A quiet countryside village.
At the end of a winding stone path stood a small bakery.
Rin, who worked there, was known by the villagers as a diligent and kind girl.
Every morning, she was the first to open the store, kneading dough and setting out freshly baked bread—by all appearances, she seemed like a perfectly normal human girl.
But she was far from ordinary.
‘Ears… pressed down? Tail tied… claws retracted…’
After checking herself in the mirror, Rin let out a sigh.
She was a cat beastkin.
Ears, tail, claws—and senses sharper than any human.
Since childhood, she’d worn hats and loose clothing to hide her features and trained herself to suppress her emotions to avoid revealing her identity.
“Rin, can you wrap this sandwich for a customer?”
“Yes, boss!”
That busy morning, when everything was running non-stop—
It happened.
While pulling out a batch of baguettes, her cat claws suddenly shot out from her fingertips.
Whenever she was too tense, her instincts would kick in on their own.
‘Oh no…!’
A claw mark was left right on top of a piece of bread.
The customer saw it and gasped, mouth agape.
“Wh-what… cat paws?!”
Rin’s face went pale in an instant.
Had the customer just seen an illusion… or had her secret truly been exposed?
But before Rin could react, it was the bakery owner who stepped in first.
“That’s… a magical mirage! A very rare magical reaction!
Sometimes, when the heat rises in the oven just right, that kind of pattern appears! Here—this one’s on the house!”
The customer, still confused, eventually left with a laugh.
Rin finally exhaled.
“…Thank you, boss.”
“Be careful. I won’t ask who you really are, but… you want to keep living your life here, don’t you?”
Rin nodded and smiled faintly.
Yes—she just wanted to live quietly, without being discovered.
But peace didn’t last long.
That evening, the door to the bakery—facing the village center—slowly creaked open.
Ding-a-ling, the bell above the door chimed.
A man entered, clad in a black cloak and silver armor.
Under the cold twilight, his deep gray eyes pierced straight through Rin.
“I’m looking for someone named Rin who works here.”
His tone was polite, but his presence was unfamiliar and vaguely threatening.
Rin took a deep breath and slowly lifted her head on purpose.
“Um… I’m Rin. What’s this about?”
“Roen El Neithehart. Knight of the Royal Order.”
The moment she heard who he was, Rin’s heart began to race.
A knight? From the palace? Why me…?
Roen got straight to the point.
“I have come to formally request the service of the one who bears the blood of the beastkin.”
“…Me? What are you even talking about?”
Rin feigned ignorance, but Roen’s eyes were filled with certainty.
“This morning, while serving bread, you instinctively extended your claws—
and you sensed my presence before I even entered the shop.
Such awareness is impossible without the heightened senses of a beastkin.”
Rin was speechless.
She had no idea that one slip-up would lead to this.
“Beastkin like you are rare even in the kingdom.
Especially those with the ability to sense and interpret ancient texts, artifacts, and magical auras.
We wish to appoint you as a royal librarian.”
“…I just want to live a quiet life.”
“That quiet life has already been broken.”
Rin had no words in response.
After Roen left, she returned to the bakery—but her fingertips trembled.
The royal palace. Beastkin. Her secret, exposed.
It was all terrifying and uncomfortable.
But she knew…
There was no going back now.
‘I can’t run. I can’t hide. In that case…’
She slowly closed her eyes… and opened them again, silently steadying herself.
From now on—
This was where the real story began.
