“…!”

When Shiyeon woke up, she initially thought she woke from a horrible nightmare because she was cleaned up and laying down on a comfortable bed.

Just when she was about to feel relieved, she heard a voice that made reality hit her.

“————–.”

She heard someone speaking in a language she couldn’t understand. She had never heard it before. Suddenly, she looked around and realized that she wasn’t in her own bedroom. When she realized that she was in a stranger’s room, she recoiled in shock and quickly got out of the bed.

She was in a luxurious room decorated in olden European style only seen in Hollywood movies and TV shows. A beautiful foreign woman in an elegant dress was standing nearby the bed and speaking to her.

“—–?”

“W, what are you saying?! I don’t understand!”

The woman became visibly uncomfortable at Shiyeon’s words. She tried a few words in different languages. She only knew very few words, but the woman still couldn’t seem to understand.

Finally, the woman seemed to give up and helped Shiyeon and guided her out of the bedroom.

One thing was certain. The woman was telling her that she wanted Shiyeon to go somewhere with her.

As they walked the hallway, Shiyeon gasped at its grandness. It felt like a dream.

They entered the inner part of the castle, which meant that the bedroom where Shiyeon slept must have been located at the outer area of this place.

As they walked past another giant hall, Shiyeon suddenly noticed something familiar among all the foreign objects.

It was a huge portrait of a woman, who was wearing a deep purple dress in her 20’s. The portrait must have been painted a very long time ago since the edges of it were starting to worn down.

However, the painting still looked every bit regal. The woman in it was wearing a crown with a deep blue jewel. It looked so magnificent and great that Shiyeon wondered if the lady’s neck hurt while carrying it on her head.

What drew Shiyeon’s attention was the woman’s facial features. She had black hair and black eyes. Her skin color was the same shade as hers and she was clearly an Asian woman.

This painting looked so out of place among all the other portraits of imposing foreign figures.

‘What?’

Shiyeon stopped to stare at the painting for a long time.

“—.”

The woman who was escorting her said something to her to get Shiyeon’s attention. Shiyeon bowed and looked at her apologetically and followed the lady again.

Their destination was a large door to an unknown room. The lady announced something at the door and after a reply from the person inside, the door finally opened.

Shiyeon was ushered in. When she entered, Shiyeon realized that it was a large library. The bookcases reached the ceilings and filled every wall of the giant luxurious room.

In the middle was an old and majestic wooden table. In front of it was a woman standing with her back to Shiyeon. It was clear that this woman was the owner of this place.

Slowly, the woman turned around. Shiyeon realized that her hair was black. She did have some whites showing here and there, but Shiyeon could see that in her younger days, this lady must have had jet black hair.

The woman smiled gently and as she spoke, Shiyeon gaped in shock.

“Welcome, traveler from another world.”

“Huh?”

Shiyeon didn’t expect Korean from a clearly noble lady of this strange place. Her accent was slightly off, but it was unmistakable.

Shiyeon gasped.

“… Are you Korean?!”

The woman shook her head.

“No, but… I guess you can say I partly could be.”

“Pardon?”

The lady seemed overwhelmed as her eyes became wet. She looked kindly at Shiyeon.

“Let me introduce myself to you first. I am the third generation Grand Duchess of Bilenae. My name is Aria des Bilenae.”

It suited her very well, but it was definitely not a Korean name.

Shiyeon answered in confusion, “I’m… Shiyeon. Park Shiyeon.”

“Alright, Shiyeon.”

“… I was sure I fell into a forest, so how did I get here?”

Grand Duchess Aria started to explain slowly. “During the full moon, we make sure to have the guards protect and scout the forest. During the full moon, the gate opens.”

“The gate?”

“Yes. You and… a few others before you have crossed through that gate.”

Shiyeon suddenly remembered her assailant that fell with her as the ground disappeared.

Shiyeon looked around nervously and asked, “Umm, was… was there someone else other than me who was found in the forest? He would have been wearing dark clothes and a hat…”

Aria shook her head. “You are the only one found alive. The guards heard your screams in the forest. When they arrived, you were the only one, and…” After a brief hesitation, the lady continued, “Based on the amount of blood and other pieces found on your body, it is very likely that the person who came through the gate with you didn’t make it.”

“Pardon?”

Aria sighed awkwardly and replied, “When someone enters through the gate, many don’t survive in the process and only parts of them are found in our world. It is actually a very common occurrence as we have witnessed it often. You are the first one to safely arrive since the lady. You are very lucky.”

“The lady?”

The way Aria referred to this woman sounded loving and respectful.

Aria smiled wistfully and replied, “Yes. She was my great grandmother and the successful traveler of another world before you. She was Empress Sa Bina le Cransia.”

Shiyeon remembered the portrait she saw on her way here. Aria must have been referring to that lady. There was no mistake that the woman in the painting was definitely Korean.