Prologue

In this wide, wild continent, once existed a powerful empire called Veldonia.

It is prosperous, mighty, and large. It is an empire that is both loved and feared by everyone. A country so wealthy that it is far advanced in terms of both magic and technology. An empire that has led the continent's progression as a human race for many-many years.

However, it all disappeared in a single night.

An entire empire falling had shook the whole world, especially when it was an empire the size of Veldonia. Everyone questioned the reason behind their fall, but there was only ever one reason that is widely feared and known.

The God of Dragons, Harbinger. A fearsome existence that not even the gods dared to mess with. An ancient entity that has existed for so long, right at the creation of the continent itself.

With such a deity releasing their wrath onto the lands of the empire, nobody questioned the downfall. However, people do wonder how exactly the battle went.

After the night of the damned empire, many citizens lost their lives, but the majority still managed to evacuate the city before it's too late. Many, including me, were saved before the wrath of the evil dragon god could reach us.

People wondered how the dragon god's wrath never reached far, considering such a powerful deity could've wiped out not just Veldonia Empire, but also the entire continent.

As such, many fingers were pointed to the two individuals who did everything: The emperor and the empress of the fallen empire.

The two managed to fight the dragon god as the people escaped the city. It was thanks to them that the casualties were kept low, even though it could've very easily reached the other countries and kingdoms. 

To top it all off, they managed to do the unthinkable that can forever stop the dragon god from harming anybody else: They sealed the dragon god. 

With a powerful ancient magic, both the emperor and empress used their abilities to freeze the dragon god into stone, turning it completely immobilized as if it was a statue. However, a price had to be paid for such a powerful magic, which resulted in both the emperor and empress perishing.

Due to their sacrifice, many hailed the two as heroes. Many sang their names, created memorials, and made sure their deeds were recognized. Their names were written in history books as the couple who saved the land.

However, that still leaves their empire to fall. With the absence of a leader, the once powerful and massive nation had no choice but to disappear completely from the map.

All the refugees had no choice but to simply become the citizen of a neighboring country, or even countries that are on the other side of the continent. They had to live no longer as a citizen of Veldonia, and be forced to adapt to that place's rules and living conditions.

And I… quite possibly had the harshest transitions.

"This stupid 'outsider'… she doesn't even know her place!" The voice of a girl was uttered into my face, and I had no idea how to respond.

"Be grateful that you are still alive! Even commoners of this kingdom could've been jailed if they heard what you said!" The voice of a teacher, who tried their best to stick by my side, was still by all means violent.

"Keep your eyes down, 'outsider'. You are nothing in the face of the Earl's son."

An annoying… disparity of this world's system.

The existence of levels. A 'Caste', stratum of society. Bastards known as the 'Nobles', who claimed themselves to be an existence of god.

As someone who came from outside the country, we were branded as 'Outsiders'. All refugees from Veldonia who had nowhere else to live, and had no choice of where to go, they came here just to suffer.

There are many levels of this stratum of society that exist. The most common one are the 'Commoners', which categorizes the normal people who had no special place in the country's position. However, there is still a position below them, and that is us 'Outsiders'.

We came from the outside, drained the country of its resources, and became a weight of the country to bear. Our initial arrival was not easily accepted in many countries, but that rejection gradually got lesser and lesser overtime as the refugees adapted. However, this still did not change the stratum of society that has been created.

We were bullied. Torn away from our families. Forced to do work harsher than even the poorest commoners of the country.

And as a child… that is all that I experienced. At the public school that I go to ever since I was six years old, the children of nobles are at the very top of the pyramid. They ruled, controlled, and stepped on those who did not wish to abide by their rules.

And children often do not know their limits.

"I see… I must apologize, Milly. However, I must make an unfair decision."

Even the headmaster of the school, who is a commoner, had no choice but to side with the wrong. Her saddened eyes stared at the bruise that is on top of my head, but her mind knows what decision she should make.

"The Earl has many times become a patron of the school. Without him, this school wouldn't be able to stand like it is today. His support means the world to us, but the opposite also applies.

