In the World of Midgar Extra 9 — The Melancholy of the Rose Princess (1)

꒰ঌ The Melancholy of the Rose Princess 1

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The calendar year on Midgar was called the Midgar Calendar, or MC for short. It did not actually count all the years Midgar had existed, but instead only started when humanity came together and started an era where they lived in joint harmony. Because of that, the Midgar Calendar was actually somewhat of a misnomer, and some brought up the desire to abolish it, all the more so because there were a small number of beings who had, in fact, existed for tens of thousands of years. Even setting aside the entire history of Midgar, the history of humanity was much longer than the existence of the Midgar Calendar, but it was a clear fact that the calendar was useful when discussing such things.

This even held true for Ruby, who would also have had great trouble remembering her birth year without it. Six hundred years ago, during the year 1400 third age of MC, a calamitous child was born in the vampire kingdom Blikjandaböl, located on Éljúðnir, one of the four great continents of Midgar. She was royalty, counting the true ancestor and originator of all vampires as one of her direct forebears. Ruby was born between the head of the family and one of her many concubinus. However, among her many half-siblings, her standing was far from the best. Still, she was undoubtedly royalty at least and was in the line for succession. Unfortunately, his father, was not that favored by her mother, and so it would be faster to reach where she was in line by counting from the bottom rather than the top.

While she wasn't abused, she also wasn't loved. The environment she was born into was all too common for nobility and royalty, though still unfortunate. Still, Ruby was not disappointed. Rather, she did not care one bit about her parents or her siblings. After all, she never even saw them as the same species as herself.

"Too thin."

That was what Ruby had felt ever since she was developed enough to understand what was happening around her. To her, everybody but her had one thing in common, regardless of race. Their magic is so thin, as is their existence. It's as if they're not there at all, at least in terms of strength.

Not even Ruby's parents were exceptions. Am I really their child?

Wasn't I born to someone else? Everyone told her that she was actually their child, but Ruby couldn't bring herself to believe them. For example, pretend there are two monkeys in front of you. Would you accept them as your parents? No, you wouldn't. After all, they are of a completely different species. Ruby, at least, couldn't help but feel like every other vampire was the same, a completely different species. Am I just being conceited? Is this feeling that I am somehow special just born from some sort of childish sense of self-worth? How nice it would be if that were true…

Members of vampire royalty were taught how to fight once they reached a certain age. Vampires were apex predators and hunters. That was why their rulers could not be weak; a certain amount of strength was needed for the position. Because of that, Ruby was going to be made to gain battle experience with monsters while learning how to hunt. That being the case, Ruby experienced her first joint hunt with her siblings at the age of ten.

The vampire's country, like others, was situated in a place where monsters abounded once you left the city protected by walls and soldiers. While looking across the vast wildland that stretched off into the horizon, Ruby thought of something completely incongruous to the current mood.

"Hey, old-timer…" Ruby called out to her elder, who had served her family since ancient times.

"Yes? What is it, young miss?"

Her other siblings were all either filled with nerves, enthusiasm, or hesitation at their first hunt. Either way, they were a ways away from their normal states. Among them, only Ruby was calm, as if she were simply out taking a walk.

"If I remember correctly, you told me a story about my mother before, didn't you? About how she once killed a hundred monsters in a single hunting trip, wasn't it?"

"I did. She truly looked like a queen at that time. Rozelia Sommer was young then, and she stood on the bodies of a hundred monsters, dominating them as one of the strong."

"I see."

Ruby sunk into thought. Since this was to be her first hunt, she didn't know the difference in strength between her and monsters, so she didn't know exactly how great of an achievement that was. But for now, let's try shooting for that number, she thought. Still, at least I know now. This strange feeling, the one that tells me that I am different from everybody else…

It's not just me being conceited.

Ruby leapt into action just as the signal to start sounded, and she headed in a vague direction where she felt there were monsterlike presences.

Normally, she would be accompanied by a knight, so as to prevent fatalities among the royalty, but the knight that was assigned to Ruby was not fast enough to keep up with her. That's disappointing… So they're already unable to keep up after just a little bit of running? This was the first time Ruby had run with anything resembling her full speed, and she was utterly disappointed by the fact that she was able to so easily leave an adult behind. Hmm… As I thought. Maybe I really am different. Am I the strange one?

Ruby forced those doubts deep down, as she had already encountered her first monster. It was a wyvern that was covered in scales, and it was easily five times Ruby's size. It had sharp fangs, vicious claws, and a large enough body that she nearly had to look straight up at it. All of those were oppressively intimidating, and anyone would be fearful at first glance.

However, Ruby was not afraid. She felt that the monster was no threat to her, surprising even herself. Maybe I'm just missing a sense of danger and fear… Ruby considered this silently. If that's the case, then everything would just be me thinking too much into it.

As the wyvern roared, it swung down its claws.

See, it's coming for me. Its arm alone is longer than I am tall, and it's being swung towards me as it roars. I should be scared, shouldn't I? This is a scary situation. But still… Why?

Ruby paused, thinking. Why does it just look like the noble but useless last struggle of a small animal?

