On her 25^th birthday, Hitomi never expected to have herself suddenly waking up on a luxurious bed inside an equally luxurious large bedroom with white and gold aesthetics.

 

She woke up tucked underneath the comfortable and warm covers, something that she had never dreamed of experiencing as she was only a mere commoner, a daughter of a baker, and a wife of a farmer.

 

The large doors creaked open as Hitomi sat up, still trying to wrap her mind around the mind-boggling situation. She watched, with utter astonishment in her eyes, as the tall man dressed so immaculately in classic butler outfit stepped inside the room, with a small quick of his lips and a gentle curve on his slanted dark eyes.

 

The man strode to where Hitomi was, his steps quick and precise, oozing with certain elegance and charisma Hitomi thought didn’t fit that of common men.

 

He bowed, still smiling gently with amusement in his bespectacled eyes. “My name is Hangyul, Young Miss,” he said, his voice was smooth and gentle, deep and warm. “Her Majesty is waiting for you.”

 

Hitomi blinked. It was silent for a few awkward minutes before Hitomi gathered up the courage to crease her eyebrows and uttered out a bewildered, “what?”

 

But before Hangyul could repeat what he said, the door was opened once again. The enormous twin doors were opened in a very wide arch and very brash manner that it created a noisy slamming sound as it crashed against the wall.

 

Entering the room was a woman this time. Tall, beautiful, dressed in what Hitomi think the best dress she had ever seen in her life. The woman had long, slightly wavy brown hair that reached her waist. Her eyes were shaped like that of a fox but with deep, smoldering gaze that could burn you all over with just a glance on her part.

 

Perhaps Hitomi wasn’t as educated as the scholars in the Capital, but it didn’t take even a second for her to identify the woman as someone very influential—and perhaps, she was probably a ruler of a country.

 

The woman, like the butler, strode to where she was. Her steps were slow, but there was a certain lazy rhythm that reminded Hitomi of how predators stalk their prey. Not to mention her deep gaze. Hitomi felt small under her insistent stare. She looked away as the woman inched closer, her heart hammering against her chest and she wanted nothing more but escape, yet found that her limbs felt like they were locked in place out of fear.

 

She stopped beside Hangyul. A quick glance from her was enough to make the young butler excuse himself, not forgetting to close the door as he went.

 

It was another silence with Hitomi racking her brain trying to find the reason why she was here. Her parents, back when they were alive, weren’t the kind of people who liked to involve themselves with thugs and other shady people. They never had a huge debt that require them to sell their most precious heirloom and they were kind to everyone.

 

Her husband was the same. He wasn’t that much of a fool to involve himself with shady people.

 

So why?

 

Hitomi braced herself as glanced to where the woman was standing, swallowing the lump in , her eyes shaking in fear now that she realized the woman was closer than she expected. Just beside the bed, she was crossing her arms with her lips still curved down. Yet there was a certain gentleness that seemed so out of the picture in her deep foxy eyes.

 

Knowing that Hitomi would never be so brave to end the silence, the woman expelled a long sigh as she sat down on the bedside. Hitomi instinctively flinched back. She sighed again. This time, she ran her fingers through her lush black hair as she tugged her lips up, forcing herself to smile just for a little bit.

 

“Do you know me?”

 

The blonde-haired woman slowly shook her head, sharply inhaling through before she softly muttered a tentative, “No.”

 

She, the other woman, expelled another sigh. She repeated her action of running her fingers through her hair before she scooted even closer. Her action was supposed to alarm Hitomi, but there was something that tugged at her heartstrings—

 

The strange desire to throw herself at the nameless beauty in front of her.

 

“My name is Kim Minjoo,” the woman introduced herself, smiling genuinely now that Hitomi didn’t back away. “Does that name seems familiar to you?”

 

——————————

 

The Capitol was a place where only the greatest of magicians live. The Capitol was an artificial floating land high above the Capital. It was another world of its own, so vastly different from the Capital on the ground. Even if the Capital was still swarmed by magic users, it was not to be compared with those who dwell in the Capitol.

 

Reigning the throne of these powerful magic users was Kim Minjoo, a young woman that was not only blessed by incredible intelligence but also God-like powers in her. Her parents were as powerful as her, but they have long since perished from the war, leaving the young Kim as the sole heir for the throne.

