. It felt like I was trapped in a dark abyss.
Then I opened my eyes again.
I was in my familiar office.
“…?”
At first, I could not understand.
I had clearly died.
“Was it a dream…?”
While I was still confused, Leo walked in like usual.
“Ilia. The Demon King kidnapped the prince.”
I feel like I’ve heard that before.
“The king put up a reward. Ten million Libra.”
At that moment, memories that were hard to even call a past life flashed through my head.
The room spun. I pressed my palm to my temple.
“…Why?”
“Huh? Because he wants his son back, so he’s gathering heroes…”
“No. Why did the Demon King kidnap the prince?”
“Because the king hates demons?”
The Kingdom of Akordo in the north and the cursed land of the demon world beyond it.
Even though there had been a peace treaty for hundreds of years, Akordo still hated demons. The hatred ran deep.
That explained some things.
But still—
“Why now? If he was going to make a move, shouldn’t it have been 25 years ago during the demon hunt?”
Back then, the king had captured demons and half-demons in preparation for war, but the Demon King had ignored him. Only innocent demons died.
A thought came to me.
“Is the king planning something even worse now? And the Demon King found out and acted first?”
“Maybe. Want me to look into it?”
“…No. Instead—”
I closed the documents on my desk and stacked them neatly.
“Pack your things. We’re emigrating today.”
“Huh?”
I am 27 years old now. If things go as before, I will die in one year. At the Demon King’s hands.
I already know his strength.
The easiest way to avoid death is simple.
“We’re emigrating. To the western continent.”
I chose to run.
But—
The western continent was destroyed along with the northern continent.
Damn it.
I opened my eyes again to the same office.
My third life had begun.
As usual, Leo walked in.
“Ilia. The Demon King kidnapped the prince—”
“Leo, pack your things. This time, we’re going to the eastern continent.”
“Huh?”
The eastern continent was destroyed too.
Damn.
As I faced the autumn of my fourth 27th year, stubbornness grew inside me.
Let’s see how far this goes.
I ran to the only place left, the southern continent.
It was destroyed too.
My fifth 27th year began.
I had to admit it.
No matter what I did, I would die and return to the autumn of my 27th year.
And every time, it started with the news that the prince had been kidnapped by the Demon King.
So I decided to face the method I had been avoiding.
Rescue the kidnapped prince.
“The king won’t give up on his son.”
I do not know why he is so obsessed with the third prince, who is not even the crown prince.
“If the prince had never been kidnapped, the world wouldn’t be destroyed. And I wouldn’t have to repeat my life.”
Why did that bastard Demon King kidnap the prince?
I hated them all. The king. The prince. And the Demon King.
“How do I take the prince away from that monster?”
The first rule of an assassin is information.
So—
“Gather everything about the Demon King. The demon world. And the prince. Even how many hairs he has on his toes.”
I will save that damned prince no matter what.
But right after I made that vow, I hit a wall.
No matter how much information we gathered, we found nothing. Not about the Demon King, and not about the prince.
I could understand not knowing about the Demon King.
But how is it possible that there is not even a portrait of a royal prince?
Leo shrugged.
“The prince has been sick since childhood and practically locked away. The king protected him and never let him appear in public. Only a few close people know his face. The only known traits are golden hair and blue eyes, the symbol of the royal family. And that he’s extremely handsome.”
“Only close people have seen him, but he’s known as extremely handsome?”
“Yeah, strange, right? Here.”
Leo handed me a paper.
It was a job posting.
***
Job Notice
Looking for long-term workers at the ‘Demon King’s Castle,’ regardless of race.
Room and board provided
Salary: 20,000 Libra per month
***
“A job posting at a time like this? A trap?”
“No. It was posted last year. Seems like they regularly hire servants. Who knows? They might still be hiring.”
“Seriously?”
It sounded ridiculous.
But with no other information, this was the only lead we had.
The only way was to infiltrate the Demon King’s Castle myself and find the prince.
So I applied.
In less than three days, I received a reply.
I passed.
Why?
