Ir’s eyes scanned the woman in the mirror.

The woman had black hair that reached down to her waist. The silky hair flowed smoothly over Ir’s shoulders like shimmering silk every time the man shook her chin. Next, what caught Ir’s eye were the deep purple eyes staring back at her.

Ir’s eyes were also purple.

Not many people knew this fact. The flesh of her eyelids, melted and drooping from the burns, had covered her eyes. Moreover, because she always pulled her hat down low to hide her face as much as possible, even fewer people knew her eye color.

The startled purple eyes moved.

Since it was a mirror, it should have shown her. So Ir looked for the most distinguishing feature that set her apart from others.

‘It’s gone.’

But the burn scars were nowhere to be seen. Not on her face, neck, or arms. Only snow-white skin, without a single trace of burns, like a newborn baby, covered her body.

Unable to accept this situation, her gaze, finding nowhere to settle, returned to the face. Ir held her breath as she looked at the face revealed between the black hair.

She was pretty. No, beautiful might be a more fitting word.

The features were delicately arranged on her small face. Large almond-shaped eyes, a high nose, and red lips.

Ir had seen countless beautiful women while performing guard duties.

Because of this, she rarely found herself admiring others, but the woman in the mirror was someone who made her forget what this situation was or what she was doing, leaving her staring blankly.

It wasn’t just her face that was beautiful. The long, slender neck, arms, and legs. Even wearing a dirty shirt like a rag, the soft curves of her body were clearly visible. Though her skin was so white it looked pale, as if it had never seen sunlight, she was absurdly beautiful.

Slowly blinking, Ir tried to raise her right hand. Or rather, she attempted to.

But her body wouldn’t move properly, as if she were a puppet with cut strings. Only her fingers twitched a few times.

Using her eyes, which were still freely mobile, Ir looked at her hand. No matter how many times she blinked, what she saw in place of her hand wasn’t her hand.

Ir looked back at the woman in the mirror. In the mirror that reflected everything else in the room perfectly, only she herself was missing.

What should have been there wasn’t, and what shouldn’t have been there was.

This fact drove Ir into a fear she had never experienced before.

“Ah… ah…”

Her breath caught and her mind grew distant at the unacceptable sight. Just as she was desperately using all her strength to stay conscious, fearing she might pass out again, the man holding her chin smirked at Ir’s reflection.

“Why are you trembling like you’ve seen something horrible?”

He thought Ir was belatedly understanding the situation and was terrified of them.

‘This is more like it.’

When she first opened her eyes, they had been momentarily startled by how she surveyed them without screaming, but now it seemed she had just acted that way because she didn’t understand the situation. So now, the woman’s terrified expression greatly pleased him. When they froze up like this, they would accept whatever was done to them without resistance.

“Are you cold? Want me to warm you up?”

A lewd smile appeared on the man’s face. He shamelessly slipped his hand inside the hastily put-on shirt. He had been wanting to thoroughly feel the body he’d been staring at since bringing her here. Preferably while watching her beg for her life. Tormenting those too scared to resist always gave him satisfaction.

Just as he was having these perverted thoughts.

Thud!

Suddenly there was a dull sound followed by a ‘crack!’ as if something had broken. The man couldn’t understand what had happened to him for a moment through the pain and dizziness that followed.

“Ugh… uh…”

The staggering man endured the rush of pain while covering his mouth. The other men nearby could only stare blankly, surprised by the sudden situation.

Among these men, Ir muttered while shaking her hand.

“Is this really my hand…?”

At her words, the men belatedly realized that Ir had struck the jaw of the man who had reached for her body with her fist.

“You b*tch!”

One of the other men nearby jumped up and slapped Ir’s cheek. Staggering, Ir collapsed to the floor.

‘What a truly awful dream.’

Thinking how absurd this dream before death was, Ir lost consciousness again.

2. The One Being Sought

Clank.

