The Past, A Once-Flourishing Republic
The republic, which had once prospered, possessed scientific technology so advanced that it surpassed even the empire—except in magic technology.
Recently, dissatisfaction with the empire had been intensifying within the republic.
“We must form an alliance with the kingdom immediately!”
“They have already forsaken human decency!”
“Everyone, calm down!”
The ministers and senators of the republic began shouting loudly.
Recently, an imperial spy network had been uncovered.
It was revealed that spies planted by the empire had been manipulating the nation from behind the scenes.
Even more shocking was the discovery that the funds extorted from them had been used to provoke dragons.
They had handed over money under the pretense of summoning a hero, only for it to be used in creating equipment to kill dragons.
“Isn’t continually provoking the Dragon Kingdom madness?!”
“The dragons think all humans are from the empire!”
“The empire can no longer represent humanity!”
As the statements grew more extreme, the president of the republic simply listened in silence.
“Enough.”
“Your Excellency!”
“Contact the kingdom immediately and prepare to strike the empire!”
“I said, enough.”
The president rose from his seat and addressed the ministers and senators.
“The kingdom has already rotted to the core.”
None of the officials were unaware of this fact.
The kingdom’s king had become nothing more than the empire’s lapdog, making it little more than a vassal state.
“T-Then what should we do?”
“There is a way out of this.”
The president held up a magitech device, activating an illusion spell that projected the portrait of a prince.
“First Prince Leonel Alexius.”
The president looked at the gathered officials as he spoke his name.
“We will support this man.”
“Most of the kingdom’s citizens already despise the empire.”
“We will back the first prince, who stands in direct political opposition to the king.”
“This plan was set in motion two generations ago.”
The president smiled grimly.
“Let’s do it.”
The officials, too, steeled their resolve.
“First, we must establish relations with the Dragon Kingdom.”
“We all know we cannot allow the empire to redirect the dragons’ wrath toward the kingdom or our republic.”
At the president’s words, the officials nodded.
“It seems the empire intends to consume even the dragons.”
Once again, the magitech device projected another portrait.
“Ramir Sylvadir.”
“A former elven royal and a noblewoman aligned with the pro-empire faction.”
“She is of a similar age to the newly titled half-blood princess.”
“This is the moment she was sent abroad to study—the empire’s hand is at play.”
Though their interpretation was clouded by bias, their perspective made it appear undeniable.
Sending a pro-empire elven noblewoman abroad while elven rebels were being exposed could only mean one thing.
“They intend to have an elf denounce the rebel elves from within.”
If a member of group A criticizes group A, it appears more objective.
No politician in the room was unaware of this tactic.
“…Such filth!”
“Will it work? Dragons are long-lived beings—the living witnesses of history.”
When a senator voiced his doubts, the president responded.
“Dragons care for nothing outside of themselves.”
“The purer their bloodline, the more this holds true.”
“Their closed-off nature ensures this will work.”
He was right.
Dragons had little interest in the history of others.
They had only opened their gates for diplomacy 500 years ago, after their new king, Albinus Laskaris, ascended to the throne.
Meanwhile, the fall of Sylvadir had occurred 600 years ago.
Naturally, the dragons knew nothing of elven history.
To them, elves were nothing more than an unusual race living on the empire’s fringes.
“This Elf is Dangerous.”
Ironically, the fabricated identity that had been meticulously prepared for 600 years, passed down through entire elven bloodlines to aid the rebellion, had now become a shackle around Ramir’s neck.
The republic, having determined that Ramir was a threat, made a decision.
“We’ll take care of her. Afterward, we’ll inform the rebellious elves of the truth and form an alliance.”
“From behind the scenes, in secret.”
“And using that alliance, we will support the first prince.”
Ramir was now marked for elimination.
Something had gone terribly wrong.
After too much hesitation and indecision, the gears of rebellion had rusted.
Ramir’s carriage sped forward without pause.
She wiped away her tears and looked down at the documents beneath her.
“Flare Academy.”
The highest educational institution of the Unified Dragon Kingdom.
Every member of the Laskaris royal family was required to enroll there upon turning five.
Some considered it the greatest institution of learning on the continent.
Demons, beastkin, humans, dragons—within its walls, all races were granted equal status.
Unless they were royalty, students paid little attention to one another’s social standing.
Even those of royal blood were only treated with respectful speech; beyond that, etiquette was not strictly observed.
Of course, things were different once they stepped outside the academy.
Her mission was to infiltrate this institution and build her influence as much as possible before graduating.
She had no idea what had become of her fellow elves.
Many had likely lost their lives.
As fresh tears welled up, she forced herself to focus and searched through the papers again.
“This is… a residency permit?”
A permit allowing her to stay in the Dragon Kingdom for an extended period.
