The emperor of the Western Empire has changed four times.
The Western Empire was a strong empire when it was led by Emperor Iver, infamous for his mysophobia.
But now, it just barely existed, like a cookies with several bites taken around its edges.
The factions that had been exiled the corners of the western continent did not miss the opportunity to attack the empire. The entire edge of the empire became a battlefield.
And in the middle of it, a young child with a sword suddenly appeared.
“Even a child like that on the battlefield becomes a soldier…”
Those who pitied him, died first.
The persistent child survived fiercely. Even when the pain from large cut along his back took his breath away, even as he suffered numerous wounds all over his body, he endured it all.
The longer he stayed on the battlefield, the fewer injuries he received. By the time House of Miltan’s emperor changed for the fifth time, he had grown up and directed the tip of his sword towards the middle of the empire.
The symbol of the Iver family was etched into his gloves. After appearing with black hair, he suddenly became blonde.
The necklace around his neck was just a tool to hide his natural blonde hair.
It was about 10 years after the child first appeared.
His name was Nabel Iver.
*****
Poke.
A fork stabbed the middle of the apple.
The hand holding the fork was soft and slender. The owner of the fork took a bite out of the apple, avoiding the side that had turned brown.
While eating an apple, Ronee glanced down at her hand. Every time she looked at her hand, it reminded her of a certain hand that used to tightly grasped hers.
The fork, that used to be large, was now small.
“Nabel.”
She frowned slightly. A name that has not been forgotten even after 10 years had passed. The child, who is no longer there, was older now.
‘By now, he must have grown taller than me.’
Ronée wondered how he was doing. She had bought him as a slave, but he was no longer a slave. Ronée never treated him like a slave.
Nabel had left and become a free man.
‘You said you would come back.’
Poke
Her hand, which was slightly pale from the lack of sunlight, picked up the fork again.
“My Lady!”
There was only one person who would rush into her room in a hurry. Her maid, Ryne.
“Ryne? Is something wrong?”
“My Lady….”
As Ryne rushed to her side, Ronée had difficulties understanding her as she stumbled over her words.
There was only thing that would cause her to be this alarmed, the only thing that had her fearful throughout the past ten years.
“We have received word from the temple.”
Ronée dropped the fork.
Clink!
Bell, her fox, jumped into her arms and sat down. As if to reassure her that it would protect her. Ronée saw Nabel in Bell.