Ir pulled at the shackle fastened to one of her feet. It was so heavy that she could barely move it even using both hands to pull. Yet despite this, soft cloth was padded where it touched her leg.

“What a ridiculous thing to put on.”

Grumbling, Ir leaned against the wall. Her gaze swept around her surroundings. Walls with water stains and mold everywhere, a dingy carpet that made her wonder if it had ever been washed, and worn-out sofas scattered about. In front of her was an iron grate through which she could barely extend her arms.

When she regained consciousness, Ir had been moved to this place. It was slightly better than the basement with the mirror, though clearly still the den of those men.

The first thing she saw upon opening her eyes was a man with bandages around his jaw shouting that he wouldn’t let her off easy, along with other men yelling about how much her value had dropped because of what she’d done.

And now it was three days since then. During those three days, Ir had learned several facts.

First, that six months had passed since the cave collapsed.

When she first learned this, Ir trembled with shock.

The six months wasn’t the problem. The problem was that she was still alive after these six months.

Her last memory was clear. The ground shook and the ceiling collapsed. When the attackers fled, Ir was already unable to move, buried in dirt up to her chest. And that cave was so deep it took hours to walk down to it.

‘Of course, the location could have changed.’

From listening to the men’s conversations, they said they had picked her up from a valley near the cave entrance.

‘Did the Holy Sword transform the surroundings?’

If so, it might have eliminated the cave entirely and brought those inside up to the surface.

In any case, what was certain was that she had survived for six months with no memory of it. And with her appearance completely changed.

She had hoped that others might have been found along with her. But the men said they had thoroughly searched the area hoping to find others, but found no one.

All of this had clearly happened because of the Holy Sword’s power. But the sword she had been holding until she lost consciousness had vanished without a trace.

‘Did the Holy Sword disappear?’

From what the men said, no one had seen the Holy Sword since the cave collapsed. That’s why the royal family had gone crazy ordering people to dig up the cave.

According to records, the Holy Sword disappeared when its owner died. She had definitely held and used the sword, if only briefly. So it must have chosen her as its owner…

‘Did it vanish along with my death? Then why am I alive in this form? Did it spare me out of pity?’

If so, it would have been nice if it had shown that compassion when her comrades were dying.

Ir pulled at the shackle in frustration. She wanted nothing more than to leave this place immediately and go to the cave to find her comrades’ bodies.

After pulling at the chains several times while grunting, Ir soon slumped down on the floor.

“Huff… hah… I’ve really become weak…”

Just pulling the chain a few times left her breathing rough and her arms aching. Ir grabbed her arm. Soft, white, tender flesh was what she grasped. She clicked her tongue unconsciously. What was this scrawny body that had never exercised in its life? Even the noble women she had seen countless times in the imperial palace weren’t this frail.

Just then, the sound of a metal door opening came from far away, followed by approaching footsteps.

‘Four people?’

Ir thought again how strange her body was as she heard the sounds so clearly.

It had been like this since she regained consciousness. First, walking felt unfamiliar.

Her previous body had different leg lengths on the left and right due to the burns. So when walking, she had to maintain balance while accounting for the limp. But the legs attached to her body now were the same length. She had to practice walking many times to break her old habit and walk comfortably.

Walking wasn’t the only strange thing. Her fingers, which had been fused together before, now all moved freely and independently. She quite liked this. It meant she could perform more delicate tasks. The next thing that surprised Ir was that she could now hear sounds clearly and her vision was sharp.

‘I suppose it’s natural since I have ear cartilage now.’

Before, one side had melted, making sounds muffled. But now she could clearly tell which direction sounds were coming from. This sensation felt strange to Ir.

But fortunately, she had gotten quite used to it over the three days.

‘Good things become familiar quickly, I guess.’

After getting burned, it had taken years to get used to her damaged body, but getting used to this body was instantaneous.

A moment later, just as Ir had noticed, four men stood in front of the iron grate. Looking at them, Ir recalled another fact she had learned.

Today was the day she was to be sold.