Chapter 17.
When Kazar opened the office door he used during his stay in Edelweiss, he found two boxes and a letter placed on the desk. They were sent by Ceyron, the empire’s only 5th-circle mage.
“The item you ordered is in the blue box. It’s my first time making it, but the performance turned out pretty well. Once charged, you can speak up to 100 sentences. It costs 100 gold per charge, so just think of it as 1 gold per sentence.
P.S.: The stealth artifact in the gold box is a gift from Duke Spes. A token of gratitude for helping his family’s children. Thanks to you, I got to clear out some old stock. No one was buying it because it was so expensive.”
Kazar opened the gold box from Duke Spes first. Inside was a plain silver ring. Since Ceyron had shown it to him before, he already knew how to use it and how effective it was. He also knew it was worth as much as a townhouse in the capital.
‘This is a bit too much just for helping out his kids.’
Sending such a high-value gift through Ceyron, without even a note, was typical of Duke Spes.
Kazar slipped the silver ring onto his ring finger and opened the blue box. Inside was the bracelet-shaped artifact he had ordered two months ago. It was a portable communication device—an upgraded version of the magical image orb that allowed conversation over long distances.
“One sentence per gold coin.”
Easy to calculate, but not exactly cheap. Still, it would be extremely useful in emergencies.
Only two recipients could be registered. He had planned to register Laine and Hawk.
Looking around the office, Kazar picked up a strand of green hair. He brought it close to one of the two beads on the bracelet. The hair was absorbed as if melting into the bead, which began to glow faintly green.
Kazar touched the green bead with his finger and mentally formed the sentence he wanted to say.
[Laine, come in.]
With loud footsteps, the door burst open.
“What the— I just heard your voice in my head!”
Kazar silently held up the bracelet in response.
“Oh, it’s finally finished? If it had arrived just a few days earlier, you wouldn’t have had to suffer so much.”
“One sentence is one gold coin.”
Startled by the hefty price, Laine nodded, remembering Kazar had requested it to work across the entire empire.
“Of course it’s Ceyron. I didn’t think it was possible when you ordered it, but wow. So why did you call me?”
“Test. But you got here fast.”
“I was on my way to see you. I think I figured out who tried to ‘buy’ you.”
“The Kingdom of Bellua?”
Laine’s eyes narrowed.
“How did you know?”
“I was taken to Aden. Just across the river is Bellua, isn’t it?”
“Exactly. I think it’s Princess Mahel.”
“A princess?”
Kazar frowned. He’d at least heard the name, since she was royalty from a neighboring kingdom.
“But I’ve never done anything to make her hate me enough to get me kidnapped.”
Seeing his confusion, Laine explained kindly.
“She’s been sending you love letters since last year.”
“Really?”
“One letter a day. Without fail. Like clocking into an academy.”
“Did she now…? I burned all of them without reading.”
Laine shot him a glare and continued explaining.
“Sure, the letters were probably written by her maid, but it’s obvious the princess is totally infatuated with you. The content was so cringe, I nearly lost my limbs.”
“You read them?”
“I read everything that comes to you. Anyway, it’s pretty clear Princess Mahel fell for you. But Bellua isn’t in a position to send a formal marriage proposal to the empire. So this was probably her way of forcing it.”
“Even if that’s the case, kidnapping? They’ve got guts.”
“You think Bellua did the kidnapping themselves? The empress probably sugarcoated it and promised to deliver you nicely wrapped. You were lucky to escape, considering the state you were in.”
Most likely.
“I was just lucky.”
Kazar muttered, recalling Eluana’s eyes that reminded him of the lush summer greenery.
“Anyway, I’ll look more into Princess Mahel. And here.”
Laine handed him a picture.
Kazar unrolled the drawing without much thought—and then doubted his own eyes. At first, he thought it was a portrait of Eluana. But the woman in the picture wasn’t a girl.
A grown woman—one who could be Eluana herself in the future.
“That’s a portrait Duke Spes distributed across the empire 15 years ago. So? Does she look like Eluana Vita?”
Laine pressed for an answer, but Kazar hesitated.
It wasn’t just a resemblance.
“…She’s identical.”
Eluana was fifteen. No doubt about it. Kazar spoke aloud the conclusion he’d drawn.
“Eluana Vita might be Duke Spes’s biological daughter.”
That was Level 2 classified information—important enough to shift the power dynamics of the empire.
But then—
“This is crazy.”
Kazar muttered. More serious than the possibility of Spes being Eluana’s father was that the woman in the portrait might be her mother.
That was Level 1 information—enough to shake the balance of the entire continent.
Duke Spes came when the lavender fields were shrouded in darkness.
