A New Testament to the Empire
“But Sien-nim is a member of the Magic Palace as well, isn’t he? How could I trust and entrust my body to you?”
“The Magic Palace respects individual choice. I am the head of a tower that receives support from the Solea royal family. It is only natural for me to prioritize Solea. I swear it.”
Sien placed his hand over his own chest.
Blue light flickered and settled into his palm.
“Sien. Are you truly about to swear such a vow?”
“Yes, Your Majesty the King. I swear I will never use any method that could harm the prince or Solea. I place my mana and soul upon it.”
A promise made by placing mana and soul upon it was the greatest vow a mage could swear.
Sien extended the hand flickering with blue light toward me.
It was a vow bound by two things more precious than life itself.
I took his hand firmly in mine.
Mana flowed from Sien’s body into mine.
It meant the bond had been sealed through that promise.
“Understood. I shall entrust my body to you.”
“I am truly grateful for your permission. I feel as though I was born for this very day.”
“Even to say such things…”
The reason I had called my body’s state a miracle beyond even miracles.
In theory, it should have been possible to use the entire body as a single circle.
But even the smallest mistake would risk destroying the body completely.
No successful cases existed until now, so it remained only a theoretical ideal.
As I headed back to my room, my teacher walked alongside me without a word.
“Teacher?”
“How is the new body? Does it feel good?”
“It feels excellent. This lightness is a first for me. I feel capable of doing anything now.”
“With consistent training and mana accumulation, you will grow stronger than before. Now, what do you want to do?”
Thanks to my teacher, I now had a foundation to become stronger than anyone in this world.
All that remained was time and effort I would have to invest in myself.
“I’m not sure yet. Perhaps I should focus on learning magic from you for the time being?”
“What nonsense? I only teach when I feel like it. And if I need to, I can adjust time freely, so you just sleep well.”
“You have such a strange teacher.”
“I am what I am. When you reach my level, strangeness is only natural.”
That was true.
My teacher possessed abilities beyond anyone I knew.
Throughout history, it had always been the victors’ story.
The strong who win and rule by their own laws shape the world. That is the victors’ privilege.
“In any case, do whatever you want.”
“Will you really allow me to do something displeasing to you?”
“You wouldn’t do that. You are the student who won my heart. Be proud of it.”
“By the way, from now on, do not speak aloud. Think only in your mind. You will be mistaken for a weird loner muttering to himself.”
My teacher and I passed maids moving in a group through the castle corridor.
“Prince Erewon, hello.”
“Thank you. You’re welcome.”
The maids did not even glance at the teacher walking beside me.
It seemed as though only I could see him.
‘Just in case, may I ask—aren’t you a ghost?’
“Want me to climb on your belly again? Your scream still rings clearly in my ears when my fingers brush your body.”
‘No, no. It’s fine.’
As we walked and talked, I passed through various people.
Guards, servants, and those working in the castle…
But everyone only greeted me. They never noticed the teacher walking calmly beside me.
Soon we reached the door of my room, and my teacher stopped walking.
“Oh, the first guest has already arrived.”
‘Who came to my room first?’
“It’s not a bad unexpected guest. Go in. I’ll leave now.”
‘Now that I think about it, I’ve been wondering where and what my teacher does when he spends his time.’
“You wouldn’t understand even if I told you. You’re just a minor human student.”
With one blink, my teacher was gone.
A guard saluted me.
“Prince Erewon, the princess Ruea is here.”
“Ruea? Why did she come to see me?”
“She said she came only to see Prince Erewon. But I sensed no presence, so she must have fallen asleep.”
“Thank you for telling me. I almost woke her.”
I lowered my head first, and the guard hastily followed suit.
“It is nothing. I only did what any guard should.”
The people around me still could not adapt to my suddenly changed attitude.
From a pubescent boy to someone who had suddenly matured, of course it would take time.
I opened the door carefully and entered.
Ruea lay asleep on my bed.
