---
The room was quiet, lit only by the soft glow of a nearby lantern. Steam curled upward as warm water lapped at Laraine's skin, calming the ache in her muscles. Her head rested against the edge of the wooden tub, silver-blue strands fanned loosely over her shoulder—no disguise, no lies. Just her.
She stared at her reflection in the rippling surface, uncertain.
No one would recognize her like this.
Except one person already had.
Her fingers drifted down to her collarbone… then lower.
She paused.
There. Faint, but visible even beneath the candlelight.
A mark.
A smudge of deep red, like a bruise left by someone's lips.
Her breath hitched.
Vienna.
Vi hummed in her mind, far too smug.
{Aw, you noticed~ You must've made quite an impression, princess. Literally.}
'She doesn't even know it's me…'
{And yet she still left a souvenir. Romance is dead. But your tension? Alive and kicking.}
Laraine shook her head and pulled the towel tighter around her and reactivated her disguise as she stepped out of the bath.
Moments later, she sat by the small fire, drying her hair with a cloth.
That's when Elise stepped in.
Her eyes lingered for a heartbeat too long—just long enough for Laraine to know something was off.
"I won't lie to you, but I know what I saw, Raine," Elise said softly, voice steady but serious. "And it was definitely blue hair."
Laraine flinched.
She said nothing.
Just kept drying her hair.
{Yay! This is the part where secrets unravel and the drama blossoms~}
Elise stepped closer but didn't push. "It's fine if you don't want to talk. I won't pressure you."
Laraine glanced over, meeting her gaze for a breath. Then she nodded once.
"Thank you," she murmured.
The silence lingered between them—not tense, but heavy. Like a string pulled taut between truth and trust.
To distract herself, Laraine opened her system interface.
---
[SYSTEM MENU — OPENED]
[INVENTORY UNLOCKED]
Slots: 10
• Rootcut Dagger — Rare
• Relic of the Forsaken Flame — Legendary
• Ration Bar (x2)
• Disguise Ring (C-Grade)
• Cracked Coin (???)
[MAP UNLOCKED]
Current Region: South Luthain Forest
Zone: Village of Birthmere
• New Pin Added: Mourning Tree Ruins
• Point of Interest: Old Ma Kerva's Hut
• Warning: Magical distortion detected nearby
---
'Huh,' Laraine thought. 'That's new.'
{Yes~ Welcome to post-tutorial privileges. Next up: awkward confessions, bloodline upgrades, and maybe kissing. Not necessarily in that order.}
Laraine rolled her eyes, but the smirk tugged at her lips before she could stop it.
Elise, still sitting nearby, spoke up again.
"I don't know who you are," she said quietly, "but I don't think you're a bad person."
Laraine glanced at her, startled.
{Yeah right} Vi snickered
'shut up!'
"I just hope this secret of yours doesn't make me whind up dead" Elise added, not looking up.
Laraine didn't respond.
But the fire crackled gently between them, and for now… that was enough.
---
Morning came slowly to Birthmere, stretching soft gold across cracked windows and dust-covered floorboards. The inn creaked as if waking from a heavy dream, shadows melting from the corners of the room.
But Laraine hadn't slept.
Not really.
She sat cross-legged near the window now, steam curling from a chipped mug in her hands. Her disguise held steady—brown hair, faded eyes, the picture of some mercenary girl named Raine.
But inside?
The storm never stilled.
"You always get up early?" Elise's voice drifted from behind, quiet but not groggy. She'd been awake too.
Laraine nodded, not turning.
"You know," Elise continued, padding barefoot across the creaky floor, "you're not very good at pretending."
That made her pause.
Laraine looked over her shoulder.
Elise stood there, arms folded across her chest, loose strands of hair falling into her face. Her blade was strapped to her side, but there was no aggression in her stance.
Just honesty.
"You say you're a mercenary," Elise said. "You move like one, fight like one… but something doesn't add up."
Laraine stayed quiet, eyes unreadable.
"You act like someone who used to have everything," Elise continued, "and lost it all at once."
The words struck closer than Laraine wanted to admit.
She looked down at her mug. The steam had cooled.
"Am I wrong?" Elise asked.
Laraine didn't answer.
Not directly.
Instead, she said, "If you knew who I really was… would you still be here?"
Elise blinked.
"That depends," she said carefully. "Did the real you kill my parents? Or raze my village?"
"No."
"Then maybe I'd stay," Elise said. "Long enough to figure you out."
