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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 2
Chapter Title: The State of the World
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In truth, Lellia hadn't come here because she wanted to.
The vast continent of Dracanea boasted an immense size.
On this continent existed five empires with long and storied histories.
In the distant past, a dragon that had long been dormant awakened. As a result, countless monsters appeared and attacked the people, and humanity seemed to be on the path to extinction.
It was then that the Hierophant, leader of the Creutz faith, and five knights who had received a divine oracle defeated the dragon and saved the world.
After that, the Creutz faith took deep root throughout the continent, and the five knights each established their own empires and began to rule.
The Hierophant shared the dragon's magical power he had absorbed with the five knights, forming a blood pact.
The pact stipulated that each empire would revere the doctrines of the Creutz Order as its state religion and answer the Hierophant's call, while the Order would support and guarantee the authority and legitimacy of each imperial family.
The Creutz Order established the 'Creutz Sanctum,' a sacred neutral zone at the center of the five empires, and dispatched priests to each, extending its influence across the continent.
The Hierophant did not interfere in secular territorial matters, but he would not tolerate the complete upheaval of the imperial bloodlines that ruled the empires.
Thus, the five empires maintained a balance of power, checking one another under a strange tension, and had preserved peace under the temple's protection to this day.
But a few years ago.
An egg of the Mad Dragon appeared at the continent's edge. A volcano erupted, and an unknown dark magic seethed around it. Under its influence, even ferocious monsters began to reawaken.
People were gripped by anxiety. This was surely a sign that the terrible events recorded in ancient texts would be repeated.
*‘And it really is repeating…’*
The Creutz Order tried to destroy the Mad Dragon's egg before it hatched, but it was utterly impossible.
The ancient texts also stated that the Mad Dragon's egg could not be destroyed by any means.
*‘There’s only one way. To fight the dragon directly once it hatches.’*
The temple realized it could not solve this problem alone. Thus, the current Hierophant summoned the emperors of the five empires based on their pact. After a conference, the five empires agreed to join forces and began to assemble an extermination force in advance.
According to the ancient texts, there were still several years left before the dragon's egg would hatch.
So, they intended to prepare for the battle with the Mad Dragon even a little bit ahead of time.
In addition, separate from assembling the extermination force, the temple gathered the young royalty and nobility from each empire.
*‘What are they planning to do, gathering a bunch of kids…?’*
In any case, the place where Lellia found herself was a training academy in the neutral zone, established by the temple.
*‘Well… I don’t think they’re expecting a hero to emerge from among the children here…’*
Still, these were the future leaders who would one day guide the five empires. It wasn't without the intention of fostering friendship in advance.
So that when the Mad Dragon appeared, the five empires would join forces instead of pointing their swords at one another.
*‘In short, it’s basically a friendship camp.’*
Of course, it also served as a form of surveillance—and as a way to hold hostages.
So why was Lellia here…?
Because of the ‘real Crown Prince’.
Lellia was royalty, but she was treated as if she were practically invisible.
The situation in her home country, Auraria, was a bit complicated.
*‘It was a total mess over the emperor’s throne.’*
The second son, who had coveted the throne, killed the eldest son and seized the imperial seat.
Raidios, who became emperor through a rebellion, named his son Leo the Crown Prince and strove to seize control of the nation.
However, neighboring countries looked unfavorably upon an emperor who had risen through rebellion, and even the sentiment within the empire was not kind.
The emperor constantly feared his son would be assassinated. The Crown Prince felt the same.
*‘That coward…’*
The Crown Prince was a coward and a terrible whiner, which led everyone to believe he was frail.
In reality, he was strong enough to send Lellia flying with a single kick.
So, what was Lellia's identity?
She was the daughter of the youngest princess, Iris, who had watched her two older brothers fight for the throne.
The princess had fallen in love with a royal guard and given birth to a child, and that child was Lellia.
*‘Unfortunately, the princess died not long after giving birth…’*
Lellia, the daughter of the deceased princess.
Amidst the chaos of the battle for the throne, she was as good as a forgotten royal.
Living in a small tower at the edge of the imperial castle, Lellia lived quietly, subsisting on the food brought by a few maids.
*‘And even that wasn’t brought to me very often…’*
