Chapter 2
The Treasure of the Kingdom
A few hours earlier, my father, King Yones II of Lundra, summoned all royal family members to the Audience Hall of the Central Palace.
It was unusual for him to call every royal without notice, so we all hurried there.
The moment I entered the hall, I saw my father and mother seated on the high platform, and Rachel standing before them.
As soon as I stepped in, my eldest brother Shade signaled to me, and I took my place beside my brothers.
“Welcome, Princess Owen, strongest of the Earth.”
At first, I didn’t understand what Father meant.
Princess? But the only people in the hall were our family and Rachel Rich, Damon’s friend.
I had heard that a princess from the Owen Empire would be visiting Lundra on a diplomatic trip. But the one standing before us was clearly Rachel.
“It is an honor to meet the ruler of the most beautiful land. I am Rachel Withnis of the Owen Empire.”
“You may raise your head.”
What was going on?
I looked to my second brother, Damon. He was staring at Rachel, eyes wide.
“I received a letter saying the princess had studied at our kingdom’s First Academy. The sender was Rachel Withnis—also you. Yet our academy records state you are Rachel Rich, daughter of the Viscount Rich.”
Damon had graduated the year he turned twenty. Rachel, who was his age, would have graduated that same year.
I knew Damon’s friends had searched for Rachel after graduation. They had said she disappeared.
And now, eight years later, Rachel had returned—revealing she was a princess who had concealed her identity while studying at our academy.
“I acknowledge that I hid my identity. However, thanks to that, I received an excellent education in the Lundra Kingdom. I am grateful for Your Majesty’s grace.”
“Our kingdom was unaware that the princess was within our borders. Explain why you reveal this truth only now.”
For a moment, it felt as if Rachel’s eyes met mine.
It had been just an instant—I wasn’t sure she’d actually looked at me. Perhaps she had looked at Damon instead.
“Your Majesty, you may recall that during my time at the academy, I saved Prince Damon’s life twice. I am here to request a reward for that.”
Beside me, I heard Damon sharply inhale.
“Is this the will of the imperial family?”
“I have not informed His Imperial Majesty of the full circumstances of how I saved the prince. However, he does know that I lived in the Lundra Kingdom.”
“You…”
Father paused briefly.
“Did you enroll in our academy with the intent of gaining leverage over our kingdom?”
“No. I had no such intentions at the time. I simply happened to become involved in incidents with Prince Damon. Eight years ago, Your Majesty told me you would recognize my merit. I have come to claim that reward.”
When Damon attended the academy, I had been young. The elementary division had short school hours, and I spent most of the day in the palace.
I had never heard that Damon had been in danger—or that Rachel had saved his life.
“What do you desire?”
“Something precious.”
“Speak.”
If it was something more precious than the life of a royal…
“I wish for the treasure of the kingdom.”
Damon gritted his teeth.
“You make an excessive demand. That is quite literally the treasure of the kingdom. You are asking for the ancient legacy of Lundra. Ask for something else.”
“While attending the academy, I saw for myself how great the Lundra Kingdom is—and how vulnerable it can be. If the Empire and the international community learned such information…”
Silence fell. Father’s expression hardened.
The royal institutions had failed to detect a foreigner with a false identity. It could be seen as a weakness in intelligence and national security.
Rachel was stating outright that this could become an international liability.
Rachel turned toward me.
“Even Princess Daisy does not know what happened eight years ago, does she? If that becomes known, Lundra will not escape trouble.”
Rachel was the only one smiling in the audience hall. Her lips sharpened, and her eyes gleamed coldly. She felt like a stranger to me.
“In the face of danger to the kingdom, what meaning does one old treasure have? The Empire will not take the treasure permanently. Lend it to us for just three years.”
She was unwavering.
There was only one item known publicly as the treasure of the Lundra Kingdom: the Dragon’s Tear, which King Theseus I received on the last day of the dragon Lundra’s life.
To lend out such a symbolic treasure would cause a huge international uproar.
Rachel must have been aiming for exactly that—for the world to see that the Lundra Kingdom had been pressured into lending its treasure to the Empire.
But Rachel did not know something.
Contrary to public belief, the dragon’s magic consisted of three spells. Only the Lundra royal family knew this.
[Those not born upon this land shall not stand upon this land.]
The first was the dragon’s protection over this land.
[You and your descendants shall endure forever under Lundra’s name.]
The second was the dragon’s oath of loyalty—bestowed as a blessing upon the royal family.
[This land shall never fail to remember the will of Lundra.]
The third was the magic contained within the Dragon’s Tear—the magic that preserved the land’s beauty.
It was the Dragon’s Tear that granted the northern kingdom of Lundra its four seasons.
Because the land had its seasons, the people could farm, fish, trade, and craft.
So Rachel’s demand to borrow the treasure was effectively a threat to plunge the kingdom into ruin—far worse than she understood.
“I trust in the honor of the kingdom that inherits the name of the dragon Lundra.”
Rachel wanted only the treasure.
Father could not hide his displeasure. There was no reason for a king to mask his expression before someone demanding his nation’s treasure.
“Rachel! You dare speak of honor?”
Damon stepped forward and shouted.
Shade held him back, and Damon clenched his fists, turning his head away.
“I hear the princess arrived early this morning. Let her rest today. We shall discuss this again later.”
“Your Majesty of the beautiful land, thank you for granting me your precious time.”
Rachel performed a Lundra-style bow and left the hall.
Silence remained.
Father leaned on the armrest, resting his chin on his hand.
“Your Majesty, we cannot send the Dragon’s Tear outside this land. The moment it leaves, the dragon’s third magic will break.”
Shade, the eldest, spoke.
“But if we do not give the treasure, the Empire will reveal our weakness to the world. It could lead to war. The lives of our people would suffer.”
“Your Majesty! Our security was not compromised. I do not know how Princess Rachel managed to hide her identity.”
Shade spoke through gritted teeth.
The royals in the hall were filled with anger, confusion, and conflict. It was clear that, no matter what, Lundra would suffer losses.
“That is not important. The princess’s knowledge of the past incident…”
Father stopped mid-sentence, his eyes landing on me.
There must have been a reason they had never told me about that incident. I had never pushed—state secrets were not something I needed to pry into.
So I made a joke instead.
“Since it’s Brother Damon’s matter, why not send him to the Empire?”
I only meant to lighten the mood.
But my own words sparked a new thought in me.
There was another treasure in our kingdom. A treasure that could go to the Empire.
“I can give her the treasure.”
“Three years without the Tear would be devastating!” Damon raised his voice slightly.
He knew, just as we all did, that this situation gave us no good options. His frustration simply spilled out.
“If it were the Dragon’s Tear, yes. But we know there is another treasure.”
Father and Mother stared at me in shock.
Mother spoke, her voice trembling.
“Daisy… what are you saying?”
“Lend me to the Empire. I’m a treasure of Lundra.”
“Daisy! You—!”
Damon grabbed my shoulders. Shade turned fully toward me, eyes wide.
“My true name, Leatria, means ‘Treasure.’”
The dragon’s second spell was a blessing upon the royal family: as long as one’s true name was unknown, no one could harm a member of the royal family.
Carelessness could still cause minor injuries in daily life, but any weapon wielded with murderous intent would deflect instantly, and dangerous magic would fail.
Because of this, the royals received their true names in the ancient tongue from the era of the dragon Lundra—and never revealed them to the world.
And my true name, Leatria, meant Treasure.
I was Leatria of Lundra—
Lundra’s treasure.
