Chapter 3- Narto the Northern Empire

  The sun was setting down over the horizon, it was creating a beautiful scenery, on a wide and large balcony was a girl with a waist length golden straight hair and captivating emerald eyes looking into the horizon, she was sitting on a couch with a golden frame and deep sea blue cushions, her was a contrast to the sofa being light sky blue but her hair was a match with the frame. She had just come back from a meeting with her father, Aries Hans George von Narto, the Emperor of the Northern Empire, and some other nobles, and decided to have a rest while gazing at the sun.

Standing behind her was a woman in white and gold armour, her silver hair, which complemented her royal blue eyes, had ringlets, and she was infamous as the guardian of the princess and the third strongest imperial knight in the empire.

“Princess Elmesia, it is getting late. I advise we head inside.”

“Not yet, Rose, the wonders of the evening are too spectacular to miss out on, and not even to mention that your promise for working with me was to follow with me on my decision.”

“You are just looking for an excuse not to get dragged into another meeting, aren’t you?”

“I suppose I am. Being the crown princess is already this hard, sigh, I wonder how being emperor… well, empress will be.”

Elmesia was chosen from birth to be the next ruler of the Empire, even though she is the third princess. It is all because of the rule of the empire established long ago by the imperial senate and the then Empress, Lufas Regina von Narto, and the decree was to avoid the children of concubines ruling the Imperial State. The fact or the thought of having a child with a concubine was not that much of an aberration, but what was adverse was the thought of the child ruling the nation.

Of course, this generated a lot of conflict, but later on, the law was amended by a future emperor who had no children with his wife. The amended law allowed the children of concubines to take the throne if the emperor did not have a child from his official marriage.

That being the case, the current emperor had two male children, Fredrick from one and Alfred from another, both of them have been overlooked by their father, the dukes and the senate, and despised Elmesia. Based on the decree, as long as the child of the emperor was not alive or had not even been born, the others were allowed to become the heir, which sparked an internal war between the children of the emperors.

Elmesia has survived countless skilled and unskilled assassinations and many more confrontations, most of which come from her elder brothers.

“Princess Elmesia.” Said a light, feminine voice from behind the door, which was layered with a white curtain to prevent any view from outside in, “Your tea has been brought.”

“Thank you, Stella.” Replied the princess, getting up from her seat, still gazing into the sunset and smiling.

Hopefully, this will all end quickly. I keep losing strength every day from this.

The princess thought to herself as she turned around to go inside. After going into her room, a dove with an envelope tied to its feet arrived and gave a letter to Rose, who was still on the balcony. After giving the letter, the dove flew back south to where it came from, and Rose decided to check the contents of the envelope. It had the Daffodil emblem of the Flower Legion, which is led by her.

She had sent spies to Ranzia to investigate the summoning of the hero, and news had just come. Rose’s face lit up as she rushed inside to tell Elmesia.

*****

“So the hero has been summoned, huh?” said Elmesia, already on a cushion similar to the one on the balcony in front of her was a gold table with two women, Stella, her taste tester, and Aria, her personal butler.

Stella was the girl who called the princess; she looked like a regular maid with black hair and eyes, while the other girl, Aria, had brown hair with black eyes.

“Yes, Princess Elmesia.” Said Rose, standing beside her

“Do you think we can get him to work with or for us?”

“There is a fifty percent chance of him not joining us, a forty-nine percent chance of him working with us, and the remaining is if he will work for us.” Said Rose.

“I see.” Said Elmesia as Aria poured the tea into the cup.

Princess Elmesia, just drink the tea already. You do not know the amount of joy you will give me if you do. That was Aria’s thought that she was working with someone to further the assassination of the crown princess.

“Huh…” that quietly left Elmesia’s mouth, she had just overheard what Aria thought in her head, and that left her in shock. She had gained the ability to read minds, known as the Telepathy magic affinity, and some others around nine years ago, or maybe even a decade, and she always had it active. The only person who knew her affinities was Rose, and that is because of the connection they shared. Even though they were master and personal guard, they were like sisters of the same father and mother.

“Please find a way to get Stella out of the room, even if you have to harm her. I don’t want her to die.” Communicated to Rose, from what she had grasped, the tea was most likely poisoned or something similar.

Zinnn…Spluurgh…

That was the next sound heard. Rose had just cut down Stella in plain sight; it looked like an act of murder, but Elmesia shrugged it off.

“Sorry, Princess Elmesia.”

“It is fine. Sigh. See, she is still breathing, so take her to the royal inn as fast as possible.”

