Long before Seraphina drew her first breath, the name Rubienne echoed through Eldoria like a hymn.
They were the dukes of the North — unshaken by war, untouched by scandal, and unmoved by time.
Their crest, a silver stag crowned with rubies, had watched over snow-covered battlements for generations. Their banners never fell. Their alliances never broke. Their words were law whispered into the Emperor's own council.
House Rubienne was legacy.
Honor. Ice. Blood.
But even the most perfect bloodline cannot escape fate.
The day Seraphina Rubienne was born, the Duchess took one glance at her… and turned away.
"Her eyes," she murmured, voice barely a breath. "They're red."
Silence fell over the chamber.
The midwife stood frozen. The maids exchanged glances and stepped back. The Duke — known for his calm even in battle — simply lowered his gaze.
No one dared speak of it.
The child did not cry.
She simply stared up, silent, her eyes glowing like molten rubies.
And so, the heir of House Rubienne, the only daughter of the North, was wrapped in silk… and buried in silence.
"On the night the crimson eyes awaken, those who speak truth shall be rewarded, and those who lie shall fall in despair…"
Once, the prophecy had shaken the world. Now, it was nothing more than a children's rhyme — a forgotten legend from two thousand years past.
No one believed in it anymore.
No one… except perhaps the wind that swept through the northern towers, brushing past velvet curtains and golden mirrors, whispering her name like a secret the world had tried to forget.
Seraphina.
She was a daughter of nobility.But also something far older… and far more dangerous.
And the eyes of truth, sealed by blood and pain, had only just begun to stir.
✦ Fifteen Years Later
The sunlight spilled through her window like honey, yet Seraphina felt no warmth.
She stood near the window of her chamber, one hand resting on the carved frame, the other pressed gently to her temple.
Her eyes… were aching again.
It had started that morning — a dull pulse behind her gaze, growing sharper by the hour. A strange pressure, as though something inside her wanted out.
She squeezed her eyes shut, her breath catching.
"No. Not now. Please…"
She didn't tell anyone. She never did.
They already feared her eyes. They whispered of curses. Of ill omens. If they knew something was changing in her… even her carefully preserved place within the family might vanish.
Hoping to distract herself, Seraphina changed quickly — no maid attended her this morning — and made her way outside. She needed to breathe. To move. To feel something other than the ache behind her eyes.
She called for a carriage and headed toward the city — alone.
The streets of Eldoria's capital were alive with clamor. Merchants shouted, perfume filled the air, noblewomen glided through market stalls, and children ran laughing past gilded fountains.
Seraphina's appearance — tall, poised, wrapped in a deep crimson cloak — drew attention, but she kept her head high.
Still, her lack of escort did not go unnoticed for long.
A small group of drunkards near the corner tavern turned as she passed. Their grins widened. Their steps followed.
"Well, look what wandered out of a palace…""Hey sweetheart, you lost your knight?""No guards? No fun."
They moved closer.
Seraphina's heartbeat quickened. Her eyes burned — sharply, fiercely now — and she stumbled backward.
"I must be losing my mind," she thought bitterly. "This day feels cursed. First the pain, and now this."
"I knew I should've taken a knight. Even a maid. Not that they'd do much — they'd run off before I could blink. But my eyes…"
She winced.
"…they're getting worse."
As the men advanced, the world tilted.
The last thing she saw before darkness swallowed her… was a man.
Tall, dressed in plain traveler's clothes, but moving with deadly grace.
He threw the first punch before they could touch her.
And then — everything went black.
Back in her chamber, Seraphina sat in silence.
The ache in her eyes had faded.The room was untouched. Her cloak neatly folded.But she could still feel the tremble in her hands.
The memory returned in fragments —the drunken jeers, the panic rising in her throat,and then… him.
He had appeared from nowhere.Moved like a man who had fought many times, and without hesitation.Not a single word — just strength, precision, and eyes that did not look away.
Eyes that did not flinch.
For as long as she could remember, people had stared at her eyes with fear.But not him.
He hadn't feared her.He hadn't praised her.He had simply seen her.
And that… frightened her more than anything else.
She didn't know his name.She didn't even know if he was real.But a single thought echoed in her chest, louder than it should've been:
That moment had changed everything.
And though her world remained silent for now…she could feel it beginning to crack.
And through the cracks, something dangerous was beginning to breathe...
to be continued...