“Please, help me. I beg you.”
The girl’s speech was awkward and clumsy, far from the standard language spoken by the people of the empire.
This was the imperial palace, a place filled with highly educated and esteemed individuals.
In such a setting, the girl’s poor expression stood out, drawing the attention of the nobles.
Her exotic appearance, attire, and pale skin were the very image of the northern barbarians as imagined by the empire’s citizens.
Let me reiterate—this was the imperial palace, the palace of the Ron Empire, the most powerful nation on the continent.
For most, standing under the weight of the empire’s prestige would be enough to make them tremble in fear.
Yet, remarkably, the girl seemed to stand before the emperor with confidence, unshaken.
…At least, that’s how it appeared on the surface.
What she truly felt inside was anyone’s guess.
The girl went on to explain how she had traversed vast, barren wastelands to reach this place and the purpose of her journey.
“A plague, an unknown plague, is spreading. Please, help us.”
Her broken imperial language was infused with desperation.
However, the gazes of the nobles watching her were not those of people looking at another human being.
Instead, they resembled the way one might look at an animal trapped in a zoo enclosure—or worse, as if they were staring at filth or garbage.
Their eyes were filled with contempt and scorn.
The girl introduced herself as Frennila of the Bow Tribe.
If only her name were the same, it might have been a coincidence, but her tribe matched as well.
There was no doubt—this was her.
She was the one who, in the not-so-distant future, would unite the barbarian tribes.
She would invade the continent, toppling the Kingdom, the Church State, and the Law Nation one by one, before finally setting her sights on the empire’s territory.
The result would be the empire’s overwhelming defeat.
Like the climax of a novel, the image of the imperial capital burning flashed before my eyes.
And the empire’s high-ranking officials, held responsible for the rebellion, would all meet gruesome ends, disappearing like dew on the execution grounds.
At the forefront of all these events stood Frennila of the Bow Tribe.
Anyone who witnessed her exceptional leadership and her unmatched combat prowess, capable of taking on a hundred foes single-handedly, would instantly understand how she had unified the entire continent.
She was the very embodiment of martial might.
But that was still a distant future.
For now, she was just a fragile girl, wandering the continent in desperation, seeking help for her tribe, which was facing a dire crisis.
And as she stood there, the nobles turned their scorn toward her.
“Why would we help you? You filthy barbarians!”
“Do you even know where you are? We allowed you to stand before His Majesty’s presence because we thought you had come to offer tribute. And now you dare make demands? Do you want to be thrown into prison?”
“Have you forgotten what happened last time? You shameless creatures. Your filth is contagious—get out of our lands before you spread it further!”
The insults began with one noble, acting as a trigger, and soon, everyone in the hall joined in, mocking and berating her.
As a result, Frennila’s expression gradually hardened.
‘Damn it, please shut up. Before this situation gets even worse.’
Even though I had experienced death multiple times, the fear of it began to creep back, wrapping around me like a cold embrace.
How did it come to this?
Further failure is unacceptable.
The only chance to fix this is now. I have to correct this spiraling situation.
Right now, I’m standing on thin ice, weighing my life, not knowing when it might crack and send me plunging to my death.