She had pulled the blanket up to her chin and left her mouth slightly open. It was adorable.
In the quiet room, her soft breathing tickled my ears.
‘Hmm? That doll… I’ve seen it somewhere.’
Beside her, a stuffed rabbit slept together with her.
I wondered why she had come to see me, but waking a sleeping child was too painful.
My father allowed me to set my own schedule after I mentioned I would need to train my body for a while.
Now the time was completely free, so I didn’t need to wake her to speed things up.
I sat on the chair and watched her sleeping form quietly.
It was time to organize my thoughts again.
Based on the dream my teacher had shown me.
In my previous life, when Ruea killed me, she had said this clearly.
“Farewell, uncle. I loved you more than anyone in this world.”
Those words—loved you more than anyone.
Even in the moment that crushed everything I had, was Ruea still loving me?
What was certain was that I had rejected her plea to return to me.
I had drawn a line between us that day.
One sentence lingered in my mind.
“I must now care for the new people in my life. I will bless you and your empire.”
Thinking back, that was when it began.
The new ruler of the Reichland Empire, Empress Ruea von Reichland, had started her conquest war.
Overwhelming numbers and overwhelming quality.
Even powerful magic thanks to the Magic Palace’s cooperation.
The empire had lacked nothing in its army.
During the process of recruiting knights from Solea, conflicts arose, but the knights’ power remained unstable. However, when Ruea became empress, the Solea knights swore fresh loyalty to her.
Ruea crushed everything with the overwhelming power of the empire.
Many nations chose to become imperial vassals to avoid war.
The empire’s swords changed even the other races that had maintained their own societies.
The dwarves were forced to open their doors and begin trade.
The elves had to sign treaties sharing their ancient secrets and powerful relics with other races.
The ancient sanctuary where the fairies lived was forcibly opened.
Only two humans were bound to live together with all races.
One was a legendary hero, and the other was…
That was my terrifying little sister.
“Mmm…”
Ruea’s eyes slowly opened.
“Uncle?”
“Yes, I’m here. You fell asleep on my bed. You must have been very tired.”
“No, it wasn’t because I was tired… it was because of uncle’s smell…”
“Huh? What?”
Ruea opened her mouth as if to say more, then closed it.
Her face flushed bright red.
“N-nothing! I must have been really tired!”
“Were you? You didn’t sleep properly yesterday, right?”
“Yes. How did you know?”
“It’s still daytime. Feeling sleepy this early means you were busy this morning or didn’t sleep well last night. One of the two.”
Ruea, still half-asleep, carefully examined me from head to toe.
“Staring at me like that makes me embarrassed.”
“No matter how I look, you don’t seem to be in pain anywhere. But why did you suddenly change?”
“I guess I matured a bit?”
“But right now you’re better.”
Ruea suddenly sat up from the bed and hugged the doll over to me.
“Put me on your lap.”
“Eh? O-okay, okay.”
Ruea boldly demanded to be placed on my lap.
It surprised me, but it was not a demand I could refuse.
My lap now held the small Ruea, and the doll felt noticeably large.
“You seem to cherish that doll a lot.”
“Yes. It’s the doll uncle gave me, right?”
“I did? A doll that big?”
No matter how I thought, I had no memory of giving her such a large doll.
“Don’t you remember?”
“Um…”
Ruea asked again in a slightly sulky voice, so I searched my memory once more.
Was this perhaps a lingering effect from my previous life?
I would have to ask my teacher later.
“I can’t remember at all. I’m sorry I gave you a gift I don’t remember.”
Even though I couldn’t remember, Ruea smiled gently.
“It’s fine. Even if uncle doesn’t remember, I’m happy to have received it.”
“That makes me happy. I’m proud of the past me who gave you a gift you liked.”
“By the way, why did you come to see me?”
Ruea’s expression became cautious at my question.
“T-that’s… ”
Something was about to happen.
A strong feeling told me that.