Chapter 1
Late afternoon. Even for the cold winter, it wasn’t yet too late in the day, but the sun had already begun to tilt toward the horizon.
The sunset spilling through the windows would have brightly illuminated most houses.
But here, every window was blocked by heavy blackout curtains, letting in no sunlight at all—not even a sliver of light.
Only the flickering candle flames and the ornate glass lamps occasionally scattered light into the dark room.
A brief glance around revealed an unusual interior, made all the more mysterious by a low-lying mist.
Creak—jingle, jingle.
Someone had entered. A young woman in her twenties stepped in, frozen with tension.
“Is anyone here?”
Her trembling voice betrayed her fear. At that moment, a clear voice echoed in her mind as if speaking directly to her.
[Please, come inside.]
“Y-yes!”
The woman hurried in. Guided by the sparsely placed lamps, she moved deeper into the room, where a desk and a chair came into view.
An opaque cloth covered the center of the desk, obscuring the person seated across from her.
That person was the Madam she had only heard about in rumors.
She had heard countless stories, but this was the first time she had seen her in person, and she swallowed hard.
Beneath the slightly raised cloth on the desk, a hand in a black glove appeared.
[Please, sit.]
The woman stiffly obeyed and sat down.
[What brings you here today?]
“I… came for a reading.”
[Ah, so this is your first time visiting.]
“Yes, that’s right.”
[Then, before we begin, there are some things you must understand.]
A sheet of paper emerged from behind the cloth. She took it and carefully read the contents.
It was information she had already heard before.
[Here at “Secret Moonlight,” we not only perform divinations but also provide guidance about your future. However, these are only indicators meant to show you a better path. If you rely solely on my words and do not put in effort yourself, remember that your destiny can change at any moment.]
“Yes, I understand.”
Seeing her firm resolve, the Madam clasped her hands together.
[What troubles bring you here today?]
“I… I have a current partner…”
The woman slowly began to speak about her troubles. She had been in a relationship for quite some time and had even planned to become engaged. But a few days ago, she had witnessed her partner’s infidelity.
Shocked, she confronted him, asking what had happened. However, he and those around him excused his actions as a simple mistake.
Instead, she was portrayed as petty for being unable to forgive him.
Betrayed by the one she trusted, her partner, and even her own family, the woman felt pushed to the edge. She could no longer endure it.
As a result, she had postponed the engagement, unable to decide either way.
The Madam listened silently. Tears welled up in the woman’s eyes.
[It must have been very hard for you.]
“I… I’m really… struggling…”
[Then, what kind of reading would you like me to perform?]
“I can no longer trust my partner. Yet everyone around me says it was just a mistake and urges me to get engaged as soon as possible. They say he is my destiny. I want to know if he truly is my destined partner.”
[Understood. I will see it for you.]
The Madam brought a clear crystal ball to the center and traced it with her hands. The inside of the crystal began to cloud.
Fascinated by the strange phenomenon, the woman stared intently at it.
—This isn’t destiny. Destiny, my foot. If she stays with that man, she’ll spend her life serving him. Practically a maid. If a relationship ruins someone’s life, that too is destiny, I suppose.
A sharp, critical voice sounded in the Madam’s mind. Without showing surprise, she continued to feign divination while watching the crystal.
Then she carefully examined the woman hidden behind the cloth.
A scene flashed through the Madam’s mind.
『A woman and a man. They held an engagement and wedding, blessed by everyone around them.
But in the near future, misfortune struck.
The woman was gradually worn down by the man’s infidelity. He revealed his true nature through gambling, drinking, and eventually even violence toward her.
The woman, crying alone in a worn-down room, could not escape him.』
In only five seconds, the woman’s future had unfolded in a panoramic vision.
Having read the entire flow, the Madam lowered her hands from the crystal. The woman swallowed hard.
“Did… something appear?”
[Yes, it has.]