 

There was a rumor that not only she was a mortal with high intelligence and supreme power, she was also blessed with the beauty that could rival the Gods themselves. Neither of the people could fully confirm it as the young ruler was always seen wearing a mask that covered half of her face, but just by her gaze and the shape of the lower part of her face was enough of a confirmation that Minjoo was indeed a beauty.

 

Beautiful enough to render everyone mute, slack-jawed; with their heart feeling as if it wanted to jump out from their chest.

 

——————————

 

At once, Hitomi snapped out from her dazed state upon realizing, blinking her eyes rapidly at the same time the powerful magician reached her hand to her, seemingly about to her cheek.

 

She suddenly flinched away from her hand, suddenly feeling a painful burn that was concentrated on her back the moment her fingers came in contact with her skin. It wasn’t the pain that could usher a scream from her, but it was still a sensation that still could make her writhe.

 

At first, she thought that it was all because of Minjoo’s touch—but the moment Minjoo grabbed a hold of her shoulders, gently shaking her body while she was writhing in pain, the pain greatly lessened until it was no more.

 

Enveloping her next was only warmth and a sense of comfort she never thought would feel with a stranger.

 

Minjoo pulled away, but her hand still lingered near Hitomi’s own. “Are you alright?” She asked with her head slightly tilted to the side, her eyebrows slightly creased, and her deep eyes showing nothing but concern. “Did I hurt you?”

 

“...Yes.” Hitomi didn’t hesitate in answering, still confused herself. “What did you do to me?”

 

Minjoo instantly backed away, holding her arms up with wide eyes. Hurt flashed in those deep brown eyes, but Hitomi was too bewildered on the sudden painful burn to care enough about it. “I didn’t do anything! I swear to the Gods; I didn’t do anything to you. I would never hurt my own soulmate, Hitomi.”

 

That took her back. “Soulmate?”

 

Minjoo nodded. “Soulmate. Honda Hitomi-sshi, you are my soulmate. It’s what the mark on your nape tells you.”

 

“You must be mistaken, Your Majesty.”

 

“Because first of all, I don’t have any soul mark on my nape.”

 

“And second of all, I’m married.”

 

——————————

 

In this world, soulmates existed. Whether or not you were born with mana in your body, distinctive marking would appear on your nape during your birth. Once you were an adult, the marking would change to that of your soulmate’s magical seal that was unique for each individual. Soulmates all have similar patterns on the middle part of their magic seal.

 

Hitomi knew that she wasn’t one of those lucky people as she was born with no mana flow in her, alongside the distinctive marking on her nape like what on her parents’ nape. She accepted that she was one of the very few unlucky people who were not blessed with a soulmate.

 

That was why she decided to settle down with another poor soul who decided to give up on his soulmate. For common folks like her, it wasn’t rare for them to choose to stay single or marry someone else when they knew that their soulmate was that from the high society. Most were men who didn’t gain the women’s parents’ approval.

 

But now... the most powerful and not to mention a respected person in the Empire, only second after the Royal Family, claimed that she was her soulmate?

 

——————————

 

Minjoo didn’t react strongly at her revelation. She didn’t even react at all. She just kept that thin smile on her face.

 

“I know you are married,” she said, “but your husband... Hiro-sshi’s soulmate isn’t you, isn’t that correct?” Minjoo’s smile grew slightly wider. “She was that daughter of the Paladin. Not you.”

 

“That’s none of your concern.” Hitomi’s voice wavered. “I love him and he loves me.”

 

“But his love to you isn’t as grand as what he feels for her.”

 

Minjoo was right. They might love each other, but Hiro could never forget about his soulmate he had given up just because he was deemed unworthy by her parents. It was the bitter pill Hitomi had to swallow every day, every moment.

 

“It still doesn’t mean that I am your soulmate, Your Majesty.”

 

“Look,” Minjoo exhaled, “I’m the most powerful magician in this place, Hitomi-sshi. I might have done a lot of mistakes, but this was not it. The thread of fate led me to you.”

 

“I don’t have any mark on my nape, Your Majesty,” Hitomi repeated it again through gritted teeth. “I am not your soulmate.”

 

“You are, my darling.” Minjoo gestured at the mirror, just placed near them. “Look into the mirror.”

 

Hastily, Hitomi scrambled to where the mirror is standing, pulling her blonde hair aside and turning around to see her nape. She expected to see nothing, but there it was—the marking! It was no longer a shape that she used to see on the children’s nape—but already took the form of a white rose-like pattern.

