episode_0010

The official name of the Empire is the Herzein Empire.

A magic-noble-centered nation ruled by the imperial family descended from the Archmage Arken Belzenos, who unified the magic of this world and established ‘order’ a thousand years ago.

Its beginning was holy and ideal.

The Belzenos imperial dynasty, which ended the age of chaos with magic mightier than anyone else, implanted ‘order from above’ in the world.

But now, after a thousand years, the Empire is no longer a name of salvation.

Currently, the Empire is composed mainly of a total of five Grand Ducal families and sixteen noble territories, and while the imperial family formally maintains absolute power, it is in reality a power structure divided by nobles who possess magic, finances, and armies.

There is law and order, but it exists only for those in power.

The Empire’s biggest characteristic is its ‘Magic Attribution Society’.

All citizens have their registered magic amount measured at birth, and this number directly affects an individual’s social class, job qualifications, place of residence, and educational opportunities.

Generally, those of noble blood are born with a high amount of magic, and accordingly enjoy absolute privileges in high-level administration and the military, magic research institutes, academy admissions, and more.

Of course, this is not the case, but

On the other hand, those judged to have weak or no magic are classified as the ‘non-magic strata’ and live as lower-class citizens, performing arduous labor, working in military supply facilities, clearing contaminated areas, and so on.

Formal equality exists.

The Empire’s official policy is that ‘the opportunity to learn magic according to one’s ability is given to everyone’.

But even that ability is determined by ‘innate capital’ which is magic, so in reality, it is not equality but a quiet hereditary system.

The Imperial Magic Academy is a core institution that reinforces this system.’

All academies within the Empire belong to the Imperial Ministry of Magic, and the education curriculum is based on ‘Pureblood Magic Studies’.

This primarily teaches advanced magic that only those of noble blood can handle, centering around the magic theories inherited from the ancient kingdom in the past.

Other types of magic, such as psychic magic, emotion-based magic, biological system adjustment magic, etc., are classified as heterodox and are either not taught or are forbidden.

This is also why ‘The Other Side of the Moon’ is rediscovering and reinterpreting this severed magic.

Politically, it appears to be a stable centralized system on the surface, but looking within reveals a complex structure intertwined with conflicts of interest between noble families, power struggles within the military, and tense power checks between the imperial family and the grand ducal families.

On the surface, it is a civilized nation supported by magic and law, but in reality, it is a country maintained by things left unsaid.

Information control, media censorship, surveillance of ‘subversive ideologies’, and punishment of anti-imperial ideas are being reinforced every year.

Beneath the surface of the imperial family, a great secret exists.

Ancient magic weapons and legacies hidden since the ancient war, the blood of special demon races thought to be extinct, foreign knowledge that survived the ‘Purification War’ in the early days of the Empire.

All of those things are being managed through the Imperial Court Sorcerers and a shadow organization named the ‘Pitch-Black Inquisitors’.’

All secrets are thoroughly sealed, and if necessary, silence or assassination is not hesitated.

The Empire’s official motto is this.

“Magic is order, and order is the Empire’s grace.”

But now that grace has become shackles that tighten around someone’s neck.

And those who seek to break those shackles are moving in the darkness again.

They are called ‘The Other Side of the Moon’, and the Empire regards even that name as non-existent.

However, history knows.

That no empire was eternal, and no darkness could be hidden forever.

Leo woke up early this morning, unlike usual.

Despite returning home in the early morning yesterday, there was no sign of fatigue.

Being early morning, the mist had quietly settled around the mansion.

Beyond the forest boundary thickly covered in mist, Leo quietly moved his steps, wearing a black coat.

The dawn air was cold, and water droplets clinging to the tips of grass blades occasionally touched the hem of his cloak, making a sound.

The magic induction device at his waist vibrated faintly, disrupting the surrounding magic.

It was a device to avoid the mansion’s defensive magic net.

He had to leave no trace and hide his presence. A situation where one clumsy mistake could turn all plans to naught. Leo crossed the forest with steps that allowed for no error.

The night before, after planning the contact with Lania, he thoroughly organized his surroundings.

He calculated the patrol routes of the servants, the magic detection range, and even the time Sierra returned to her room. She was a person who could notice his disappearance even in the middle of the night.

Not just simple emotion, but like instinct. That’s why he couldn’t let his guard down even more.

…Sierra.