Again, Ruby fell silent before musing, "So taking care of a hundred of something like this is considered amazing, huh…?"

Right at the moment, it seemed as if the wyvern's claws would hit Ruby in the head. She used her small hand to grab the wyvern's arm before then anchoring her other hand on the wyvern's belly and proceeding to easily rip its arm off. Ruby ignored the screaming wyvern as she focused on its wound, where she saw the faint light of mana.

I see. So this is it. If I absorb this along with its blood, I can take in its strength. Having understood this, Ruby bit into the arm she'd ripped off, sucking in its blood along with its mana. It was the first time she'd sucked a monster's blood, but surprisingly, she found herself not averse to it.

Just this isn't enough for me to understand. I guess I'll hunt a little more…

After relieving the poor wyvern of its head, Ruby started looking for her next prey as she drank her first victim's blood dry. All the while, she held onto the faint hope that somewhere along the way, she would hit a wall.

"Hey, you told me that my mother once killed a hundred monsters in a session, and you called her strong, didn't you?"

It was an unbelievable sight.

The elderly woman who Ruby had called an old-timer was named Maria Calavera. She had upheld her vow of loyalty since ancient times, when the true ancestors had been present, and had watched over many kings and queens throughout history. All the kings and queens she'd seen, including Ruby's mother, had been proper, strong rulers who had not shamed their ancestors, or at least, they should have been.

However, she now felt that common sense of her that had been built up over the years collapsing inside of her.

It wasn't just her. All the knights who had accompanied them as well as the other succession candidates — well, the former candidates — were, likewise, all struck speechless at the sight. Not even the queen, who had finished her work early so as to be able to see the brave fighting figures of her children, as well as all her concubinus were lost for words.

"Hey, Maria… Is this really a special accomplishment? Or were the ones I killed just too weak?"

The next ruler of the vampires sat under the shining moonlight. Her black hair that gradually faded into red gently swayed in the wind as she looked down on everything with her youthful but beautiful face. There wasn't even a hint of a hard fight anywhere on her. She was sitting on a mountain of corpses that didn't just number a hundred, but easily double that.

"Hey, Maria… Tell me, how do I look from your point of view?"

In pure numbers, she was more than twice as strong as her mother.

However, that accomplishment of the current queen had been done when she was a fully grown adult. She hadn't even been close to a young ten-year-old child. So what was Ruby? At a mere ten years old, she was already showing enough strength to leave the queen in the dust. There were no other words but 'prodigy.'

At this point, Maria could no longer consider Ruby as the same species as everyone else. Why have I not noticed up until now? She's just of a higher rank than all of us are. To her, we're all naught but monkeys who failed to evolve.

By the time she'd noticed, Maria had already fallen to her knees, and everyone else present had followed suit. Nobody thought what they were doing was strange. After all, she was their ruler, and they were but her humble servants. It was clear to their instincts; because they were vampires, who were sensitive to mana, they could understand this.

This girl is different.

Everyone could feel this, right down to their bones. That was why it wasn't just her siblings, but the current queen, consorts, and the queen's concubinus who kneeled. There was no hesitation. Seeing them, the young lady who was a monster herself had her eyes waver out of loneliness for a moment, but no one noticed.

"You are a ruler, a born one…" said the queen. "Please forgive me for being so blind that I could not see it until now."

Ruby hesitated before asking, "Calling me, the daughter of a low born, a ruler with the queen right there? Is that really all right, mother?"

"No… Not at all… Alright? I could never have opinions on something so rude. You are a ruler appointed by the heavens themselves. I am just a mother who was given the role through luck…"

Ruby managed to squeeze the phrase "I see" out before she looked up to the moon. With that, it had been made clear to her. All too clear. As I thought. I'm strange. It wasn't just childish conceit; I really am a different species.

Her mother's eyes would no longer reflect the form of her daughter. She'd never loved her anyway and had originally only thought of her as one of her many children, but even then, she still at least thought of her as her child. But now she doesn't even think of me as her child… I can feel more love from her than before, but it's the distant kind of love given to a ruler, not something to give to one's child. Not even my father thinks of me as his child now. He probably just thinks of me as a true queen gifted from the heavens, one who just luckily happened to came from his blood…

Ruby was silent for a long while. "I…see…" she eventually let out.

A born ruler. An insurmountable difference decided from birth. A predetermined status…

Having processed and recognized all that about herself, the feeling that welled up in Ruby's heart was not happiness but a huge, empty vacantness. A feeling of solitude as if she'd been thrown into this world all by her lonesome took over her heart. I'm sure no one understands this loneliness. No one will understand this emptiness.

My mother is not my mother, and my father is not my father. I cannot even call those of the supposed same race as me as such. I am a unique, new race… Ruby was sure that fit her to a T.

That day, Ruby became alone at the young age of ten. Though she'd gained loving subjects — her parents among them — and she still had her siblings, all of them were simply her subjects in the end, and she was still alone. Even her family bowed to her, showing their subservience and worshiping her on their own.

There was no room for an equal relationship. Ruby had been forcefully placed at the top of a pyramid she did not want to be on. No one even tried to be her equal…

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