“Can I borrow some of your time? I have something to tell you, but I wanted to wait until you were in a calm state.”
Eluana stepped aside to let him in and asked,
“Is it about my mother?”
“Yes.”
Duke Spes slowly looked around the Lavender Room. Regret colored his gaze as it lingered on various corners before settling on Eluana.
They sat across from each other at the ivory table. Eluana braced herself. She had long suspected there was a deeper story between her mother and the duke.
The Lavender Room had been maintained as if its owner might return at any moment. It wasn’t just cleaned. The entire wardrobe was replaced annually to stay up-to-date with fashion trends. Dozens of unworn dresses were thrown out every year, waiting for a mother who never returned.
For fifteen years.
“I’m ready to hear it.”
Even as she said it, her heart thudded in her chest. Something told her this wouldn’t be the kind of story you could just nod at and say, “Ah, I see.”
“How much do you know about the imperial royal family?”
Despite saying he’d talk about her mother, he started with an unexpected question. Still puzzled, Eluana replied readily.
“The 27th Emperor rules the empire. I’ve met the First Prince—he was trash. The Second Prince died mysteriously as a child. The Third Prince is studying abroad. I’m a bit worried if the Fourth Prince made it back safely. The Fifth Prince is said to be Louis’s age. Oh, and there’s one princess.”
After answering, she blinked in surprise.
‘Wait, I know all that?’
She hadn’t studied formally—only read picture books at home and listened to Ron Vita’s occasional lessons.
“You’re right,” Duke Spes said, looking at her with concern.
His easiest option now was to declare independence from the empire. There might be war, but it would likely be symbolic. The current royal family couldn’t handle the Spes family. But that wasn’t what the late Stella had wanted. If she had, she would never have left.
So what did Eluana, her daughter, want?
Duke Spes was about to share Stella’s past—and the children’s future. If Eluana chose a path, he was ready to walk it, no matter how difficult.
He spoke gravely.
“There’s another imperial line besides the Fortuna family: the Cantio bloodline.”
“Isn’t that the founding emperor’s direct line? I thought the Fortuna family took over and the Cantio line vanished.”
‘Only those among Cantio’s descendants who pass the trial shall have the right to be emperor.’
Under this dragon-given decree, imperial succession required passing a “trial” in the Dragon Hall. But about 300 years later, people from various families started appearing with Cantio blood. The Grand Duke Fortuna, born from a princess, was one such person.
He secretly passed the trial and overthrew the imperial family, declaring himself emperor. Everyone bearing the Cantio name or blood was said to have been executed.
Thus ended the 300-year Cantio dynasty, and the Fortuna line began.
“Officially, yes. But the rebel Fortuna line didn’t wipe out all of Cantio. That night, after the emperor was assassinated, a great storm flooded all rivers. Legend had it that natural disasters would occur if a true Cantio descendant died unnaturally. The Fortuna family must’ve expected that. But what shocked them was that for 12 days after, all divine blessings and dragon relics stopped functioning.”
Eluana had heard of this.
The capital descended into chaos: gates, teleporters, wards, sewage systems, and streetlights—everything stopped for 12 days. The empire lost light, water, and protection.
“Only a young princess survived. She was supposed to be executed, but the new emperor hesitated. They didn’t know the exact conditions for maintaining the dragon’s blessing. If they killed her, the power might vanish for good. So they gave her the Fortuna name and locked her in the palace until she turned 18.”
“Why 18?”
“You’ve heard of how succession works, haven’t you?”
“When a prince or princess turns 18, they must take the dragon’s trial. If they pass, a mark appears on their body the next morning. Then the candidates with marks compete for the throne. Oh… they didn’t let her take the trial.”
The duke was surprised at how much Eluana knew. Concealing his astonishment, he went on.
“Exactly. Later children with Cantio blood were accepted as royalty and given the Fortuna name—though marked with Cantio as a middle name and confined to the palace. That’s been repeated for 700 years.”
Eluana frowned.
‘Children, locked up until they’re 18? For 700 years?’
An ominous thought crept into her mind.
‘No. Don’t jump to conclusions.’
She forced herself to erase the suspicion.
“Were there no Cantios who refused to have children?”
“They couldn’t withstand the pressure from the crown.”
It meant that to maintain the dragon’s blessing, the cycle had been forcibly sustained. Eighteen years of confinement. Then a child. Then another 18 years of waiting while the child was taken away.
“Horrible. Cruel.”
Watching Eluana’s pained expression, the duke’s heart burned. What he was about to say truly was cruel.
“…Stella’s real name was ‘Stella Cantio Fortuna.’”