She carefully packed the documents back into her bag and stored them inside a spatial pocket.
“…If only I can reach my destination safely.”
If she could just pass through the forest, she would reach the kingdom.
The night was dark, and the woods felt all the more ominous.
Then—
-Neighhhhhh!!!
Her horse shrieked, and the carriage jolted violently.
“W-What?!”
Startled by the sudden shock, Ramir instinctively looked out the window—
And saw it.
“A magitech bomb—?!”
-Zzzzzzzzt!
A glowing blue device crackled ominously in the air.
There was only one nation on the continent that relied on technology rather than magic.
“The republic?! Why is the republic targeting me?!”
The thought barely had time to settle before the bomb exploded.
-BOOM!!!
“Urgh!”
The blast threw Ramir from the carriage, slamming her against a tree in the forest.
Pain and dizziness overwhelmed her, but she couldn’t afford to use healing magic.
The green glow would be too conspicuous in the darkness.
The coachman had already been gruesomely killed.
Ramir locked eyes with him as the life drained from his gaze.
She barely managed to stifle a scream, pressing a trembling hand over her mouth.
With the last of his strength, the coachman mouthed words to her.
-R…
-u…
-n…
-SHLCK!
“Khh!”
A dagger pierced the coachman’s stomach.
“…She’s not here.”
“Damn it. We lost her.”
Two assassins clicked their tongues in frustration.
Ramir ran.
The sounds of pursuit echoed behind her, but she had one advantage—this was elven territory.
The entire forest was on her side.
Its presence concealed her, allowing her to slip away from the assassins’ grasp.
But the head injury was worse than she thought.
The dizziness and nausea only grew stronger.
“Ugh…!”
She stumbled and fell several times, but she never stopped running.
She ran and ran—
And by the time the first light of dawn broke through the trees, she had finally escaped the forest.
“…I… I’m alive…”
-Thud.
The moment the words left her lips, her strength drained away.
Something was wrong.
A splitting headache crashed over her, drowning out everything else.
No matter how hard she tried to move, her body wouldn’t respond.
Her arms trembled uncontrollably—
And then, darkness swallowed her whole.
Even so, she managed to move her arm and touched the back of her head.
“…B-blood.”
The forest’s protection had kept her barely stable, but now that she was outside its bounds, her body rapidly weakened.
The internal bleeding, which had been slowed due to the forest’s blessings, began to worsen again.
“…I must… survive…”
She couldn’t let it end like this.
The elves’ final blade against the empire could not be broken here.
But regardless of her determination, her body was losing strength.
She focused every last bit of her remaining magic on her head, suppressing the bleeding as much as possible.
That was all she could do.
And with that—Ramir lost consciousness.
“Is she… dead?”
A girl with green hair lay collapsed, blood seeping from the back of her head.
Judging by her appearance, she seemed to be somewhere between the upper grades of elementary school and the second year of middle school at best.
Not that I, who still looked like a lower-grade elementary schooler myself, was in any position to judge.
Perhaps noticing that I had stopped running, the head maid and my sister rushed toward me.
“There’s a child collapsed here?!”
“…This is serious. She looks like an elf, and she needs medical attention.”
“W-what do we do?”
The head maid placed her hand on the elf girl’s head and closed her eyes.
Her gaze then softened, filled with sympathy.
“…It looks like she struggled desperately to survive.”
“As long as she’s still breathing, she can be saved.”
“But to prevent any lasting damage…”
As the head maid trailed off, my sister picked up on her meaning and completed the thought.
“We need to take her to Lord Baal.”
“Exactly.”
With that, the head maid transformed into her black dragon form and instructed us to climb on.
Since the castle was quite a distance away, riding was the best option.
Without hesitation, my sister and I carefully secured the unconscious elf girl and mounted the head maid.
Thanks to her incredible speed, we reached the castle in no time.
As soon as we arrived, I bolted barefoot through the halls, my footsteps echoing as I ran straight to the elder’s chamber.
Baal Breeze was having an exceptionally dull day.
Anuket had locked herself away, claiming she was developing a life-extending spell to preserve Damian so she could work him to death for eternity.
Nameless had taken Void away for training but was likely just messing around.
Lavender and Surt… well, let’s not even go there.
With everyone else preoccupied, Baal was left to spend the day alone in boredom.
Until—
-BANG!
“Grandma Baal!”
“Princess?”
Suddenly, her little bundle of chaos burst through the door.
“…?”
“Please save this elf!”
The soon-to-be corpse of an elf child was being presented to her.
Baal’s lips curled into a sly grin.
Not because she was happy about having a patient—
But because the adorable Minho and the lovely Yuri were relying on her.
>Anuket had locked herself away, claiming she was developing a life-extending spell to preserve Damian so she could work him to death for eternity.
Oh no…
I fear Damian will become a black company slave.