Shadows by the Lake…
Night fell silently. The sky in Rose Valley was filled with the moon and stars, and clear of clouds.
The night air was crisp. Amidst the stillness of the village night, a lone silhouette stood by the edge of a small lake hidden among the wild roses.
Clara took off her robe and sat on a large rock. In her left hand, a small silver pendant swayed gently on the end of a chain. Her face was fixed on the lake, but her thoughts were far, far away.
Clara opened the pendant… There were two fragmented photographs of two girls. On the right side, a young girl with purple hair.
And on the left, a girl with silver hair. The young girl's face was smiling sincerely.
On the other side, the silver-haired girl's face was blurred… as if the world had erased that face from her memory.
Clara stared at the worn photograph in silence. Then she looked out at the lake.
"Have I been to a place like this before? Why does it feel so foreign and familiar at the same time?"
A few moments later… there was silence. But suddenly, the rustling sound of footsteps came from the bushes, followed by the faint scent of roses.
Clara frowned. She stood alert. Her right hand touched the dagger strapped to her waist.
Srek… kraakk… srek…
From the darkness, the sound of rustling leaves being trampled could be heard, followed by the scrabbling of twigs breaking. The sound grew closer and closer, piercing the silence of the night.
Clara braced herself for the worst. She held the dagger in her right hand… But what approached was a woman in a simple, crimson nightgown.
Marry.
A young mother who cared for her young daughter with great affection.
Clara had observed the woman for the past few days. Except for her mysterious aura, she seemed like a young mother who loved her daughter.
Marry walked over. Her silver hair was flowing, her blue eyes staring with clarity.
But unlike most young mothers, she wasn't the least bit surprised to see Clara holding her dagger.
"I didn't expect to see you here," Marry said softly, her voice a melody of the night.
"I didn't expect you to be out so late either," Clara replied, hiding her tension in a flat tone.
Marry walked slowly and sat down on another rock not far from Clara.
For a moment, neither of them spoke. Only the sound of crickets, the gentle breeze, and the trickling water accompanied them.
—
A Conversation Between Two Shadows…
Marry stared at the clear lake water. The reflection of the moon and stars is reflected in the deep water.
Clara remained silent. Then… Marry broke the silence of the night and said:
"This place is too quiet… too quiet for a royal detective like you, isn't it?" Marry said, her tone sarcastic yet gentle.
Clara turned and stared at Marry sharply.
"A quiet place doesn't mean it's free from shadows."
Marry smiled faintly. The night breeze ruffled her silver hair.
"That's right. Even shadows can dance beautifully under the light of the moon and stars."
Clara paused for a moment, then asked, "Who are you, really?"
Marry didn't answer immediately. She simply stared up at the night sky.
"I'm just a young mother... who wants my little daughter to grow up healthy... and smile every day."
Clara gripped the dagger tightly in her right hand.
"You're no ordinary villager. Your gaze, the way you walk, the way you talk... even the way you hide your intentions. None of that belongs to a young mother living in a remote village."
Marry turned to Clara. But her gaze remained as calm as lake water.
"And you... think too much that you forget to feel it."
Clara was silent. The night air felt cold and piercing.
—
Dancing Under the Moonlight and Stars…
Then… Marry stood and stepped to the edge of the lake.
Suddenly, the fragrant yet pungent scent of roses wafted through the night air.
Clara frowned, but she remained vigilant.
Marry raised her hands. She danced. Her body spun slowly.
Her steps were light. Her movements were beautiful. At first glance, it looked like a typical ballet.
But her movements were so agile and sharp, as if she were dancing in a minefield.
Marry danced with both elegance and lethality, like an executioner mercilessly executing her targets.
Clara's eyes widened. She tried to recall a dark, forgotten memory.
That move… [shadow dance of crimson thorns], a deadly yet elegant fighting technique resembling a ballet used to execute dozens of soldiers in one merciless movement.
Ten years ago… the Blood Rose Princess used that technique to execute tyrants and corrupt knights on the battlefield.
Clara's body tensed. Her breath hitched. The pendant in her left hand fell to the grass without her realising it.
"That can't be…" she muttered.
Marry finished her movements and stood with her back to Clara.
"You've seen this dance before, haven't you?" she asked softly, yet sharply.
Clara stood, her green eyes wide.
"WHO ARE YOU?" Clara's shout shattered the silence of the night.
Marry looked up at the night sky. Her blue eyes glistened under the moonlight and stars.
"I already answered, Miss Clara."
Clara took a step forward.
"You… are the Blood Rose Princess…?"
Marry smiled faintly… but her smile wasn't threatening. It was more like the gentle smile of a mother missing her daughter.
