The biting winds of Velmora's northern lands swept past the Velmora stone castle, howling faintly like echoes from forgotten times.
Luna opened her eyes with the first break of dawn.
Nine years old in body... She had meditated as always disciplining the flow of mana in her core, reinforcing her strength in preparation for what lay ahead....
Today was not just another quiet morning. Today,
Dressed in a simple but clean navy-blue dress, she tied her silver hair neatly, her expression calm.
Her footsteps echoed lightly as she made her way through the grand yet lonely halls, until she stood before the chamber of Duke Velmora.
The guards hesitated at first but opened the doors at her polite request.
Inside, the Duke lay half-conscious in a chair, wine staining the table, his eyes dull and bloodshot.
He reeked of alcohol. This was the man whose bloodline was once blessed by the Nebula Goddess herself?
Pathetic.
Luna wasted no time.
She summoned her system and invoked Absolute Command skill in the system's archive....
A faint light glimmered in her eyes as the Duke's pupils turned an eerie white.
"Change my last name to Velmora," she said with authority ...
"Recognize me as your official heir."
The Duke responded without resistance. "As your wish…"
By the time he blinked back to consciousness, she was already gone.
Sometime later, letters were dispatched to the clergy in the capital. The Duke himself declared that he had adopted the daughter of Isabella recognizing her as a Velmora. He did not yet know the truth.
She was not Isabella's daughter....
That afternoon, Luna wandered the outer reaches of the castle.
Snow dusted the northern hills, but the inner gardens remained untouched by the cold. !
Flowers bloomed, grass swayed softly. Mana pulsed faintly here she could feel it. Something old and sacred.
The Pendant...
The artifact blessed by the Nebula Goddess. This divine relic protected the Velmora lands its magic kept away the freezing death of the north, and repelled the beasts that haunted the edges of human lands...
It must be near.
Deeper into the lesser garden, beyond the familiar paths, Luna discovered a forgotten place hidden behind hedgerows and ivy-covered gates.
The garden here was unlike the rest. Overgrown. Silent. The air was heavy, yet not unpleasant...
Luna , " What over here !? Did I missed it . Tsk I was confident that I didn't left out any places here ...Not something like this atleast
In the middle stood a well ancient and white, like it had been plucked from a fairytale...
Her mana pulsed wildly as she approached it.
And then footsteps.
"Who's there?" she demanded, her tone calm but firm.
A voice replied nervously. "My lady... it's just me."
An man stepped forward rough boots, weathered skin, and a limp in his step. He held a rusted trowel and wore a worn green tunic.
"You shouldn't be here," he said. "This part of the garden... some say it's cursed."
Luna tilted her head, observing him carefully. "Gardener Paul."
He blinked, startled. "How do you know my name?"
A small smirk touched her lips. "Aren't you the only gardener here? Of course I know."
She walked past him, brushing her fingers along the ivy-covered stones of the well.
Then she turned and whispered, as if to share a secret. "I think I saw a ghost here last night."
Paul's face went pale.
He stammered, bowing hastily. "I-I will leave, my lady."
"You should," Luna said kindly. "Ghosts don't like crowds."
As Paul hurried away, Luna stood before the well again, lost in thought. The architecture was not of this era. It was older subtly divine. Just as she suspected....
There was more to it. And she would find it.
Evening fell, and Luna studied in the castle library, candlelight flickering across the pages of ancient texts...
Time passed. Quiet descended rain from the sky ...
And when the castle slept, so did its secrets awaken...
At midnight, Luna opened her eyes once more...
Lighting was striking , heaving rain was pouring....
"Really a strange weather"...
She rose from her bed without a sound, barefoot on cold stone. The time had come.
Tonight, she would return to the well.
And this time, she would not leave without answers....
Next chapter....