If I side with you and punish his son, then I'm afraid we will not be able to escape his wrath. Our families can be involved, and I'd rather not have you nor your grandmother be in his crosshairs."

The headmaster's explanation felt like a bell of awakening for me. It felt like I needed to wake up from this cursed reality, to accept all the bullsh*t that came from it.

I can understand her point of view. However, I just don't understand why things had to be this way.

"You're a smart girl, Milly… Please, understand. Just stay as far away from Jeremy, okay? I'll make sure you two are in different classes for next year." The headmaster said with care, but my consciousness is no longer listening to any of this.

Had things been different…

If only I was a noble… Or even a commoner, a citizen of this city. If only I came from a respected family. The treatment of everyone, even from the headmaster, would've been very different.

If only things were never like this… No. I need to stay positive. 

At the very least, one person can still be by my side.

PLAK!!!!

A hand was lifted, and it very easily slapped the face of a broken hearted girl who just got home from school.

A hopeless pair of eyes stared at the angered gaze of the one who harmed her, and it was none other than the very person who took care of her ever since she was young.

Her grandmother, and her incredibly annoyed expression, lifting her hand once more for another round of slap.

"You fool!!! Do you realize what you've done could've endangered us!?!?"

I… don't get it.

"Do you think I told you any of those things just so you can fight noble children!?!?"

I don't understand. I just don't get why I'm being…

"You're never supposed to do anything!!! All you had to do was to just go to school!!!"

"I saw someone! He was being harmed---"

"And you didn't even think of your own safety before you helped him!?!?"

And the smacking continues. It was hostile, violent, and humiliating. It was done right outside the diner's kitchen of our family diner, and many of her customers were watching as I got hit in the head many times.

To them, it may seem like simple harsh parenting. Her child fought at school, and naturally a couple smacks are needed to set them straight. However, that was never what was seen by the child.

It was never what I thought about at all. Her actions, if anything, only confirms simply how rotten this world I'm living truly was.

"You're really just like your parents. Go inside and don't go outside. You're not allowed to go anywhere on the weekends." My own grandmother said to me before she herself went to the kitchen, leaving me to get up on my own while clearing the dirty school uniform.

I stared at the floor for a flat five seconds, pondering exactly what I should do from now on. My tired eyes began to shut as I firmed my decision, and I turned around.

"Eh? She's gone." One of the customers said, and my grandmother turned around to find that I was no longer standing inside the diner.

My small feet kept on walking powerlessly. Beforelong, I arrived at the place where I wanted to go, and the lady behind the desk noticed me approaching her.

"O-Oh? Hello, there. How can I help you--"

"Ticket… to Veldonia. Please." My words halted the desk lady from finishing her words, and she only looked widely surprised hearing that.

"W-We have no tickets to Veldonia… I'm sorry--"

"Then, forge a travel permit." I quickly said again, and she looked even more surprised.

Certainly, she wasn't expecting an eight year old like me to know anything about forging a travel permit. She only looked so shocked, and she tried looking around as if trying to find my parents.

"I-I'm sorry, but you'll be needing a guardian if you wish to travel."

"Please forge a travel permit to Veldonia. I'll pay with coins." I said while taking out a pouch filled with gold coins from my bag, and the lady opened her eyes even wider.

As always, money speaks louder than words. The lady did not ask any questions further and quickly forged a travel permit, which will allow a single carriage to be able to head out of the country into another.

I sat my butt down inside the carriage, all by myself, with no one else than the carriage driver. When seeing the person travelling is only me, the driver is certainly confused. However, he did not ask questions and simply rode the carriage for the payment.

The trip took two hours. It was quite far, and it was certainly not a place that many wanted to visit. However, it is a place where I wanted to be the most.

The fallen empire, Veldonia. Many years after its downfall, it is still an enclosed environment. It is protected by guards, and it certainly won't just allow anyone to enter. Many have wished for the city to be protected even when no one lives in it anymore, to prevent illegal trespassers like bandits from staying in the city. 

Arriving at the city, I left the carriage and began heading to the gate. The guards recognized me and allowed me to enter, and I was able to arrive inside the city easily.

