Chapter Two
1028 Words
Three days passed far too quickly.
For Elara, they disappeared beneath a blur of preparations, questions, and uncomfortable discoveries.
She had spent most of the first day exploring her new memories, trying to separate what belonged to her from what belonged to the original Elara Veyne.
It was harder than she expected.
She knew how to play the piano.
She knew the names of the servants.
She knew which flowers grew in the eastern garden.
She knew that her mother hated thunderstorms and that her father drank his tea without sugar.
But those memories didn't feel like hers.
They were fragments.
Pieces of someone else's life placed inside her mind.
And that frightened her more than anything else.
On the morning of their departure, Elara stood before the mirror while a maid fastened the final clasp of her traveling cloak.
The dress beneath it was simple by noble standards, made from dark blue fabric with silver embroidery along the sleeves.
She looked elegant.
Too elegant for someone who was desperately trying not to die.
"How much longer until we arrive?" Elara asked.
The maid smiled.
"Approximately two days, my lady."
Elara sighed.
Two days inside a carriage.
Two days closer to the capital.
Two days closer to the plot.
She turned toward the window.
Beyond the estate, several carriages waited in the courtyard. Horses stamped impatiently against the stone while servants loaded luggage.
Her father had decided that the entire family would travel together.
Apparently, refusing the Crown Prince's invitation wasn't an option.
Elara still wasn't convinced this was a coincidence.
The original Elara had never been invited to the capital.
Not once.
So why had the invitation arrived now?
She touched the faint silver mark on her wrist.
It had appeared the morning after her transmigration.
A small symbol resembling a crescent moon surrounded by tiny stars.
Whenever she touched it, she felt warmth beneath her skin.
She hadn't told anyone about it.
Something inside her warned her not to.
"Lady Elara."
She turned.
Her mother stood in the doorway.
"You'll catch a chill."
Elara smiled faintly.
"I'm coming."
Her mother approached and gently adjusted her cloak.
For a moment, neither spoke.
Then the older woman whispered,
"Be careful in the capital."
Elara's smile disappeared.
There was something strange in her mother's expression.
Fear.
Not ordinary worry.
Fear.
"Why?"
Her mother hesitated.
"Because the capital isn't as safe as people believe."
Before Elara could ask what she meant, her mother stepped away.
"Your father is waiting."
Elara watched her leave.
A cold feeling settled in her stomach.
Something was wrong.
She just didn't know what.
The journey began beneath a gray sky.
Their carriage rolled away from the estate, its wheels crunching over gravel before joining the ancient road leading toward the Imperial Capital.
Elara sat beside the window.
For the first several hours, she simply watched the landscape.
Elarion was breathtaking.
Forests stretched endlessly across the horizon, their leaves glowing faintly with magical light.
Rivers shimmered beneath the sunlight.
Occasionally, strange creatures appeared between the trees.
Some resembled deer.
Others looked nothing like anything Elara had ever seen.
Once, a creature with enormous silver wings flew overhead.
Elara pressed her face closer to the window.
"Beautiful."
Her father glanced at her.
"You've always liked magical beasts."
She turned.
"Really?"
Cedric raised an eyebrow.
"You don't remember?"
Elara's heart skipped.
She quickly looked outside.
"I was just distracted."
He studied her for a moment but said nothing.
That was becoming a problem.
The more time she spent around people who had known the original Elara, the more likely they were to notice something was different.
She needed to be careful.
Very careful.
That evening, they stopped at an inn near the edge of the Blackwood Forest.
Elara stepped outside while the servants unloaded their belongings.
The forest stood several hundred meters away.
Tall black trees rose toward the sky.
Mist curled between their roots.
She remembered this place.
Not from the novel's main storyline.
From a side chapter.
The Blackwood Forest was considered one of the safest magical forests in the empire.
At least during the day.
At night, however, things changed.
A strange sound came from between the trees.
Elara froze.
A low growl.
She slowly turned.
Nothing.
Then another sound.
Closer.
Her hand instinctively moved toward the small dagger attached to her belt.
A pair of golden eyes appeared in the darkness.
Elara stopped breathing.
A creature stepped from the trees.
It looked like a wolf.
But it was much larger.
Its black fur shimmered with blue magical markings.
A Moonfang.
Elara knew what it was.
A high-level magical beast.
It should not have been anywhere near the road.
The creature lowered its head.
Its eyes locked onto hers.
Elara's heart pounded.
She reached for her dagger.
The Moonfang growled.
Then suddenly—
It collapsed.
Elara stared.
The beast trembled on the ground.
Black veins spread across its neck.
Mental corruption.
Her eyes widened.
That was impossible.
Magical beasts could become corrupted, but rarely.
The creature's spiritual energy surged violently.
Elara felt something inside her respond.
Warmth spread through her chest.
The silver mark on her wrist began glowing.
She stepped forward before she could stop herself.
"Easy."
The Moonfang snarled.
Elara slowly extended her hand.
"I won't hurt you."
The creature's body shook.
Then her fingers touched its forehead.
A wave of warmth exploded between them.
The corruption disappeared.
The Moonfang went completely still.
Elara stared.
She could feel its emotions.
Fear.
Pain.
Confusion.
And beneath all of it—
Relief.
She slowly withdrew her hand.
The Moonfang opened its eyes.
For several seconds, they stared at each other.
Then the creature lowered its head.
Almost like a bow.
Elara's breath caught.
Behind her, a voice suddenly spoke.
"Interesting."
She spun around.
No one stood there.
Only the dark forest.
Her pulse quickened.
She looked back at the Moonfang.
It was gone.
Only footprints remained in the dirt.
Elara stared into the darkness.
Someone had been watching.
Someone who had witnessed everything.
She slowly tightened her grip around her dagger.
The journey to the capital had barely begun.
And already, the story was changing.
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