This is a continuous post. I'm uploading two episodes at once. Please check. This is the first part.
Eleven years ago.
At that time, the Empire was fiercely battling the Perlan Kingdom to the west.
Amidst this, the Socal Empire invaded and destroyed the neighboring dwarf country to the east.
Many dwarves fled to the Empire, and some of the royal family were also protected by the Empire. However, the Socal Empire, which coveted the dwarves' technology more than their accumulated treasures, protested and issued several warnings to the Empire.
In response, the Empire stated that it was impossible to prevent all refugees from entering, but the Socal Emperor, finally losing patience, dispatched his son as an ambassador.
"This is troublesome."
"Indeed."
Prime Minister Franz nodded in agreement with Emperor Johannes.
The three powers of the continent were the Empire, the Perlan Kingdom, and the Socal Empire. The Empire was located in the center, sandwiched between the other two.
It was a situation the Empire absolutely wanted to avoid to be at odds with the Socal Empire while already in conflict with the Perlan Kingdom.
"If we hand over the dwarves we have protected, all the sub-humans on the continent will become our enemies, including those living in the Empire. If that happens, we won't be in a position to wage war with other countries."
"Either we make the Socal Empire our enemy or the sub-humans our enemies."
"It's not necessarily that. If we give the Socal Empire something equivalent to the dwarves' technology, they might be satisfied for now."
"What should we give them?"
"The Socal Empire is a great magic nation. However, they lack the number of gemstones essential for developing magic tools, especially large ones, which have caused the development of magic weapons to stall."
Gemstones are a general term for minerals that store magical power. They are valuable because they can be reused after the stored magical power is depleted.
The amount they can store is proportional to their size, and the larger ones are rarer.
"Are you suggesting we give them? I don't like it. Do we have to be so weak? We just protected those who fled, didn't we?"
"Yes. By doing so, we can avoid a two-front battle. Fortunately, our country is not short of gemstones. If we can avoid war, it would be a small price to pay. We won't be giving them our mines, so there will be no damage to our country."
The Socal Empire had been mining gemstones from domestic mines for over a hundred years for the development of magic tools, causing the annual yield to decline.
On the other hand, the Empire had not focused on mining gemstones and possessed several excellent mines, so they were not short of gemstones.
"Should we silence them with a bribe? I don't want to burden the military any further."
"That's right. We should quickly hand over a large gemstone and silence them. The western front is also at a stalemate, so it might be a good idea to seek a ceasefire during this time."
"Let's do that. Since we are in a favorable position, the kingdom might also agree."
With that, Johannes and Franz concluded their discussion.
■■■
The day Franz prepared a large gemstone and welcomed the ambassador arrived.
On that day, a young girl was in the castle.
A girl with cherry blossom-colored hair. Six-year-old Elna.
Curious Elna, while her father was chatting, wandered off out of boredom.
Before she knew it, she found herself in an unfamiliar place.
She looked around, but there were no familiar sights.
Since it was a castle, she decided to ask someone and started walking.
She then noticed a small hole in the castle wall. It was just large enough for a small child to pass through.
Hidden by grass and trees, it seemed to be a ventilation shaft, but it was neatly maintained, almost like the entrance to a secret base.
Curiosity piqued, Elna crouched down and entered the ventilation shaft.
After walking in the dark for a while, she arrived at a dimly lit room.
The room, sealed off, was illuminated by a faintly glowing magic tool, and Elna immediately realized it was a treasure vault.
"Wow..."
It was even larger than the treasure vault of the Duke's family and contained various items.
Elna's eyes were immediately drawn to something.
"A magic sword!"
A sword imbued with elemental magic like fire or wind.
Moreover, it was not a modern sword but an ancient legendary sword.
Elna picked one up and drew it from its sheath.
The shine and sharpness of the sword left her in awe. She swung it a few times to test it.
"Wow! What a great sword!"
Though the sword was too long for a child, Elna, being the daughter of a duke, handled it with ease due to her natural physical abilities.
Pleased with the sword's quality, she began to practice sword forms.