 

As if taking it as her cue, Minjoo’s hand started to glow as Hitomi turned to her. Her hand glowed gold, a magical seal slowly taking form. A white rose-like pattern hovered on top of her hand before a burst of flame engulfed her hand. Minjoo strode to where Hitomi was, her arm stretched out.

 

“Your hand, Hitomi-sshi.”

 

Hitomi hesitated, remembering the effect. But she still placed her hand on top of hers, with a face that showed reluctance. “I’m not magical,” she felt the need to say, eyeing at their joined hands. The moment Minjoo’s hand brushed against her own, Hitomi felt warm. It was as if something in her burst and the warmth spread all over her body.

 

“Was,” the ruler corrected, smiling. Her thumb caressed the back of Hitomi’s hand gently and her smile grew. “Your body is b with one of the strongest mana I’ve ever sensed.”

 

“That’s a lie.”

 

Minjoo raised an eyebrow. “We’ll find out. I want you to concentrate on your hand. Do you feel a warmth inside of you?” Hitomi hesitated, but nodded to answer her question. “Good. Channel it to your hand, love.”

 

So she did. Closing her eyes, she concentrated, pouring the newfound warmth to it until there was a spark on her palm. She opened her eyes at the moment the temperature on her palm changed, and instead of the transparent air, there was a circle of some sort on top of her hand. The magic seal. It swirled beautifully, its color reminded Hitomi that of the fruit in her backyard. The middle part of it was empty for some reason.

 

“Why don’t I have a pattern like yours?”

 

“Don’t worry, it’s a normal thing for late bloomers.” As if to prove that, Minjoo cast aside her hair from her nape, revealing the pattern that Hitomi recognized as a young soulmate mark. It meant that either she was still not yet an adult, her soulmate isn’t yet an adult, or if her soulmate had yet to ‘choose’ their own ‘signature’. “You only need to pour your mana more and you’ll get your own soul mark. Something that is unique for each individual.”

 

But instead of doing as Minjoo told her, Hitomi only narrowed her eyes. “I’m never a mage,” Hitomi slowly said, frowning as she clenched her fist, suddenly feeling very ill at the sudden revelation. The magic seal disappeared as she let go of the warmth. She gritted her teeth, casting an accusing glare at the powerful magician before her. “Did you do this to me?”

 

Minjoo held her hand up without any hesitation. “I swear on my magic that I did not manipulate any of your ability. Manipulating others’ mana was never my forte.”

 

“I am not a mage, Minjoo-sshi,” the commoner said again. “But why do I have this and—“ she pointed at her nape “—this? Who else could do all of this if it’s not you, the greatest magician of this age?”

 

“I might be powerful, but I’m not strong enough to defy Fate and Destiny,” Minjoo answered calmly, but her smile had dropped, her expression had slowly changed to that of slight displeasure. “Try to concentrate more and ‘choose’ your own signature now, Hitomi-sshi.”

 

Hitomi frowned, seemingly displeased. Nevertheless, she held her palm out again and concentrated the newfound feeling of warmth on her body on her palm. The peach-colored magical seal started to form in her hand, this time glowing brighter as Hitomi poured more of the said warmth there.

 

There were sparks. Her seal glowed brighter and when the glow had dissipated, there was a familiar rose-like pattern. It looked similar to Minjoo’s own, but it was a lot simpler and peach-colored. Minjoo suddenly yelped, clutching her nape as if in pain. She opened her palm after several seconds, and Hitomi marveled at the peach-colored, simple rose-like pattern replacing the previously black and rectangle-like shaped mark.

 

“I—I don’t understand.”

 

“We are soulmates,” Minjoo explained it again, tapping the newly transformed mark on her nape with a thin smile on her lips. “Is that too much for you to accept and understand, Hitomi-sshi?”

 

“I’m married and I love my husband.” Hitomi shook her head. “I can’t be with you. I don’t love you, Minjoo-sshi.”

 

“Yet, Hitomi-sshi,” she softly interjected, sounding worryingly full of confidence with that sudden burst of laugh that was quick to cease with her palm covering her curved lips, “you have yet to fall in love with me.”

 

“I love Hiro.”

 

“Feelings will change,” Minjoo chuckled, withdrawing to stand by the bedside, her smirk still in place. “Soon, it’s going to be me. Until then, feel free to roam around the palace. You are mine and I am yours—everything here is mine, so that also makes them yours by default.”

 

---

 

AN: And that's a wrap. Thank you for reading!