Mark of the Dragon - Chapter 1

Translator and Editor: Effe and Nabi

────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Chapter 1

“The world has ended.”

It was once known all over the world.

There was a time when any country suffered from irregular natural disasters. Either God was angry or crazy. Until only a few centuries ago, in fear of God, any country used to offer live sacrifices. It was unknown whether it really worked.

The maddening climate change was certainly gone, but instead, along with it, God took magic away from humans.

The era of brilliant magic, when ordinary people could use simple magic, was over.

As the magical power that seemed to last forever was cut off, the dragon that caused natural disasters with it disappeared. In addition, the fairies who protected nature by receiving lifespan from them also hid.

Dragons and magic disappeared, and the age of man and metals had come. Nevertheless, the empire founded by magic still maintained a mighty reputation… no, rather, it could be said that they were the most affected by it.

The weather in the imperial capital was good.

It would be good.

The dim light coming through the iron door was brighter than usual.

Relying on that light, Lix, the second crown princess of the Empire, raised her arm once. At the same time, the chains that held her back snapped and rang through the empty room. It was there to prevent self-harm.

Lix stared blankly at the metal hanging from her arm.

It was ridiculous to still offer sacrifices in this day and age. Until now, the only places where sacrifices were made to the dragon were the temples and small countries that still believed in superstition.

To represent the empire and offer the country’s Crown princess as a sacrifice, anyone who knew nothing about whose idea it was would have laughed at it. Nevertheless, this has been a long tradition in the Empire. It was for this reason that there was not just one crown prince in this country, but two.

“I want to die.”

Her monologue rang in the empty room. The words echoed around the room and returned to her ears.

Like someone else had said it, Lix even answered that.

“No, that’s not allowed…”

This was the only thing she could do, so she had to do this at least because this was an opportunity to at least clean up the imperial family’s burden. And, before she died, there were things she must do.

As she opened her mouth, a song came out of her dry lips.

It was a song she wrote herself, something she had been familiar with since childhood. Whenever she called, someone would always come and stroke her hair. There was no one who conveyed such warmth anymore, as it just disappeared at some point.

Click—

Lix, who had been crouching inside the iron door the whole time, reflexively looked at the door that was opening. It was someone who she had been waiting for, yet also not. As she closed her eyes as she heard more of the iron door closing, the footsteps drew closer. Would the hand fly again this time?

No, perhaps not this time.

“Lix, you sang that song again.”

“Nyx…”

Lix raised her head and looked up at Nyx, the country’s true Crown Prince.

The reason why she was filled with tears was that she hadn’t seen him in such a state for a long time. At some point, he couldn’t keep his composure when facing her. As if to represent that condition, Lix’s hair was caught.

The brief reunion with Nyx, whom Lix was familiar with, was over.

“Ack!”

“Looks like you’ve been quiet.”

She was dragged by Nyx until the chains that bound her were pulled tight. Hearing her groan, he grabbed the iron chain with his hand and broke it at once. Lix trembled at the ghastly sound of the iron snapping and being slammed to the floor.

Yes, at that level, he deserved to be called the Crown Prince of the Empire, unlike her, who was a defective product.

Lix, who had just been dragged out of the iron door, could not even open her eyes properly at the blinding light, perhaps because she had only been in a dark place. The sound of unstoppable footsteps striding along, and the erratic footsteps that followed him with difficulty as she even stumbled, echoed through the hallway.

While her eyes barely got used to the light, the blindness was all the same because the tears kept flowing. Lix said nothing.

She remembered crying and begging him not to do this at first.

Oh, she couldn’t cry anymore.

As she shook his hand off and wiped her tears with one arm, the servants who encountered her bowed their heads, but they could not hide the contempt in their eyes.

The Imperial family’s shame… they were saying that with their eyes.

The other members of the imperial family restrained and punished her, too.

Even though she was used to this kind of treatment, the destination she was heading to now was a bit scary. She tried hard not to show off, but the Crown Prince giggled.

His eyes met her as he looked back, and Lix closed her eyes as she was afraid his hand would fly away though the pain didn’t come because there were many eyes around. Instead, he stabbed her with his words.

“To hold on to the disappearing magic, what’s this? It’s not even funny. Just seeing that you, who is useless to anyone, have been established as the crown princess, it said everything, but that’s how everything is put together.”

Lix dropped her head.

That was right, but she didn’t do it because she wanted to.

“Nyx… you, too…”

“Shut up!”

“Sorry…”

Seeing her turn her head away, Crown Prince Nyx just pressed his temple and looked ahead again. It had been a long time since Lix had said something to Nyx, but she soon shut her mouth, too.

Soon, they reached the end of the hallway.

Two of the doors there were engraved with patterns similar to the iron gates Lix had been imprisoned through. Seeing that she could hear whispers inside, it seemed that the ceremony was being prepared.

As Nyx lightly pushed through the heavy iron door with one hand, Lix quietly followed. The weather outside the window, where she glanced from the side, was really good, as expected.

She seemed to even hear hallucinations of children playing lively, whether or not they knew how Lix was feeling.

She just wanted to jump.

That wouldn’t make her happy, though.

The whispering stopped as soon as they entered. The laughter that seemed to be heard outside stopped, and there was silence for a moment. Stopping what they were just talking about, one of the wizards approached Nyx and exchanged friendly greetings.

They then glanced at Lix.

It was still daytime. By the time the ceremony is over, it will be night.

“Then, let’s begin the ceremony.”

Knowing what that meant, Lix took off her top at once. It was a piece of cloth she had worn without underwear, like a prisoner. As she unreservedly went naked, a quiet groan could be heard from everywhere.

It was clear what that meant.

Crown Prince Nyx frowned.

Although she was of mixed blood, what they could see was the truth. It was obscured by her long hair, but the pattern on her back, clearly visible, made it clear that she was the destined heir to the throne, and that she belonged to the imperial family.

The mark of the dragon.

A prophecy-like pattern telling that the one who has the mark will inherit the throne. The pattern, which had gradually faded as the dragon disappeared and hundreds of years passed, surprisingly manifested itself distinctly in her and barely maintained its reputation.

Had she not been an illegitimate daughter, the vividness of the mark would have made her name first mentioned as heir to the throne. However, now there was no magic to rule the empire or a purpose to provide magical power.

The dragons that appeared for the first time in hundreds of years demanded the imperial family as a sacrifice.

Nyx stared at the mark.

A sense of inferiority? A sense of superiority? What should he feel? The emperor pointed out by the prophecy would be for him, and in the end, she, who had the same pattern, ended her life as a sacrifice rather than being the ruler.

The Crown Prince, who would now be the only one, shook his head. The mark was not unique to her. It was faint, but it was also in him.

He was the successor, while she was the sacrifice.

The thought that he might have been sacrificed crept up on the side of his chest, but he tried to suppress it. The childhood memories and sympathy for her, with whom he was quite close, were also locked up along with his consciousness.

Lix’s back, as she quietly accepted the wizards’ help, made him doubt whether she really was the crown princess of the empire… a small, always frightened body. In addition, her hair had already turned white due to how much she suffered in the Imperial Palace.

If the markings didn’t show up, she would live like a dead man among the people.

According to the tradition, the mark brought her to the throne, so she was even crowned crown princess, but no one was pleased with it.

—

────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────

Join our discord to receive the latest updates as soon as possible!