“Then… what should I do? Should I continue with the engagement?”
[No. Absolutely not.]
After the calm words, a sharp intake of breath could be heard.
[You and your partner are not meant to be together. It is a relationship where you will suffer.]
“What… do you mean?”
[To use an analogy, you are a lush tree, and your partner is a raging fire. What happens when fire meets wood?]
“…The tree burns, right?”
[Exactly. That is the compatibility between you and your partner. Your partner seems perfect for you, and that makes sense. To fuel the fire, a tree is necessary, and you are a very large tree.]
“……”
[But you, on the other hand, will be engulfed in the fierce flames and suffer. Once the fire catches, it will be impossible to escape. And now, the flames are just starting to reach you.]
The woman’s hands shook as she hastily covered her mouth.
[When you were just in a relationship, it might have been fine. The fire mimicked the sun, deceiving the tree.
But if you get engaged or married, unless you divorce, you will be bound to this person for life. Didn’t things start going wrong after your engagement?]
“Now that I think about it… yes. After we got engaged, he cheated, and small misfortunes kept happening around us.”
[Those minor misfortunes are just warnings. The divination shows that if you marry him, you will lead a life of hardship.]
“What sort of hardship?”
[If your partner goes into debt, you will be the one to pay it off. He will increasingly reveal his true self—drinking, cheating, and committing violence.]
“……”
[No matter how much he slips up, you forgive him. He will unconsciously think, ‘No matter what I do, she will forgive me. So I can keep doing wrong.’]
The woman was frozen, unable to respond.
[Do not expect your partner to change.]
The woman flinched, her eyes betraying a glimmer of hope she had held.
[There is a saying: ‘You cannot change a person.’ It doesn’t apply to everyone, but most people cannot change their true nature. If he were going to change, he would have done so already.]
“…Then he was never my destiny.”
[If destiny can ruin a person’s life, then yes. But it is not the destiny you seek.]
“So the answer is to break up.”
The woman pressed her lips together, pained.
[Breaking up is advised, though it will not be easy.]
“Eh?”
[Your partner does not want to break up. He may even use force to prevent it. It will be difficult, and you may get hurt.]
“What should I do then?”
[First, find someone who will help you. Ignore everything others say. If anyone says, ‘There is no one like him,’ or ‘It was just one mistake, why break up?’—do not waver. Think this:]
No one else will live your life for you.
[Even family and close friends are still strangers in the end. They cannot live your life for you.]
“…Thank you for your advice.”
—Her destined partner will appear if she commissions a divination. If she handles it well, she might meet a truly compatible partner.
Then, the voice in the Madam’s mind spoke again.
[If you wish to find someone to help you, make a request. If done properly, you can completely sever ties with your current partner.]
“…Thank you, Madam.”
Jingle, jingle.
The door opened, the bell rang, and then closed. Seeing the woman leave with a relieved expression, the Madam sighed deeply.
“Phew… Maybe I’ll stop here for today.”
A voice, younger than the one she had used with her client, echoed around the room. The Madam, who had been seated for a long time, rose and stepped out from behind the cloth.
The person no one expected—the Madam, whom many assumed to be a middle-aged adult—was in fact a young girl.
Not yet an adult, looking more like a student, she stretched her stiff back.
“I’ve done enough for today… time to clean up.”
Her fiery red hair and mysterious violet eyes sparkled as she looked around.
The girl locked the entrance and brightened the dark interior.
The once-dark room now looked as bright as day, revealing an interior reminiscent of a witch’s house.
“Secret Moonlight” was a small shop on Terrion Street, offering readings to help people with their troubles.
The divinations here were rumored to pierce through one’s innermost thoughts, attracting clients ranging from commoners to nobles.
“Secret Moonlight” was run solely by the Madam, leaving no one able to know her face, age, or name.
Though most assumed her to be a mature woman, the Madam’s true identity was a sixteen-year-old girl: Selina.