Though the treasure vault was spacious, it was filled with many valuable items. Performing vigorous forms in such a place could lead to disaster, but Elna, in her excitement, did not realize this.
"Ah..."
Swinging the sword horizontally, she accidentally hit a box covered in cloth.
Her sharp strike split the box in two. Moreover, the strong magical power emitted from the box caused the magic tool illuminating the vault to break, and the lights went out.
In the darkness, she heard a heavy thud, and her heart sank. As her eyes adjusted to the darkness, she saw that a gemstone larger than a human head had been cut in half.
Realizing she had destroyed something in the treasure vault, Elna panicked and tried to reattach the top half of the gemstone, but it was impossible.
After a moment of panic, Elna, unable to bear the hopeless situation and anxiety, burst into tears.
"Sniff... sniff... hic... Father..."
In the midst of this, a young boy entered the treasure vault through the ventilation shaft Elna had used.
With black hair and black eyes, it was seven-year-old Arno.
Surprised to find a guest in the treasure vault he usually used as a hideout and that it was pitch dark, Arno quickly realized Elna was crying.
"Are you crying?"
"Sniff... sniff..."
In the darkness, Arno could not see the person's features, but he could tell it was a girl around his age.
Feeling his way forward, Arno soon realized something was broken.
"You really went all out... Is this the rumored gemstone?"
"Rumored... gemstone...?"
"Yes. It's supposed to be a gift for the ambassador."
"Ambassador...? Sniff... sniff..."
"Ah! Don't cry, don't cry! I'll do something about it."
These were words to calm the crying girl.
He didn't want to deal with her crying any further.
However, the situation changed.
"Here. Your Excellency, the ambassador."
It was the Emperor's voice.
Arno, momentarily confused, quickly understood the situation and directed Elna towards the ventilation shaft.
"Get out quickly! Hurry!"
"But..."
"Just go!"
Despite his young age, Arno understood the gravity of the situation.
The Emperor had come to show the gemstone to the ambassador. If it was broken, the Emperor would be furious.
Even if it was a prince, the punishment for a child's mischief could be severe.
Considering the worst-case scenario, Arno immediately sent Elna away.
Just as Elna reached the ventilation shaft, the treasure vault door opened.
Arno sighed and took a deep breath, bracing himself for what was to come.
"Here is our country's treasure vault. The gemstone... hmm?"
"I'm sorry, Father! I broke it!"
Arno bowed to the Emperor, who was still trying to understand the situation.
The Emperor, the ambassador, and everyone else accompanying them were momentarily stunned.
The prince was in the supposedly secure treasure vault, and the gemstone beside him was split in two.
No one spoke. No one had the courage to speak before the Emperor.
Not only words, but no one could look at the Emperor's face.
The Emperor slowly approached Arno.
"Did you really do this, Arno?"
"Yes..."
"Really?"
"Yes, really."
Arno looked up and answered.
Only he could see the complex expression on the Emperor's face.
The Emperor closed his eyes and slowly exhaled.
Then,
A dry sound echoed.
"You fool! This gemstone was a symbol of friendship between the Empire and the Socal Empire! How could you break it!? Do you have no sense of responsibility as a prince!?"
"..."
The pain made Arno hold his cheek and tear up.
But he did not cry.
He knew he shouldn't cry.
Arno knew Elna was still outside.
So he didn't cry, fearing she would come back if he did.
Meanwhile, seeing Arno being hit, Elna cried even more.
Uncertain what to do, she struggled with whether to come forward and confess. However, the Emperor's angry roar frightened her even more.
"Someone! Lock this foolish son in the dungeon! Don't let him out for a week! I don't even want to see his face!"
"..."
Arno only apologized and did not argue.
Elna, watching Arno being taken away, realized she could do nothing and fled through the ventilation shaft, running as fast as she could.
Crying, she ran through the castle and finally found her father, the Duke.
"Elna, where have you been?"
"Father! Father! The prince! The prince!"
"Wait, wait. Calm down. Tell me what happened."
Elna, calmed by her father, explained the situation through large tears.
Seeing her father's expression darken, Elna's heart was filled with anxiety once again.