For a brief moment, cold sweat drenched my entire body.
I meticulously concealed the wig I held, pushing it further behind my back.
‘It seemed I had already made a grave mistake, but…’
Fearing she would perceive my unease, I slowly swallowed, then fixed my gaze upon the girl standing before me.
At a glance, she appeared to be my age.
Even if there was a difference, it could only be a year or two at most.
Yet, something felt amiss.
She did not seem like a peer at all.
Her eyes were hollow, making it impossible to gauge any emotion within them,
and her demeanor, too, was so heavy and calm that it was difficult to believe she was merely a child.
‘Those eyes… I’ve surely seen them somewhere before…’
As I scrutinized the girl, a sense of déjà vu washing over me, she spoke once more.
This time, precisely, she pointed a finger at the wig hidden behind my back.
“What is that?”
“That? What are you talking about?”
“The wig.”
She stated it clearly, without a hint of hesitation.
Her gaze seemed to pierce through me, as if seeing right into my intentions.
I faltered, taking a step back.
In that instant, the ironclad rule of the Noire family flashed through my mind.
No matter what, maintain a composed and brazen facade.
To conceal my panic, I averted my gaze.
I forced a subtle upturn of my lips, feigning complete indifference as I questioned her once more.
“…A-a wig?”
A strange squeak escaped my lips, and a sudden silence descended.
‘…I’m ruined.’
More cold sweat began to trickle down my skin.
The awkward silence persisted,
and with each passing moment, my dignity as a Noire plummeted through the floor and into the very depths of the earth.
‘Perhaps living as the family’s parasite truly suits me best.’
As I entertained this self-deprecating thought—
The girl’s lips curved slightly upward, her eyes crinkling into half-moons.
“Hmph.”
Silence.
Though it was a faint smile,
when she laughed, she was, surprisingly, just an ordinary girl.
The moment her smile eased the tension in my shoulders, she spoke again.
“How did you get that wig?”
“…Huh?”
“You just took it, didn’t you? From the Marquis’s head.”
It seemed she had witnessed the entire sequence, from beginning to end.
My vision blurred white.
The single thought ‘I’m ruined’ echoed endlessly in my mind.
This was—
a secret the Noire family was bound to keep,
and an ability that absolutely could not be revealed to outsiders.
****
Aethercia, the continent’s foremost magical superpower.
Within this nation existed seven founding noble families.
Among them was my own family, the Noire, symbolized by the moon.
Each family possessed unique symbols and authorities,
their abilities passed down through generations by bloodline, continuously sustaining the nation.
The Aurel, family of the sun, wielded the authority of light and healing.
The Lumentia, family of nature, fostered coexistence with spirits, animals, and plants.
The Ellior, family of metal, inherited overwhelming wealth and military might.
Our family, the Noire, symbolizing the moon,
was entrusted with the authority of foresight, glimpsing the future, and managing secrets.
…at least, on the surface.
My grip tightened on the wig.
Even with my abysmal magical power, I was still a Noire.
From the day I learned to walk, I had been taught countless lessons.
How to act with composure.
How to speak lies as if they were truth.
And—
How to conceal secrets so they would never be discovered.
Though I had spectacularly botched my voice, I could not collapse now.
Donning the brazen facade I had honed for half my life once more,
I casually shrugged my shoulders and spoke in my usual tone.
“Naturally. I brought it with magic.”
“Magic?”
“Yes, transfer magic. It’s a simple spell, isn’t it?”
I spoke clearly, meeting her gaze directly.
In truth, moving a wig was a task a mage could accomplish with their eyes closed.
‘The real problem is that I barely have any magic to use…’
Though my lips maintained a composed curve, cold sweat streamed down my back.
She continued to stare at me, silent.
Her distinctive, piercing gaze felt even more ominous.
‘Please, just let it go…’
Maintaining an outward smile, I pleaded desperately in my mind.
If Father ever discovered that an outsider had learned of my abilities…
I would be thrown out that very day, left to wander the streets in my underwear.
And I wasn’t joking; I was entirely serious.
Fortunately, the girl nodded very slowly.
“I see.”
“Indeed, you do.”
“Then… can you also bring that head-dress the maid is wearing over there?”
“…A head-dress?”
Her intention was overtly clear.
She was attempting to test my abilities.
‘As if I would.’
Though I inwardly clicked my tongue, I maintained a gentle smile as I replied.
“That would be rather difficult. A maid’s conduct directly reflects on the family’s dignity, you see.”
“…That’s true.”
She nodded slowly once more.
This time, however, her pace was slightly quicker than before.
Yet, as she nodded, my liver felt as though it had shrunk by more than half.
‘Seriously, just leave already…’
Why, exactly, was this girl even in our mansion?
Whatever the reason, I desperately wished she would vanish from my sight as quickly as possible.
However, she didn’t budge an inch.
Far from considering departure, she took another step closer to me.
Once more, I put on my brazen facade and smiled sweetly.
“Why?”
