The Subila Empire stretched across a vast expanse of land. With San Soliel Mountain Range as the central line dividing the continent, it had occupied most of the lands to the west of it. If it were not for the existence of the Theocracy, they would have been the absolute rulers of the west. The San Soliel Mountain Range would then become the central axis for their invasion to the east.
The imperial palace of the empire was extremely huge and experienced all four seasons. Princess Andrea lifted her skirt and walked through the magnificent corridor of the palace like a cheerful lark.
“Your Highness.”
A young man took a step forward. He placed his hand in front of him and bowed to Andrea.
“Corvin, father is summoning me, and you will come along.”
Andrea said briskly.
“Yes, Your Highness!”
The person named Corvin quickly replied while sneaking a peek at the princess’s face. He quickly lowered his head again in shame.
His eyes were filled with adoration. In the capital of the Subila Empire, whether commoners or nobles, as long as they were male, they would have feelings for the princess.
‘But the only one who can’t have any kind of feelings for Her Highness is you, Corvin!’
Corvin admonished himself inwardly.
He was the captain of the princess’ guards. At a young age, he was already a warrior close to reaching the ninth rank. He was once a ragged poor man that almost froze to death in the ice-cold winter. By chance, the princess’ carriage passed by, and the kind princess saved him. He was then sent to the palace for guard training and studying. Because of Corvin’s competitive personality, he reached close to the ninth rank at such a young age. As long as he didn’t break off his path, the legendary rank would be attainable.
He originally thought that his life would be like those stories sung by the bards, a love story between a knight and a princess. How a fallen knight would be rescued by the princess, and the two of them would fall in love. That was supposed to be the plot, but as he grew older, Corvin found that the princess didn’t seem to have any other feelings for him. She was gentle and kind, but that wasn’t exclusive to him. That was because the princess treated any kind of unfairness and injustice with total zeal.
Perhaps if he diligently trained to reach the legendary rank, he might become eligible to marry the princess
There were times when Corvin would have such random thoughts, but the reality told him that a mere legendary rank powerhouse was unable to marry the sole ‘Flower of Subila’. This was unless he had a powerful background or brought large benefits to the empire.
But Corvin was just a commoner. How could he have any kind of powerful background?
He kept his head down and did not say any other words. He just looked at Andrea’s intricate lace skirt while trying his best to protect her.
On the way to the great hall, Andrea maintained her noble demeanor, but she would also show kindness to every passing maid and soldier by greeting them. It was as if she knew everyone in the palace. No one could feel any evil intent towards her.
“My beautiful angel, you’re finally here!”
In the emperor’s palace, under heavy protection, His Majesty, the emperor of the Subila Empire sat on a high seat. He was a sturdy old man, full of majesty, but when she saw Andrea enter, he let out a kind and gentle smile as he shouted.
Andrea’s face tinged with red as she felt embarrassed. She lifted her skirt and curtsied to her father, “Good day, father!”
Then, she looked at the middle-aged expressionless man beside the emperor, “Good day, General Derek!”
Finally, she turned to two older men at the side, “Good day, my two brothers.”
Andrea’s tone was brisk. Her body seemed to glow from an invisible light. Everywhere she went, she brought a light feeling of joy.
The middle-aged man beside the emperor just nodded his head and continued his duty of protecting the emperor.
The two princes at the side let out gentle expressions and nodded at their little sister. Among them, the handsome and cheerful-looking second prince was looking at his sister with a hint of covetousness.
“I have called you all here. I’m sure you know what it’s for.”
The emperor spoke slowly and with self-imposed authority.
“Father, it’s because of the main road to pass through the San Soliel Mountain Range, in other words, Dragon City, right?”
The eldest prince, who was heir to the throne spoke out first.
His younger siblings, on the other hand, did not say a word. They clearly knew that it was not their time to speak yet.
The emperor nodded lightly and said, “Dragon City is completely different from what we expected. We originally thought that the primordial dragon who came from some realm would have brought down the city in at most a month. We even prepared ourselves to compete with the elves and made preparations to seize the city. But three months have already passed, and no one could have imagined that the city did not only not degrade, but even flourish.”
“According to the information from the scouts, the city lord was even able to provide refined wheat from some unknown source, allowing even the commoners of Dragon City to eat food for nobles. If I did not have faith in my scouts, I would have thought they were joking. Aldrich, what do you think?”
The emperor looked at the crown prince. This was considered a test for him.
The crown prince named Alrich thought a little and slowly said, “Father, turning a demigod primordial dragon into an enemy is not a smart move. Before it declares its plan to continue expanding, I don’t think it’s the right action to show hostility towards it. We should withdraw our army on the borders to first show that we aren’t hostile. Secondly, gathering a large army would largely drain our supplies.”
“There are a variety of races in this world. There is no big deal even if a dragon lord appeared, but that is a demigod dragon. Even if the empire disregards resource consumption, we can’t guarantee that we can deal with this threat, unless we work together with the Theocracy…”
“But compared to the dragon, even a demigod dragon, the Theocracy is a much bigger threat to the empire. We should get in touch with that dragon. From his actions, I believe that we can communicate with it. Perhaps the empire could even create an alliance that could work together to face the Theocracy. Moreover, compared to the dragon, I am more interested in the refined wheat that it possesses. This can become a very important strategic material.”
Aldrich’s words made the emperor nod, “Amos, do you have anything to say?”
The emperor saw his second son’s actions that showed that he was about to make trouble and asked.
“Father, I also obtained some information. That dragon defeated the Crimson Calamity who had once ravaged the continent a thousand years ago. I think the empire doesn’t need to take any action. There are several countries in the united kingdoms of the east whose ancestors vowed to take revenge against the Crimson Calamity. They vowed to raise their army’s strengths to fight the evil dragon.”
“Now that the Queen of Calamity has become the prisoner of the demigod dragon, those countries would have to follow the binding oath even if they are unwilling to do so and wage war with Dragon City. We only need to stay as observers and watch other countries test the power of the dragon. If there is an opportunity, we can…”
The second prince did not finish his words, but everyone knew what he meant. If the demigod dragon showed any fatigue, then the empire would find an excuse to wage war. If the demigod dragon was really invincible, then the empire would continue having a good relationship with it.
This was the so-called politics. There was no right or wrong answer nor was there a real agreement. Everything depended on interest.
“Father, If there is really a need for an envoy to visit Dragon City, can I be allowed to go? As the princess of the empire, I think my identity would satisfy the demigod dragon. Moreover, I still haven’t seen a dragon that can communicate rationally.”
Andrea suddenly spoke out. Her beautiful eyes looked at her father with a pitiful and hopeful look.
The emperor frowned slightly. From his appearance, it was clear that he did not want his angel to do these dangerous things, but he did not refuse and asked, “Andrea, do you know about the ‘Feminist Witch Council’?”
The emperor’s words caused the princess to look bewildered.
Seeing her expression, the emperor sighed, “You have to be careful with them. Don’t have any contact with them… You must especially be careful of those witches of the council!”
The Subilan Emperor said in a deep voice.
……
The rulers of the Subila Empire were discussing how to face Dragon City, but at this time, Louie, the lord of the city, was already back on Earth at this time.