A captive prince. A knight who never speaks. Two years of silence—until one night, everything begins to change.
Eighteen-year-old Lion Cardina, the first prince of the fallen Kingdom of Cardina, has spent two years imprisoned in the Iron Crown Palace of the Grandveld Empire. Stripped of his kingdom, his family, and his freedom, he clings to his mother's final words—*"Live"*—and watches the moon through iron bars, believing himself utterly alone.
Kai Wolfhardt, his silent watcher, arrives each
The Fallen Prince and the Silent Knight - Oath of Moonlight: The Night I Reclaim You
Moonlight cast a pale blue glow over the Silvaria Forest.
Two shadows wove between the trees, running. Breathless, sweat beading on their foreheads, yet they did not stop. With every kick against the earth, fallen leaves swirled up, catching the moonlight and glittering silver.
Lion Cardina's heart pounded like a racing bell.
(Almost there. I'll see Kai soon.)
The silver pendant hanging from his neck tapped against his chest with each stride—ton, ton, ton. His mother's keepsake. The cold touch of metal engraved with the spirit crest. The palm clutching it was slick with nervous sweat.
The words Elda had told him two weeks ago replayed in his mind.
—Kai Wolfhardt is alive. Captured by Albert, chained in the dungeons.
The small flame that had kindled in Lion's chest that day had now become a heat that seared the depths of his body.
"Lion, this way. Watch your footing."
Sylvia Lumen, running ahead, whispered without turning back. Her long emerald hair, reaching her waist, shimmered faintly in the moonlight like a spirit's blessing. The crescent-moon earring on her left ear glinted.
She was a spirit mage of the Cardina remnant faction, the "Ring of Spirits." And Lion's childhood friend. The girl who had stayed by his side ever since he rose to his feet in the depths of that cave two weeks ago.
"Yeah, I'm fine."
Lion answered briefly. His breath was ragged. His body, long confined, bore considerable strain even from running through a nighttime forest. His legs threatened to tangle beneath him. Still, Lion kept running.
(Kai is waiting.)
That thought alone moved Lion's body.
When they cleared the forest, the view opened up.
Before them loomed a massive shadow.
The Iron Crown Palace.
A black-iron-colored stone palace rising at the center of Granzel, capital of the Grandveld Empire. A colossal fortress of seven tiers. Backlit by the moon, its silhouette looked like a sleeping monster.
For two years, Lion had been confined in a prison called the guest wing on the palace's third tier.
How many times had he gazed up at this sky from behind those iron-barred windows?
How many times had he stared at the courtyard visible from that window?
And how many times had he longed for Kai to come to that room?
"...This is where it gets real."
Sylvia's voice turned serious. She lowered her stance, staring intently at the palace's outer wall.
"The guards—I'll handle them with my spirit arts. Lion, follow my instructions. Absolutely do not charge in on your own."
"I know."
Lion tightened his grip on the pendant even further.
(I'm not just a weak prince anymore.)
(I'm going to save Kai.)
Sylvia stole a single glance at Lion's profile, filled with determination.
Her golden eyes wavered in the moonlight.
(Lion, you really have changed.)
(Just two weeks ago, you looked so... dead.)
(...Though the reason being that knight makes it a bit complicated.)
Sylvia pressed her lips together and forcibly pushed down the small thorn in her heart.
"...Let's go."
She clasped both hands before her chest and quietly closed her eyes.
"Spirits of wind, hear my voice. With your mantle, conceal us—"
A song-like chant spun from her lips. Cardina spirit arts. A technique of dialogue with spirits, different from Grandveld's magic.
Then the air around them stirred, softly.
Wind wrapped around their bodies. It was warm, gentle, carrying the scent of the forest. Sylvia's emerald hair glowed faintly, and that light passed softly onto Lion's body as well.
"Now ordinary people won't be able to see us easily. The wind will churn our sounds and presence too."
Sylvia opened her eyes and smiled proudly.
"That's amazing, Sylvia. You're really reliable."