“It’s just… it seemed a bit different from typical transfer magic.”
“What do you mean?”
“The method of retrieval was too subtle for magic. I barely sensed any magical power.”
It seemed her piercing gaze wasn’t for nothing.
My heart sank at her uncharacteristically sharp observation skills.
Yet, I showed no hint of my alarm, simply laughing it off with an air of ease.
“Of course. I intentionally minimized the magical power so as not to be detected.”
“…Really? How?”
“It’s difficult to explain in detail. It’s something I modified myself.”
I gave a slight nod, adding a crinkle to my eyes.
In situations like this, it was always best to dismiss it with a vague smile.
Above all, it wasn’t entirely a lie.
It was simply an ability any Noire could use, which I had slightly altered to suit my own near-nonexistent magical power.
‘It’s just not magic…’
I glanced at the portly man still frantically searching for his wig.
Currently, all the founding noble families held high positions within the Empire.
Two Grand Dukes, one Duke, and three Marquises.
Among them, only our family had remained a Count for hundreds of years.
There was only one reason.
…Our progenitor was a thief.
This was a top-secret known only to the Emperor and the heads of the seven families.
Originally, our progenitor was an infamous phantom thief, renowned even across the neighboring continent.
On any night when the moon graced the sky, he could steal anything in the world.
Precious treasures,
deeply hidden, unsavory secrets,
and even the thoughts and futures of others.
Through such bizarre yet extraordinary thievery,
our progenitor provided crucial assistance to Aethercia’s first Emperor in founding the nation.
In return, he was granted the surname Noire and a count’s title, elevating him to the ranks of nobility.
Furthermore, he received a promise from the first Emperor: that if he contributed to the nation, he could be granted an even higher position.
Of course, that promise was never fulfilled.
For it came with the condition that he would never steal again.
‘With a thief as our progenitor, where else would that blood go?’
The Noire blood was inherently like that.
If told not to possess something, it became more coveted.
If told not to steal, the urge to steal intensified.
If told not to look, it would find a way to peer inside.
Considering such an infuriating (TL Note: ‘골 때리는’ is slang for ‘annoying’ or ‘frustrating’, literally ‘head-hitting’) bloodline had continued for generations, being a perennial Count was, in fact, a generous treatment.
I subtly shifted my gaze to the girl.
She was still staring at me.
She neither crossed her arms nor tilted her head.
She simply continued to gaze intently, her hands clasped before her, just as she had been.
‘That’s even more terrifying…’
It was more frightening when Mother scolded me gently with a smiling face than when my strict father raged.
Why did I feel as though I were being caught and disciplined by my mother right now?
However, the true terror lay elsewhere.
My father, despite being a Noire, was uncommonly concerned with honor.
Because of this, unlike past family heads, escaping our perennial count status was his top priority.
‘…And in such a situation, I exposed the family’s dirty laundry?’
My life would be over from that day forth.
Unlike my brothers and sisters, my magical power was abysmal.
Thus, I had to cling to the family and barely survive by any means necessary.
‘Surely there’s a good way…’
No matter how I looked at it, the current situation was disadvantageous for me.
I knew nothing about this girl, yet she held my weakness.
I thought for a moment, then a good idea struck me.
“I’m Celen Noire. What’s your name?”
“…Me?”
I needed to dig up at least one piece of information to create a clue for escaping this predicament.
I smiled sweetly and nodded.
The girl hesitated for a moment, then mumbled softly.
“Ruena. Ruena Ellior.”
“…Ellior?”
“…Yes.”
Only then did I realize the identity of the déjà vu I had felt earlier.
The Grand Duke Ellior I had just seen.
Her eyes were so similar to his.
That gaze that seemed to pierce others without revealing her own emotions.
But—
‘No one, apart from a Noire, knows how a Noire’s abilities manifest.’
For centuries, we had kept it hidden, never allowing it to be discovered by anyone.
I was certain that this secret, protected for generations, would save me from this crisis.
I offered her a beautifully packaged dessert with a sweet smile.
It was the same dessert I hadn’t been able to give to Grand Duke Ellior a moment ago.
“Here, a gift reserved only for our esteemed guests.”
“…What is this?”
“A dessert. A limited edition, made only 50 times a day by a famous pâtissier.”
Ruena, who had instinctively reached out, gazed at the dessert in her hand.
A slight blush crept onto Ruena’s face.
It was the first, very subtle change I had seen in her in over ten minutes of our encounter.
Ruena mumbled, her voice trembling slightly.
“…Can I eat it now?”
“Of course.”
That was exactly what I had hoped for.
Fortunately, Ruena took a bite of the dessert without any suspicion.
One bite, then two.
Slowly savoring the taste.
Yet, she ate with a certain urgency.
As if anxious someone might snatch it away.
After devouring the dessert completely, Ruena murmured softly.
“…It’s delicious.”
“Is it? I’m glad it suits your taste.”
Smiling sweetly, I subtly glimpsed into Ruena’s future.
