Shadows of the Throne

The Kingdom of Elberia was an ancient realm that had stood for over 700 years, founded by King Albrecht I, a conqueror who united various small territories under the banner of Elberia. Its system of government was an absolute monarchy, where power was passed down directly through the lineage of the first king.

For centuries, the royal family of Elberia maintained their throne, ensuring that the bloodline remained pure and strong. However, ten years ago, the kingdom’s fate took a drastic turn.

Prince Leonhardt Albrecht von Elberia was the 17th rightful heir to the direct lineage of King Heinrich IV. He should have been crowned king upon reaching the age of 18. But his life changed drastically when he was only 8 years old.

The official history recorded that King Heinrich IV died due to a sudden illness. The royal physicians stated that he suffered from severe exhaustion due to his heavy workload and an incurable internal disease.

After the king’s death, Duke Friedrich, the king’s half-brother, rose as the official guardian of Prince Leonhardt under the pretense of protecting and guiding him until he was old enough to rule.

From then on, Prince Leonhardt lived entirely under his uncle’s control. Friedrich treated him like his own child, ensuring that the prince never faced any hardship in his life.

However, behind this care and protection, shadows of doubt loomed over history.

---

“Duke Friedrich sounds like a really good person,” Selena murmured, her eyes still fixed on her laptop screen.

Her fingers scrolled through the page, reading more about Prince Leonhardt and the history of Elberia. The deeper she read, the more questions began to form in her mind.

“But… is that really true?”

She leaned back in her chair, letting out a deep sigh. History was written by the winners, wasn’t it? What if something was left out? What if something was intentionally erased?

Outside her apartment window, the sky had already turned dark. Time had slipped away without her noticing since the late afternoon.

“I got too absorbed in this,” she muttered, closing her laptop.

But the strange feeling lingering in her mind refused to fade.

As Leonhardt grew older, he was described as a spoiled prince, incapable of making decisions on his own, fit only to be a puppet.

When Prince Leonhardt reached the age of 18—the traditional age for ascending the throne—Duke Friedrich finally removed him from the line of succession officially. Under the pretext of saving the kingdom from an incompetent prince, Duke Friedrich proclaimed himself King Friedrich I and erased all records declaring Prince Leonhardt as the rightful heir.

“The people of that era accepted Duke Friedrich as king with open hearts because they believed that Prince Leonhardt was never fit to rule…” Selena murmured.

Even history taught in the future depicted Prince Leonhardt as nothing more than a prince who was never ready to lead—a useless heir to the throne.

Selena stared at her now-dark laptop screen, her fingers tapping on the desk in a slow rhythm. Her heart felt uneasy.

“Something doesn’t add up…”

History stated that Prince Leonhardt was spoiled and incompetent, which led Duke Friedrich to seize the throne for the sake of the kingdom’s stability. But how could someone raised as the rightful heir for eight years suddenly become useless?

Selena bit her lip.

“If he was so unfit from the beginning, why wasn’t he removed from the succession earlier? I can’t wrap my head around this.”

The more she thought about it, the more questions arose. But the books and historical articles available only told one side of the story—the side that favored Duke Friedrich.

Selena stood up and stretched her stiff body. She yawned afterward.

“I guess I’m getting sleepy…”

She walked toward her bookshelf, searching for something—though she wasn’t sure what. An odd feeling tickled her instincts, as if there was something she needed to find.

Her eyes landed on an old, dusty book wedged between her favorite fantasy novels.

“When did I get this book?” she murmured. “Ah, isn’t this the book I found at the library earlier today?”

She pulled the book from the shelf. Its cover was dark brown, with a faded golden emblem of a winged lion in the center. No title. Just like before.

Selena’s heartbeat quickened. For some reason, this book felt important. Even though she knew it was empty when she first checked it, her hands still moved to open it.

Carefully, she flipped to the first page.

Huh?

There was writing on it.

This wasn’t how it looked before.

What was written there?

"True history is not always written by those in power. If someone is reading this, then the truth is searching for itself."

Selena swallowed hard. The words looked as if they had just been written, the black ink still fresh.

Then, before she could react—

A cold gust of wind brushed against her face.

The lights in her room dimmed, and the air around her grew heavier. The pages of the book started flipping on their own, turning at an unnatural speed.

“W-What is this?”

A faint blue glow appeared from the open pages. The letters on the paper shimmered, then changed, forming a new sentence that hadn’t been there before.

"The history you know is a lie."

Suddenly, a powerful force pulled Selena’s body. Her eyes widened as the world around her spun.

She didn’t even have time to scream. In an instant, everything changed.

---

Selena crashed onto a cold stone floor. The sound of clanking metal and hurried footsteps echoed around her.

Her eyes blinked rapidly, adjusting to the dim candlelight. She found herself inside a grand room—a vast library with towering shelves filled with scrolls and ancient books.

“Where… am I?”

Selena struggled to stand, but before she could get to her feet, a deep voice rang out from behind the bookshelves.

“Who are you?!”

She turned, locking eyes with a pair of sharp blue irises. A young man stood there, his royal cloak slightly disheveled. His gaze was filled with suspicion.

Selena held her breath. She recognized that face from the historical paintings she had seen.

This… this is impossible.

It was hard to believe, but the young man standing before her was—

Prince Leonhardt.

Yes, the boy who had been erased from history—Prince Leonhardt!

But unlike the descriptions in history books, the young man before her didn’t look like a weak and pampered prince. His gaze was piercing, his posture strong, and there was a determined aura surrounding him.

Selena felt 

her heart pounding wildly.

“Did I just… step into history?”