Lion let out an honest sound of admiration.
"Heh. Who do you think I am? I'm one of the finest mages in the Ring of Spirits."
She puffed out her chest.
Then immediately tightened her expression.
"But this spell won't last long. Let's hurry."
The two clung to the palace's outer wall.
Following Sylvia's lead, they entered the palace through an unobtrusive service entrance. Cold stone corridors. Torches mounted on the walls flickered, swaying shadows.
The air of the Iron Crown Palace, felt for the first time in two years.
Lion's skin prickled.
(This place was my prison.)
(But now it's just a path to save Kai.)
Lion clenched his trembling hands tight.
The two moved silently through the corridor. Guard soldiers were on patrol. When Sylvia whispered to the wind spirits, the soldiers suddenly began to yawn, leaned against the wall, and slumped down where they stood.
"Wind of sleep, grant them just a little rest."
Sylvia smiled mischievously.
Lion couldn't help but let out a small breath at the sight.
(Sylvia really is amazing. I couldn't ask for a more reassuring ally.)
The entrance to the dungeons was at the palace's lowest level—and below even that.
Two guards stood before a heavy iron door.
Sylvia began chanting again.
"—Spirits of deep silence, draw his consciousness into the depths of slumber."
Strength drained from the guards' bodies. They slowly crumpled to the ground.
"Now's our chance."
Lion pushed open the iron door alongside Sylvia.
Giii... a dull sound echoed down into the underground.
They descended the stairs. One step, one step, carefully.
The air was cold and damp. The smell of mold, iron, and old blood.
Lion's heart raced again.
(Kai is in a place like this...)
His chest ached as if being squeezed.
The dungeon was wider than he'd expected.
Iron-barred cells lined both sides of the dim corridor. But there was no sign of people. Kai seemed to be the only prisoner.
At the far end of the corridor.
Moonlight streamed thinly through a small skylight.
He was there, in that light.
"...Kai."
Lion's voice trembled.
Beyond the iron bars.
Kai Wolfhardt sat with his back against the wall.
His short-cropped silver hair was dirty and disheveled. His sharp blue-gray eyes were closed. The small old scar on his left brow. His trained body bore raw wounds everywhere. Heavy iron shackles bound both his wrists and ankles.
"Kai!"
Lion ran to the bars and gripped the cold iron with both hands.
Kai's eyelids slowly opened.
His blue-gray eyes caught Lion.
"...Lion?"
Kai's voice was hoarse.
"Why are you here?"
"I came to save you. I came to bring you back."
Lion fought back tears, desperately spinning out the words.
"Sylvia and everyone in the Ring of Spirits helped. So it's all right now."
Kai stared at Lion's face.
Then his gaze shifted to Sylvia standing beside Lion.
Sylvia looked down at Kai with a complicated expression.
"...So you're the one who changed Lion that much."
Sylvia's voice was low, somehow prickly.
"Kai Wolfhardt. A knight of the enemy nation. Because of you, Lion suffered all this time. And now, because of you, Lion came to a place this dangerous."
"Sylvia, stop."
Lion checked her.
"This was my decision. I wanted to see Kai. I wanted to save Kai. That's all."
Sylvia bit her lip.
Her golden eyes wavered with anger, sorrow, and something like resignation.
"...I know. Idiot Lion."
She muttered quietly and began searching for the cell key.
"Wait."
Kai's low voice echoed through the dungeon.
"It's a trap. Albert used me as bait to lure you here. He'll be here soon."
Almost before the words finished—
Clap, clap, clap.
From the dungeon entrance came the sound of dry applause.
"Exactly right. As expected of a low-ranking knight of my Iron Crown Knights. Or should I say, former low-ranking knight?"
A cold yet somehow sweet, smooth voice.
Something cold ran down Lion's spine.
He turned slowly.
There he stood.
Albert Grandveld.
Perfectly groomed blond hair. Cold purple eyes. A small mole at the right corner of his mouth. The second prince of the Grandveld Empire, always wearing white gloves.
