Chapter 10
Chapter 10
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 10
Chapter Title: Dragon Princess (4)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
"Around two hundred years ago, wasn't it the war where the Dragon Demon race tried to dominate the world?"
"That's right, you know about it. After the Dragon Emperor War ended with the hero Azel Karzark defeating the Dragon Demon King Atein..."
Rick trailed off there and glanced at Azel.
"Come to think of it, your name is Azel too."
"So?"
"And you have red hair like Azel Karzark."
"That could happen."
Azel felt a jolt inside but kept a straight face on the outside. Rick continued.
"No, it's just pitiful that a guy like you shares a name with the legendary hero."
"......"
"Anyway, even during the Dragon Emperor War, quite a few Dragon Demons sided with the humans."
The Dragon Demon King Atein had rallied countless Dragon Demons to conquer the world. What he dreamed of was a great empire where the Dragon Demon race lorded over all other beings.
However, not all Dragon Demons were on his side. Some declared neutrality because they disliked Atein, while others sided with the humans.
Azel remembered those individuals too.
'Come to think of it, some of them might still be alive.'
Dragon Demons lived far longer than humans. So it was possible that some of those who fought alongside him on the battlefield were still alive even after 220 years. It was an obvious possibility he should have considered, but he'd been too caught up in the chaos to think of it.
Realizing that made Azel's heart race.
Up until now, Azel had tried to face the situation before him positively, but deep down, he'd been despairing. The loneliness of being thrown alone into a world he didn't know was unbearable.
But... even if they weren't human, there might be others who lived in the same era as him. That fact planted a seed of hope in Azel.
'But......'
Azel had secluded himself shortly after the Dragon Emperor War ended, without appearing in public. The reason wasn't widely known, but it was because Atein's curse had rapidly deteriorated his health.
So he was in the dark about how the world had changed after the war ended, but he did know one thing.
Public opinion toward the Dragon Demons who had aided humans had turned sour.
'What happened to them after that?'
Even though they had fought to help humans, they were still Dragon Demons. And the fear and hostility humans harbored toward Dragon Demons because of the Dragon Emperor War was beyond imagination.
Rick's story touched on that very point.
"After the Dragon Emperor War, even the Dragon Demons who sided with humans had no choice but to turn their backs on the world and go into hiding. And their half-blood descendants... in other words, the Dragon Demon Hybrids, were persecuted and caused a lot of incidents here and there."
"......"
So that's how it turned out.
Among the Dragon Demons, some had sided with humans out of love for them. However, humans saw them as comrades in battle but refused to accept them as members of society.
'No, even back then......'
Even during the Dragon Emperor War itself, they had been isolated. They weren't true comrades but tools with immense power—untrustworthy traitors from the enemy side, yet useful ones.
That's why they cherished their bonds with those like Azel and Kallos who approached them with open hearts. In a world full of hostility where they wanted to believe, holding onto their convictions must have been incredibly difficult.
Rick's story continued.
"The situation changed a bit later. In the late Nadik Empire, when Duke Lurein couldn't endure the tyranny of the crumbling empire and allied with surrounding lords to declare independence as the Lurein Kingdom, the empire naturally responded with force."
The Lurein Kingdom Independence War was the beginning of the Nadik Empire's downfall.
However, even in its decline, the Nadik Empire was still the strongest power in the world. The Lurein Kingdom faced a desperate crisis from the start.
At that time, Duke Lurein made a bold decision.
That decision was to ally with Dragon Demons—and the Dragon Demon Hybrids, who were half-human.
He won over a few Dragon Demons who were hostile to humans and embraced the persecuted Dragon Demon Hybrids. By granting them social status and allowing them to live proper lives, the Lurein Kingdom gained tremendous power.
"And to clearly demonstrate that resolve, they took Dragon Demon women as concubines, and later made a law that successors to the throne must take at least one person with Dragon Demon blood as a spouse to preserve Dragon Demon blood in the royal family."
Thus, the Dragon Princess and Dragon Demon Prince were born.
They were symbols of the alliance, announcing that humans and all those with Dragon Demon blood in the kingdom lived together.
Rick said,
"They can't inherit the throne, so they pose no threat to royal authority, and they're forced to fight for the royal family until the next generation is born. But because of that, they're also everyone's heroes."
"I see......"
Azel listened with great interest to the history after his departure.
The fate of the Dragon Demons after the Dragon Emperor War and the fall of his homeland, the Nadik Empire, pained him, but the Lurein Kingdom's treatment of Dragon Demons left a strong impression.
'In the end, they bought the right to live in human civilization with their Dragon Demon power as payment.'
Cynically speaking, that's how it could be interpreted. He needed to learn more, but Azel didn't think his guess was wrong. The fact that humans and Dragon Demons could only coexist in such a way was a bit bitter.
Azel asked,
"But why is that Dragon Princess coming here?"
"Because of this ruin, of course."
"Huh?"
"They say it might be the ruins of the great mage Kallos. So just in case, they dispatched an investigation team led by the Dragon Princess."