"The Blood Rose Princess died long ago, after the world forgot its sins seven years ago…"
Marry turned, her blue eyes meeting her green ones.
"All that remains now… is a mother and a wound she didn't want to pass on to her daughter."
—
A Crack in Clara's Heart...
Clara was speechless. The vague memories she'd buried so far… were now starting to come back.
Clara's body trembled. Her hands wavered. And the dagger she'd previously held tightly… fell down and plunged into the wild rose petals.
Clara covered her mouth with both hands. She began to recall the vague image of a woman in a rose dress who had saved her during a bloody siege… ten years ago.
Back then… she had been investigating a serial killer feared by the nobility and had exposed his identity in the media.
But instead of cornering the blood-sucking executioner, she revealed the truth… about who the serial killer was… why he was killing nobles… and why he bore all the wounds.
Detective Clara released a public statement that shook the Rose Kingdom. The news was shocking and became a hot topic among the common people for days.
Clara, who had always been known as a voice of conscience for the common people, rose to fame. Her fame soared. She was the talk of the taverns. The common people praised her courage, honesty, decisiveness, and dedication, while others felt anger, doubt, and fear.
But behind the support and doubt, there was always opposition. The nobles, feeling abused, refused to let Clara live in peace.
A week after her statement was released to the newspapers… Clara was hunted by a brutal and cruel dark organisation.
Clara tried to fight back… but she was outnumbered. She ran and hid in an old church, but her pursuers wouldn't let her.
They bombarded her with magic and explosions on a full moon night. She was covered in blood, dying, and close to despair…
When her hope for survival was as thin as paper… a silver-haired girl shielded her body from the explosions and despair.
She hugged her and whispered, "You must live on… the world can still be saved with your heart."
Her green eyes began to moisten. Her shoulders trembled.
Tess… tess… tess…
Tears welled up, falling and wetting the wild rose petals.
Clara covered her mouth with both hands. Then… she opened her mouth slowly and said:
"I… knew you before… before the world chose to forget… Why did you save me then? Why did the world forget you?!"
Marry was silent. She neither confirmed nor denied it.
"If your memories have returned... and you feel the need to arrest me, I won't fight you."
Marry was silent for a moment. Her nightgown fluttered in the night breeze.
"But don't touch Caelan..." Marry's shoulders tensed as she mentioned her little daughter's name. "She's my little daughter... a child born without inheriting the memories of the world."
Clara stared at Marry silently. Her shoulders tensed.
Her vision blurred with tears. She bit her lip and froze in place... then she said:
"I... don't know what to do."
Marry smiled faintly and said:
"Then... don't do anything for now... unless you listen to your heart."
Marry walked away from Clara. Before leaving, she looked back and said:
"Detective Clara... you're different from those who turn a blind eye. You're always steadfast, right... and always listen to the pain..."
Marry was silent for a moment. A small smile played across her lips.
"You're a detective with a conscience. Follow your heart!"
Marry walked away from Clara. And her footsteps disappeared along with the disappearance of the scent of roses… Clara still stood frozen by the lake.
She clutched her tight chest.
"Blood Rose Princess… why did you come to see me?! What should I do?"
The night breeze blew against her damp face. The air felt colder and pierced her pores.
That night… the conscientious detective, after seven years, encountered the takbir of truth again… and it brought her back to the shadows of the past.
—
Back at the Inn…
A while later… after calming herself, Clara returned to the inn without a word.
Clara sat on a wooden chair. In front of her, documents were still piled on the table, waiting to be sorted.
But Clara didn't touch them.
Clara took a silver pendant from her pocket. She opened it… There were two fragments of a photograph. Two young girls.
The young girl with purple hair was young Detective Clara.
And that night, Clara finally knew the face of the silver-haired girl who had escaped.
She was Marry El Rose, the former princess of the Rose Kingdom, who abandoned her name, honour, and compassion, and became the final judge of mankind.
The executioner of blood, that's what the world called her seven years ago, before it chose to forget her.
Clara held the pendant tightly in both hands… then she pressed it to her forehead, as if she were dissolving back into a memory of the past.
And at the same time, on the other side of the lake, Marry stood on the shore. The silver-haired woman's shadow reflected in the waters. She whispered to the night.
"Clara… if you remember me… will you judge me… or will you let me go… just like you did 10 years ago?!"
The night wind blew, stirring the surface of the lake, carrying her whispers into the silence of the night.
That night, under the moonlight and stars, two women who once carried the weight of the world's history… met again.
Fate brought them together again… in the shadow of the past and in response to the takbir of the sins of a world that chooses to forget.