Her eyes had been particularly sharp lately. A gaze as if she knew something, an uneasy certainty hidden within a quiet laugh somewhere.

It was as if she was hiding the message, ‘I know.’

But he no longer wanted to be involved with her. An intuition that he shouldn’t get entangled. He didn’t want to repeat the past.

“I have to keep my distance from you, so you won’t get hurt.”

He believed that. He tried to believe that. Suppressing his heart, he was precariously balancing between guilt and affection.

On the northern edge of the forest, at the entrance of an old waterway. Beyond the stone gate covered in tree vines, a figure wearing a gray cloak was waiting for him.

A sharp silhouette, slightly disheveled black hair, and cold determination residing in her eyes. Even standing in the darkness, her presence was distinct.

It was Lania.

“Hehe, Leo, you’re late.”

She said that. Within those words, there was not just a simple scolding, but a coolness guarding against a break in trust.

“To get through the surveillance net, one must be cautious.”

He took off his cloak and stood next to her. A distance close enough that their breaths wouldn’t touch. He didn’t avoid her eyes.

“What’s the situation?”

“Just wait.”

“You’re younger than me, why has your way of speaking been like that since before?”

“Hmph, it’s a habit.”

Lania was someone he had a deep connection with since the Northern Imperial Academy.

A junior who entered a year after I entered the Imperial Academy.

From that time, her way of speaking was strangely like an old child, so she had no friends, but…

She would mutter things like, “Hmph, there’s no need to associate with such low-level children,” and it was pitiful, so I hung out with her, and we naturally became close.

Lania took out a worn magic leather map.

It was a list of hidden anti-imperial strongholds in the capital’s northern region.

Places marked with red dots were areas with a risk of information leakage, and blue dots indicated magic relay stations that were still operational. Each dot had a short annotation and encrypted characters attached, and only a few people could decode them.

“The ‘Southern Keystone’ must be completed within this week. Only then can magic exchange with the center be restored.”

“Are the magic circuits ready?”

“Half is complete, but… for the rest, the core crystal you will procure…”

Leo handed her a small box wrapped in black cloth. Inside, one grayish magic core was embedded. It was a dangerous crystal that could record the emotions of living beings and amplify and transmit that magic.

It was one of the Empire’s forbidden technologies, and he had obtained it secretly from a closed ruin.

“Where did you get this…”

“It’s better for you to act without knowing.”

At his words, Lania tightly sealed her lips. The more information there was, the greater the danger. That was a basic principle of the anti-imperial movement.

“…As expected, your method is still dangerous.”

“We don’t have the luxury of time.”

Leo said coldly. His eyes were dark, and his voice was resolute. The fight had begun, and winning or losing was no longer a matter of choice. Desperate resistance to survive.

And at that moment—

Beyond the forest, another shadow hidden among the branches like a spider.

Sierra was silently holding her breath and watching the scene.

In her hand was a small magic reactor, and her gaze was fixed solely on Leo. Her cheeks were flushed red, her shoulders trembled quietly, and the struggle to suppress her emotions was conveyed to her fingertips.

His face, his manner of speaking, his footsteps, even his breath.

However, within her sight, the image of Lania standing too close to him came into view.

…A woman.

The reason he left and moved without telling her.

His secret.

The woman who shared it—was not her.

She quietly bit her fingertips and closed her mouth. The emotions rising within her chest were anxiety, anger, and deep jealousy. It was closer to instinct than emotion.

[Who is this woman?]

[Why is she next to you?]

[Why are you telling your secret… to that girl?]

Her heart was pounding like crazy, and the emotions she had been forcibly suppressing slowly opened a gap and surged up. Like a glass overflowing as foam rises to the top.

[…No. It shouldn’t be.]

She swallowed her breath. So as not to make too loud a sound, so as not to miss them. Her fingers unconsciously clutched a branch. Blood slowly seeped from the back of her hand.

Leo met Lania’s eyes one last time.

“The next rally point is the abandoned Luden Mine Station.”

“The operation will be carried out there.”

“Before that—there’s something I need to take care of.”

Leo nodded slightly, then turned and walked away without a word.

His back was like the end of a cloak fluttering in the wind, seeming to waver yet heading towards a clear destination.

Sierra slowly moved her body, following his footsteps.

Her footsteps were quiet, and her mind was increasingly swirling. In her eyes, Lania’s faint smile remained as it was.