I have already been in this city many times, so I continued walking without stopping. The place where I'm heading to is in the middle of the city, which was quite the hike. 

Arriving at the large ruined castle, I entered right away and began climbing the stairs until the very top floor. And once I arrived at the place I wanted to be the most, I sat down on the floor of this opened roofless room with no walls. Dust and pebbles hurt my legs as I sat down, but none of the pain I felt was more painful than the pain in my chest.

The unfairness. The hatred. The unbearable sadness.

With the moonlight shining behind me, I turned my gaze up. A pair of statues are found decorating the opened bedroom, with their hands pointing forward as if trying to touch the moon. Their faces looked in agony, as if they were sacrificing something in order to achieve their goals.

However, nobody but me knows that these two aren't statues.

"Sorry for coming here so suddenly… Mom. Dad." My hoarse voice spoke to the statues, greeting them as I sat on the floor. 

My pained eyes studied their appearance again and again, truly wondering how exactly things come to this situation. I've been in this place many times before, but only now have I truly wondered how exactly these two got into such a state.

They are the Emperor and Empress of the Veldonia Empire. They are the heroes who sacrificed their lives for the sake of the people, sealing away the evil dragon god from ever harming the continent ever again. And they have been frozen into stone as a result of that.

Why exactly were they frozen into stone?

Why exactly would they sacrifice themselves for others?

These two are the emperor and empress of the empire. They are the highest there is in terms of status within society. They are feared by many, and they are respected by even more.

As the one standing above everyone else, they should be using their authorities to use others. They should've asked others to be the sacrifice instead of themselves. They should've forced their subordinates or people with a lower status to be the one sealing the dragon god.

They are nobles among nobles, the highest position within the stratum of society, the royalties. And yet, their actions do not reflect anything that I've known regarding the nobles.

"How can the two of you… be so different from everybody else?" My soulless voice once again asked the two statues in front of me, but as always, there was no reply.

I was devastated. Confused. Angered. I was betrayed, and I was disappointed by the world. To top it all off, I know what I was doing is the right one. 

So, why can't everyone else… do the same?

Should I just continue living like this…? Like a sheep part of the herd, being moved around by a herding dog controlling the herd?

I just… don't know what I should do.

If Mom and Dad were around… what would I do?

Had they never turned into stone like this… what could my life have been?

Would I become like those nobles who step on others?

Or would I be something else?

Days, weeks, months, even years have passed ever since. And since then, I have never stopped coming here. Even when it rains, even when it is scorching hot.

Occasionally, I told stories to them that might seem interesting. Oftentimes, the stories I told only lasted for around fifteen minutes, and I'd left the place after the story ended.

Since then, my life has changed slightly. The oppression and bullying from the noble children has stopped, and I have learned to distance myself better from trouble. School is still a suffocating place to be in for me, but it is a place where I needed to be, to learn more about the world.

And when the time comes… I promise. Whether it be twenty, or even thirty years in the future.

As the princess of the empire, I will do everything I possibly can to bring back this glorious place, back to its former glory. I will do everything in my power, and I will do anything to obtain that power.

I was determined. I was very ready to set the world ablaze the moment I grew up to be an adult.

However, that hatred which runs deep within my heart shatters. The anger that I bear dissipated, like a burning flame after being showered with water.

PRANNGGG!!!!!!

When my twelfth birthday gift, a red gem placed on a necklace, shattered right around my neck, I was terrified. My eyes were kept locked in front of me, where the two statues of the two people who were once the greatest in the world began to crumble.

As the pieces of rocks and sand fell to the ground, their appearance grew much more apparent. The red hair waving due to the harsh wind, the beautiful blue eyes that are so widely opened and confused, and their glimmering orange faces as they're being lit from above by the setting sun.

The day the emperor and empress returned… was the day my suffering ended.

"Mom…? Dad…?"

Ten years after the fall of the empire, the emperor and empress have finally been released back into the world. It became the start of a new beginning, the start of a new era.

The beginning of a new chapter.

For the Veldonia Empire.