"Don't you think she's beautiful?" she asked him as she walked to her bed. She sat at the edge of the bed, "A true beauty just like the old one," she added, looking at her servant. "No one is as beautiful as you, your highness," he answered her. He walked beside her and tucked her into bed; treating her like a little princess. The queen didn't actually like people treating her like a kid but if it was him, she was fine with it. She felt warmth and cared from him; like she was her special person.

His hand slipped her bangs to the side and pecked her forehead. "Good night, your highness," he said, his voice sounded like a whisper. Ji Won smiled and slowly closed her eyes, "Good night, Jinwoo," she said and went to sleep. When the queen had fallen to sleep, Jinwoo left her room. He closed the door behind him softly to avoid waking up the queen. He walked along the corridors and stopped at a dead end. A door was hidden behind the mirror which leads to the underground paths servants used to commute between the south manor and the queen's manor but it was hidden from everyone now.

He tapped the mirror twice and spoke in an ancient language. The wall started to move and opened a path for him. Once he entered, the wall closed silently. Candles were hung on the walls, showing the path to him. The path leads him to the south manor which was shut down long ago but the queen had assigned him to take care of it. The doors and windows above which lead to the south manor were all locked so the only way to the manor was to used the hidden path. Once he reached the end, he pulled a lever and the wall opened up a wide hall upon him.

The hall was dusty and dirty as it had been years it was used and cleaned. Endless hallways and intertwined stairways at every corner of the manor. If a child had been lost in the manor, it would take weeks for them to find the child. Jinwoo held a candlestick on his right hand to see his way since all of the lights were already burnt. He climbed one of the stairs and reached a room. The room was situated at the highest tower of the manor which allowed him to see everything outside.

It wasn't big but for a commoner it was quite wide. A double bed was placed at one corner of the room. Pictures of a lady were hanged on the walls, they looked a bit dusty but it was better than the other decorations in the manor. It was the only room that had light in it. The room was quite a messed; the unmade bed was scattered with books and papers on it. He pushed the books away from his bed, not caring about them falling to the floor. Suddenly he heard a loud noise coming from the hall, a loud crashed echoed.

He quickly ran to the hall, holding the candlestick in his hand. He tripped a few times but he ignored the pain. 'What if it's Ji Won?' he thought, worried about the queen's safety. The manor was already old, some parts might collapse anytime. He saw the chandelier in the hall had fell from the ceiling. He always forgot to pull it down since it was already old and rusted. The glass decorated on the chandelier shattered into pieces but relief came; luckily it didn't hit anyone but he found a slipper from the queen's manor. Someone had followed him.

He looked around the hall and saw a small figure lying on the floor. She had her hands on her chest, trembling with fear. Tears gathered beneath her eyes and flowed down to her cheeks. Their eyes met and the woman finally stopped crying. He knew her just by seeing her amber eyes; it was Krystal. He walked to her and bent his knee to be on the same eye-level as her, "Did you follow me?" he asked. His voice almost sounded like a hiss. Krystal nodded her head and pointed at the hidden pathway behind Jinwoo.

Jinwoo let out a sigh, "Are you hurt?" he asked again but this time his voice sounded full of concerned. Krystal nodded her head again and showed her leg. It seems she had twisted her ankle while trying to save herself from getting hit by the chandelier. He touched her right ankle and she flinched, biting her lower lip. "Can you stand?" he asked, putting her arm around his shoulder to support her weight. Krystal tried to stand but she couldn't move her right leg.

Jinwoo bent and carried her into his arms, Krystal's legs were now above the floor. He climbed the stairs and head to his room. He rested her on a chair and raised her right leg a bit higher using a pillow. He went somewhere and brought back something; a small white box. Inside, it cotains a few medicines and herbs and some white cloth. "I don't much about alchemy but I can help you treat it," he told her as he took out some smashed herbs and rubbed it on her ankle. She felt cold and a little bit sting.

He threw the herbs away and cleaned it off using a damp cloth. He rubbed some soft liquid on it, then wrapped it with the white cloth around her leg neatly. "That would work fine," he closed the box and put it away. He stood in front of her, "So why exactly were you following me?" he asked, looking serious. Krystal lowered her face, 'Because I was curious. It was the first time I heard a human could speak Chthonian language,' she thought. If only she had a voice to speak, s