[Yes… that kind of smile doesn’t suit you.]

[I’ll be by your side.]

[That woman, you don’t need her.]

[Only I, is enough.]

The mist was still embracing the edge of the forest.

Leo, having turned his steps back, quietly headed towards the mansion without a word.

Under the hazy sky just before dawn, the world was silent as if holding its breath, and only the sound of his footsteps broke upon the wet earth.

Dusting off the fallen leaves and mud clinging to his black coat with his hand, Leo took out the induction device upon reaching near the mansion’s magic defense net.

A faint wave wrapped around his body, and a gap in the glittering magic barrier briefly split open.

He climbed over the wall in a familiar manner.

He had become so accustomed to this boundary that he could pass through it as naturally as if it were a part of his body.

However, today, a particularly unpleasant sensation, as if tickling the back of his neck, seemed to be following him.

Leo looked back once, but the forest was asleep, holding only silence.

He forced himself to ignore the unfamiliar sensation, carefully opened his room window, and entered. The bed was still neat, and on the table next to the window, the tea Sierra had left the day before had grown cold.

“…Since when?”

Leo stared at the teacup and muttered.

Since she started taking care of him in such small ways. When he opened his eyes in the morning, there was warm tea on the windowsill somehow, the scent of lavender spread in the room, ironed shirts.

He closed his eyes, recalling one by one the small actions Sierra had taken.

She had quietly repeated things she had never been asked to do, every day.

Sitting on the edge of the bed, Leo placed his hand on his forehead and took a deep breath.

“Now is… not the time to be swayed by emotions.”

He said that, as if comforting himself.

But in a corner of his heart, Sierra’s eyes kept coming to mind. Since sometime, her gaze when looking at him had changed, and she often approached him with a subtly trailing off end to her words.

And today—those eyes must have clearly been tinged with suspicion and some deep emotion.

Leo got up and opened a drawer. He took out a small jewelry box hidden deep inside.

The remnant of a magic core—it was part of the amplification device he had used in his contact with the anti-imperial forces.

Even with just this small remnant, there were enough magic engineers who could realize what he was doing.

“Lania… she’ll be okay.”

His voice was small but firm. She was currently a core figure of ‘The Other Side of the Moon’s Northern Branch, and was cooperating with him, risking danger. There was no room to be swayed by emotions.

Suddenly, he heard a presence outside.

The hand knocking on the door was cautious. Leo hastily put the jewelry box into the desk drawer and opened the door with a composed face.

“Sierra… you’re already awake?”

She was standing there, wearing a thin gown over her sleepwear. Her long hair was down, and a tray was in her hands. She was smiling as usual, but her eyes were as transparent and cold as ice.

[Because it’s morning. So you can drink Lord Leo’s tea before it gets cold.]

She entered the room and carefully set down the tray. Leo stared blankly at her fingertips, then suddenly shifted his gaze. Her finger joints were trembling slightly.

[Where did you go yesterday?]

A tone that was neither sharp nor soft. It was a question containing a nuance as if ‘asking while knowing’.

“…Just a walk.” Leo said calmly.

Sierra nodded slightly, but her smile was still expressionless.

[The night must have been cold, you didn’t seem to take a coat.]

Her gaze turned towards the coat he had just taken off. On that coat, there were still a few fallen leaves from the forest.

Leo unconsciously swallowed his breath.

Sierra approached and brushed off the fallen leaves from the coat. Her fingertips touched his arm, and at that moment, her face came closer.

[Lord Leo.]

[Whatever happens, please don’t hide it from me. I… will always be by your side.]

Her words seemed warm, but Leo felt the persistence hidden within them. Sierra held an strangely deep affection, as if she wanted to embrace not just him but also the ‘secret’ he held.

After she left the room, Leo opened the window. Cold air rushed into the room.

“Sierra…”

He quietly called the name, looking at the mist spreading outside the window. And he recalled the two names that came to mind.

Sierra, and Lania.

Caught between these two, he was no longer just a simple noble boy, nor a promising student of the academy. He was someone who had stepped into anti-imperial activities, and he stood in a position where he could destroy someone’s feelings.

Now there wasn’t much time left. Only two days until the rally at the abandoned Luden Mine Station.

He had to complete all preparations starting today.

…And Sierra’s gaze, he could no longer ignore it either.