Chapter 3: The Fire That Speaks Truth

The underground chamber beneath the garden was cold, lit only by flickering crimson candles.

Seo-ah stood in the center, trembling — not from fear, but from the **weight of memory**.

Kael circled her, sword in hand.

*“The Crimson Flame isn’t controlled by force,”* he said. *“It answers to **truth**. To pain. To the soul’s cry.”*

She clenched her fists.

*“Then why won’t it listen to me?”*

She reached for the fire.

Nothing.

She tried again — harder, angrier.

A weak spark sputtered from her fingertips… then died.

*“I’m not a princess,”* she whispered. *“I’m just a girl who died in the rain.”*

Kael’s voice softened.

*“Then don’t summon the flame as a princess. Summon it as **Seo-ah**. The girl who saved a child. The one who never stopped believing in stories.”*

She closed her eyes.

And remembered:

— The foster home. Cold floors.

— The school bench where no one sat beside her.

— The last thing she saw before dying: a child’s hand, safe in her own.

Her wrist burned.

The **Crimson Sigil flared**.

And from her palm — a **wave of fire** surged, not wild, but **focused**, like a voice finally speaking after a lifetime of silence.

The candles roared to life.

The walls trembled.

Kael smiled — the first real one she’d seen.

*“Good. Now you’re not just using magic. You’re **remembering**.”*

---

🔥

But the flame had consequences.

The next morning, whispers spread through the palace like wildfire.

*“The demon girl has returned.”*

*“She summoned cursed fire in the dead of night.”*

*“She’ll bring the prophecy to life.”*

Seo-ah moved through the halls like a ghost, Kael a shadow at her back. Servants averted their eyes. Guards gripped their weapons tighter.

Then — the accident.

A marble pillar in the East Wing cracked during renovations.

A young maid — no older than Seo-ah — stood directly beneath it.

No one moved in time.

But Seo-ah did.

She **lunged**, shoving the girl aside — as the pillar collapsed.

Dust filled the air.

And then… silence.

Until the crowd saw it.

Her **hand**, pressed against the rubble — **glowing crimson**.

With a gasp, she **pulled**.

And the shattered stone **levitated**, lifted by invisible fire, as if the rubble itself obeyed her will.

The maid stared, trembling.

*“You… saved me?”*

Seo-ah nodded — just once.

But the captain of the guard stepped forward, voice booming.

*“She used forbidden magic! She is not of royal blood — she is a **demonic vessel**!”*

The crowd turned.

Fists clenched.

Stones were raised.

*“Burn the impostor!”* someone screamed.

---

👑

From a balcony above, **Prince Lucien** watched.

His ice-blue eyes narrowed.

He had come to investigate the rumors — but what he saw wasn’t a demon.

It was a girl — small, bruised, standing between a crowd and a servant.

Protecting the weak.

Just like **he** had been taught to do.

And when she raised her hand, fire dancing like a second pulse in her veins…

His chest **ached**.

Not fear.

Not anger.

**Recognition.**

His advisor whispered, *“Shall we have her arrested, Your Highness?”*

Lucien didn’t answer.

Instead, he stepped forward — and raised his own hand.

A wave of **frost** shot down, sealing the cracked floor, calming the dust.

The crowd fell silent.

He descended the stairs, boots echoing like judgment.

Seo-ah turned to face him.

Their eyes met.

Hers — burning crimson.

His — cold ice.

And for a single heartbeat… the air between them **shimmered**.

Not with hostility.

With **memory**.

Lucien stopped a few feet away.

His voice was calm. Controlled. But beneath it — something cracked.

*“You used magic to save a life.”*

She nodded.

*“Then why,”* he asked, *“do they call you a demon?”*

Before she could answer, the High Oracle stepped forward — a robed figure with milky eyes.

*“Because she bears the mark of destruction,”* the Oracle intoned. *“The Crimson Flame brings only ruin. She must be sealed — for the safety of the empire.”*

Lucien’s gaze didn’t leave Seo-ah.

*“And if the empire is already dying?”* he said quietly. *“What if the flame… is the cure?”*

A murmur spread.

Even the Oracle hesitated.

Lucien turned to the guards.

*“She is not to be harmed. She is to be **watched**.”*

Then, to Seo-ah — so softly only she could hear:

*“Why does your fire feel like… home?”*

---

🔚 End of Chapter 3

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