That earned a quiet, almost sad laugh from Laraine.
"You're strange."
"I've been called worse."
The moment passed like a leaf in the wind—soft, easy to miss.
But something between them shifted. Just slightly.
And in that stillness, Vi piped up.
{This is all very touching. I'm tearing up. Look—see that glitch in the corner of your eye? That's a system tear from emotional overflow. So proud of you... But don't forget why you were reborn Laraine.}
'You're annoying.'
{I know~}
Laraine stood, brushing off her cloak. "We should go. There's still a quest marker open on the map."
"Oh? The cursed tree wasn't enough for one lifetime?"
"Apparently not."
---
[QUEST OBJECTIVE UPDATED: Investigate Magical Distortion]
• Location: Mourning Tree Ruins (North Sector)
• Status: Pulsing
• Optional Trigger: Activate Relic of the Forsaken Flame
---
They stepped outside together. The morning was fogged in, the sun filtered through a veil of mist. Birthmere looked less like a village and more like a ghost clinging to itself.
As they walked toward the edge of the forest, Elise reached into her satchel and pulled out a thin, folded piece of paper.
"What's that?" Laraine asked.
"A map. One I drew when I first passed through here."
Laraine raised a brow. "You drew it?"
"I was a traveling herbalist before… everything."
"You don't seem like one."
"I don't seem like a lot of things," Elise said. "Guess we have that in common."
Laraine tilted her head. "So you really weren't just some merchant?"
"No," Elise said, her voice softer now. "I worked with someone. My older brother. He… went missing near these woods. That's why I came back. I thought maybe he passed through here."
Laraine blinked, startled. "You never said that."
"You never asked."
{Fair enough.}
For once, Laraine didn't know what to say. The thought of someone else losing family stirred too many memories—faces that burned with betrayal, lips that whispered lies in royal tongues.
And one girl with cold silver eyes and a blade who once kissed her like it meant nothing.
Vienna.
She swallowed hard.
Before she could answer, the fog thickened. The Mourning Tree's silhouette loomed ahead again, even darker in the pale morning light.
Its branches stretched like twisted fingers toward the sky, unmoving. Waiting.
"I hate this place," Elise muttered.
"Same."
As they reached the clearing, a soft pulse rippled through the ground.
Then another.
Vi's voice dropped to a warning whisper.
{That magical distortion is growing. And there's a pattern—it's reacting to you. Specifically, your relic. Might be time to test it out~}
'I'm not activating cursed jewelry just because the forest said please.'
{But wouldn't it be fun?}
Laraine ignored her and stepped closer.
This time, she didn't trip.
But Elise grabbed her arm anyway.
"Wait."
Laraine looked back.
"You really sure you want to touch it again?"
Laraine considered lying.
Then didn't.
"No."
And she reached out.
Not to touch the bark—but to press the Rootcut Dagger into the soil beneath it.
A thin vibration trembled through the blade. The air shifted.
The tree… sighed?
Like it had been waiting.
And somewhere deep in the roots, something stirred.
---
[Quest Progress: 75% — Root Memory Triggered]
• Fragment Unlocked: Laraine's Past (I)
• Memory Available in Dreamspace
• Caution: Bloodline Awakening Progressed to 29%
---
The ground pulsed once more.
Then stilled.
"I felt that," Elise whispered.
Laraine pulled the blade free.
"Yeah. So did I."
They turned to leave—but not before Elise said, almost too quietly:
"I meant what I said. I don't think you're a bad person."
Laraine paused, her back still turned.
And for a moment, she considered telling her.
Her name. Her past. The truth.
But instead—
She simply said, "Let's get back."
---
Back at the inn, the fire burned low again. Vi remained unusually quiet as Laraine sat alone after Elise had turned in for a nap.
She pulled up the system window once more.
---
[System Message — Bloodline Status]
• Current Resonance: 29%
• Passive Buff: Increased fire channeling
• Unlocked Memory Fragments: 1/6
• Warning: Stability fluctuates under emotional duress
• Suggestion: Avoid prolonged exposure to mourning-linked relics
[Inventory Reminder]
• You still have that hickey.
• Vienna is still confused.
• And you are too.
{Just saying, princess. This ride's only going to get bumpier. Better hold on tight.}
---
Laraine exhaled deeply.
Her reflection flickered faintly in the windowpane.
Half her. Half something else.
"I'll figure this out," she said to no one.
But her voice was steady now.
And outside, the fog finally began to lift.
---