"Great mage Kallos......"
Before Azel fell asleep, Kallos had many titles. But he was still young and not yet called a great mage.
Yet now, 220 years later, he'd become such a legendary figure in history. Azel gave a wry smile at the thought.
6
In the Lurein Kingdom, there was only one Dragon Princess per generation.
The current Dragon Princess was named Arieta Bail Lurein. She was two years younger than her brother, the Dragon Demon Prince Seiga Bail Lurein.
"Hmm."
Arieta, riding in the royal carriage, had been dozing but opened her eyes.
She was still a seventeen-year-old girl. Without her armor, she didn't look at all like someone who had made a name on the battlefield.
Her long white hair was partially braided below her ears, and her eyes were like sunset-hued gems. Her skin was flawless, her ears slightly pointed like an elf's, and above her left ear was a horn resembling a sculpted feather with a faint blue tint—like a cluster of eyes carved from ice. To the unaware, it might seem like an exotic ornament.
Along with that horn, the other feature marking her as non-human were the gems embedded in both wrists, glowing the same sunset hue as her eyes. These stones, called Dragon Demon Stones, held a hazy, shadow-like energy. Resembling a dragon's vertically slit pupils, they gave an eerie feeling when stared at.
Gazing blankly into space, she suddenly spoke.
"Enora."
"Yes."
The one called Enora was the young maid sitting beside her. She appeared to be thirteen or fourteen, with curly red-gold hair and bright turquoise eyes that made her look like a doll.
Arieta asked,
"Have we not arrived yet?"
Her speech was archaic. Enora replied,
"We've almost arrived, they say."
"I woke for no reason. But... what is it?"
Arieta furrowed her brow slightly. Enora asked,
"What's wrong?"
"I feel like someone's gaze is on me, faintly..."
"A gaze?"
"That's just the feeling. It must have disturbed my nerves and woken me. Go back to sleep."
Arieta closed her eyes again. And within less than three seconds, she was asleep.
Enora smiled awkwardly.
"I can't sleep, though..."
The carriage was moving slowly through the forest path, so it wasn't exactly comfortable. Yet Arieta slept as soundly as if she were in her own bed.
Enora watched the doll-like sleeping Arieta, then glanced out the window. With just the two of them inside, it was terribly boring. If Arieta were a normal girl, they'd chat to pass the time, but she was anything but normal.
'But our princess really sleeps so much, how does she do it?'
Enora had been Arieta's exclusive maid for only two months. At first, she was incredibly nervous about serving the Dragon Princess. Plus, Arieta rarely showed much expression in front of people, and her archaic speech added to the intimidation.
But after spending time together, those feelings vanished. She realized Arieta had an incredibly laid-back personality, hardly befitting her high status.
'Above all, she's hardly ever awake.'
She slept so much during the day that servants didn't have to worry much about reading her mood.
As Enora fidgeted her toes out of boredom while staring out the window, noise erupted outside. They must have arrived.
"Princess, Princess."
"...Hmm?"
Whispering in her ear, Arieta opened her eyes. Looking at Enora with sleepy eyes, she asked,
"Have we arrived?"
"They say we're almost there."
"Then a bit more..."
"No."
"Why?"
"You said you can't go out with sleepy eyes."
"...Did I say that?"
Arieta tilted her head. Enora nodded vigorously.
"You told me to stop you if you tried to sleep again."
"I did, huh. Hmm. No helping it. Tidy me up properly."
Arieta yawned and closed her eyes.
Enora moved quickly. She smoothed out the tangled hair, lightly cleaned around the eyes, and touched up the makeup. Then she handed over the clothes hanging nearby. She helped her swiftly into the uniform-style outerwear and a coat over it. Despite her young age, it was the skill of the Dragon Princess's exclusive maid.
The Dragon Princess Arieta didn't wear dresses except at social events. She preferred practical, uniform-like clothes, and the coat with a white base and blue dragon-flame patterns was a magical item specially made for her.
Soon, a knight outside the window said,
"Princess, we're almost there."
"Understood."
Arieta's voice responding to the knight was composed and dignified, without a trace of sleepiness.
Shortly after Arieta replied, they reached their destination.
Arieta said,
"I thought there'd be at least one attack on the way here..."
"Yes?"
Enora's eyes widened in surprise.
From the royal palace to the fortress held by the Western Border Guard, and then from the fortress to the excavation site of the ruins in Ballan Forest, their journey had been peaceful. With so many people, bandits and monsters hadn't dared attack.
For reference, the royal party's size was about thirty. Around twenty escort soldiers protected Dragon Princess Arieta, with the rest being mages, scholars, and attendants.
Arieta said,
"It's Ballan Forest, after all. Such a dangerous place, I expected at least one clash entering it, but surprisingly, nothing happened."
"Isn't no attacks better?"
"True. I was just saying."
With that, Arieta stepped out of the carriage. Then, suddenly, her gaze fixed on one spot.
"Hmm?"