Ten years later.

The wind was blowing in Yeha.

The vast, powerful wind passed through the cracks of the boulders of Mount Paran and continuously brushed through the grassland. In the distance, one could hear the wolves howling to each other. The large circle in the blue sky looked down on the earth.

Ten years had passed since the Silver Nation’s prince, the Red King, had given up his position as Crown Prince and come to Yeha. Ten years had also passed since he had become the husband of Yujo, the Mergan of Yeha, and the king of the three nations of Yeha, EulMok, and TaeRyung.

During all this, the whole world had turned upside-down. The enraged emperor had leaped up and threatened to burn Yeha to the ground, but when he heard that Yeha’s Mergan was pregnant with the Red King’s child, he pushed back his invasion a day or two before pushing it back indefinitely.

While the government officials complained that the Red King’s departure to Yeha was his surrender and a betrayal, the empress didn’t miss this opportunity to take the Crown Prince’s son and declare him the new Crown Prince.

Time passed by. The Silver Nation’s emperor was still well and alive. The Crown Prince had just turned seventeen, and thankfully, he didn’t take after his father. Instead, like his mother, he was bright and kind.

One never knows the fate of humans. Although they had all believed the empress would live a long life, one year after Garan’s departure, she fell down the stairs and died. A year after that, the deposed Crown Prince succumbed to an unknown illness and died as well.

Of course, there were a lot of rumors floating around that it was actually the work of the emperor or that he had been killed by a religious fanatic who still believed in Paran’s priestess. However, no one could prove these theories.

Ultimately, as time passed, the rough waters gradually calmed, and everything took on a new shape.

The nations of EulMok and TaeRyung that had fallen to the Silver Nation united with Yeha to become one nation. They invited Garan to become their Supreme King and called their new nation ‘Paran’.

This wasn’t just because these nations had their roots in the ancient empire of Paran. Actually, this decision was made by those who had long dreamed of the resurrection of the divine nation of Paran.

The Supreme King and the Mergan of Yeha had one daughter and two sons between them. Out of all the children, their eldest daughter stood out.

She was strange. That was the best way to describe her.

From the moment she was born, she had a mysterious blue aura within her eyes. Anyone who met her for the first time noted that it was as if those eyes pierced through their souls, and she shocked everyone with her predictions.

The most famous example happened on the year she turned five. The drought was severe, and the nation groaned. At this time, the young girl claimed that the sky would cry in three days. However, these words merely brought laughter to the adults. Three days later, when the rain fell, everyone was shocked.

However, usually, she was just a normal, beautiful child. Like her father, she and her annoying brothers went around the capital and caused up a stir wherever they went. And like a daughter of Yeha, she was incredibly gifted on the horse and very talented with the bow and arrow.

More than anything, she had completely bewitched her father. It was rumored that if it had something to do with the princess, the Supreme King would wake up from his sleep and chase after her.

And like this, the days passed by. Happy days and difficult days repeated one after the other, but Garan and Yujo were blissfully happy. Because they were together in the present and in the future.

“Noona!”

ChungYeo ignored her brother’s call and raced up the hill like the wind on her horse. The faraway Mount Paran was facing her.

It was strange.

ChungYeo stopped her horse and looked around the vast grassland. The soft line of the horizon, the tents posted below, the dogs strolling with the flock of sheep… Nothing seemed out of the ordinary.

However, something was different. Something. The flow in the air, the feel of the heavens… They were different. The fact that her heart was racing was different.

Something was coming. Something was approaching her.

ChungYeo narrowed her eyes and gazed at Mount Paran. A breeze rustled her long, black hair and caused it to flutter near her mysterious eyes. She tilted her pale face as she continue to gaze at the mountain.

Suddenly, she saw a group of horses racing down the road from far away. Then she saw the carriages following behind them. Blue flags fluttered in the wind as it pierced the sky. They bore a phoenix, the symbol of the Silver Nation.

ChungYeo stood still and waited for them to come closer. A bulky man with a terrifying expression was at the front, his beard fluttering in the wind. However, only his face was scary. He was actually a kind-hearted person.

The man behind him had a thin face and slumped shoulders. Although he looked like that, he was actually a very talented person. And……

ChungYeo stopped breathing.

There was a boy behind him. Half of his hair was neatly tied up, and his jade-like face was very handsome. His posture on his horse was impeccable, and his eyes were sharp and clear like the blade of a sword……

Aah. It was them.

A soft smile spread on young ChungYeo’s lips.

The nine families who would come to protect her. And he was the strongest and bravest of them all.

Although he was soft, he could become fierce like a savage beast. He was her sword.

The wind blew through the grassland. The ambassadors from the Silver Nation who had come to meet with the Supreme King glanced at the pretty girl who was perched on top of a white horse. However, they didn’t call out to the child. The boy who was following behind them was struck with an odd feeling and looked up. He gazed at her.

Their eyes met.

The girl grinned, but the boy merely stared blankly back at her. Then, as if he were annoyed, the boy turned his head away. The girl’s smile grew even brighter.

It was a new spring, and it was a new beginning.

<The End>