He smiled elegantly in the moonlight.
"Hello, Lion. It's been a while. Glad to see you're well."
Albert stepped closer, one step, then another.
Behind him, the elite of the Iron Crown Knights stood in silence.
"I've been waiting for you to come. This dungeon was a special stage prepared just to welcome you."
Lion stood before Kai's cell and looked straight at Albert.
His legs trembled.
But he did not look away.
"...What do you intend to do with me?"
"What do I intend to do—don't make such a frightening face. I've come to make you a special offer."
Albert stopped right before Lion.
His purple eyes studied Lion slowly, as if appraising him.
"I'll let you out of here. In exchange, you become mine."
Albert reached a white-gloved hand gently toward Lion's cheek.
Lion pulled back.
"...No."
Lion's voice was trembling.
Still, he said it clearly.
"I will not become yours."
Albert's smile deepened slightly.
"Why not? If you become mine, you'd be freed from this filthy dungeon, from that boring guest wing. You could live in a more beautiful room, eat better food, live more freely. What's unsatisfactory about that?"
Albert spoke gently and slowly, as if reasoning with a child.
Lion shook his head.
"No. That's not it. ...My heart is already decided."
Lion clutched the pendant at his chest.
"My heart was given to me by Kai. It's not something you can take."
Lion's words, though trembling, unmistakably shook the cold air of the dungeon.
In that instant.
The smile vanished from Albert's face.
His purple eyes, cold as ice, looked down at Lion.
"...I see. That's a shame."
All warmth drained from his voice.
"Then you have nothing left but utility value. Listen, Lion. You are merely a tool necessary for my plan. Tools should quietly be used."
Albert signaled with his chin to the knights behind him.
"Capture him. But do not mar his face. I'll discipline him thoroughly later."
The knights surged toward Lion all at once.
"Lion!"
Sylvia stood in front of Lion and began chanting.
"Spirits of wind! Answer my voice and blow these men away!"
A gust whirled around her.
But the knights did not flinch.
"Futile, young lady. This dungeon is warded with anti-spirit barriers. Spirit power cannot be fully exerted here."
As Albert said, Sylvia's wind failed to blow the knights away—it only slowed their feet slightly.
"Kuh...!"
Sylvia gnashed her teeth in frustration.
The knights' hands reached for Lion.
(Is it hopeless...?)
Lion squeezed his eyes shut.
Then—
—Lion.
A voice echoed directly in his mind.
It was neither his mother's voice nor Kai's. A clearer, gentler, yet somehow nostalgic and mysterious voice.
—Lion. Do not be afraid.
—You are not alone.
—Now, open your eyes. Believe in your power.
Lion slowly opened his eyes.
His vision was wrapped in pale blue light.
The pendant at his chest glowed faintly, pale blue, bathed in moonlight.
The light released from the silver pendant quietly but powerfully pushed back the darkness of the dungeon.
"Wha... what...?"
For the first time, confusion appeared on Albert's face.
Light overflowed from Lion's body.
It was warm, gentle light.
Spirit power.
"I-I can't move...!"
The knights who had reached for Lion froze in place as if pinned.
Their bodies were wrapped in pale blue light, rigid as if bound by paralysis.
"Spirit power...? Inside an anti-spirit barrier...?"
Albert's voice was shaking.
Lion looked at his own hands.
Light overflowed from his fingertips.
(This is spirit power...)
(I had this kind of power inside me...)
Lion directed that light toward Sylvia.
"Sylvia! Now!"
At Lion's shout, Sylvia snapped back to herself.
"Yes!"
She began chanting again.
"Spirits of wind! Resonate with his power and make my voice a blade!"
Wind swirled around Sylvia once more.
But this time, the wind began to resonate with the pale blue light Lion emitted.
Light and wind intertwined, becoming a torrent of immense power.
It twisted and blew away the dungeon's iron bars as if they were paper.
GASHAAAAAAN!!
A thunderous roar echoed through the dungeon.
The iron b
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