“My Princess, you are really as harsh as the storm, aren’t you?”

“I will handle the rest myself.”

Within the next moment, Rose carried and laid Stella on her back and headed to the inn, leaving the princess and butler alone with the tea of uncertain origin. A few minutes after the departure of the commander, the princess just sat down there quietly waiting for a piece of information on who put Aria up to this show up in her mind like a python waiting for its prey, and after none, she just gave up and spoke.

“Miss Aria?”

“Yes, my princess.”

“Please could you mind tasting the tea since Stella isn’t back yet.”

“B-B-But…”

“No time for buts please. Hypnosis Affinity…” The next second, Aria was under her control. The only thing she remembered and heard was the affinity used by the princess. She didn’t hear the spell, but she could tell it was a level nine or ten-tier spell.

“There is no use resisting it. The spell I have used on you will not allow you to break free from my control for as long as I want. So you will taste the tea correctly.”

“Y-y-yes, Princess Elmesia.” She answered with her voice, somehow dilated but not too noticeable.

She then bent down to pour tea into another cup meant for taste testing but Elmesia told her to drink from her cup, after carrying the cup a distant memory appeared in Aria’s mind which caught Elmesia’s attention as well as the tears that rolled down her cheeks, after taking a sip from the cup she put it down…ten seconds after she put the cup down Elmesia thought of aria trying to poison her went away for a split second before… (Vomit).

“Gasp…gasp…gasp…Prin…prin…cess Elme…Elmesia, please save me, my parents and my…, they are being, cough…cough…”

“What happened to your parents?” asked Elmesia with a troubled voice.

“In the castle prison…P-p-pr-prince Alfred, he…he put them in-” she stopped temporarily before sobbing.

*****

“This is a new toxic poison, Time Frame. I had it prepared anonymously and will need you to put it in what food or tea she takes. She needs to be dead in ten days from now, or you know what-”

“Don’t, Aria, The Star has helped us; this is not how we should repay her kindness.” Said an elderly looking woman, she was in sack clothes and bound by chains like a highly dangerous criminal, and not only her, but two others, an elderly man and a girl who looked like a ten-year-old.

“Mom, Dad, Maribel…no, Prince Alfred, please, I beg you.” Said a brown haired girl in a maid's dress, kneeling before the man in question. He wore a red robe and royal regalia; he had short gold hair and steel grey eyes.

He bent down and handed her a small grey bag not bigger than a baby’s palm. He told her she knows what to do and ordered the guards to throw them into the second lowest dungeon floor, with the lowest being a place with almost no chance for survival.

“Don’t Aria, it does not matter if-”

“Listen to her, and you all will die.” As he stands up, he leaves the small bag in the middle of her palm. All that was left was her and her sister’s cry, which was loud enough for her to hear despite them being five floors below her. The cry grew more distant as she was taken downstairs.

*****

Those were the last thoughts that she was able to remember, and that was alongside memories of her family; she was just there sobbing, and the princess, too, had tears rolling down her cheeks.

The Canute family was a not well known linage since the days of the Six Great Heroes around ten thousand years, they helped in Narto’s early empire days with keeping demons out of the country, but tragedy struck few years after the defeat of Demon Lord Galim, her weapon had gone berserk and destroyed multiple towns at the end of its rampage it destroyed more than seventy percent of the clan before being sealed by a renowned mage, Sapphire, one of the emperor’s close aid. After that, the Canute family had nothing to their name anymore and scattered across the board.

Aria was a member of this family and was handpicked by the princess as one of her personal maids. She helped her family by providing for them, so the news she caught from Aria’s mind made her more considerate towards her. Four minutes after the tea was ingested, Aria felt like most of a day as her life was replaying before her eyes.

“Sorry, Aria, you should have told me, I would have helped you.”

“I am sorry, Princess Elmesia.”

Vomiting out those words a few seconds after, Aria ejected a pool of blood before dying, leaving her lifeless body and the princess there. Elmesia stood up and left her room. Not long after leaving, she met up with Rose, who told her Stella is doing well, and they discussed getting the Canutes out of prison, so they headed for the Emperor’s Court.

*****

“What is it, my daughter? Hope it is not concerning your marriage proposals,” said an elderly looking man with grey hair and emerald eyes, sitting on a gold throne.

“Good evening, father, not that, at least not yet. I would like Elder Brother Alfred to come here. I want to speak with him.”

“Send for him.” With that order, Alfred was sent for.

…

… …

A few minutes after a man with gold hair and steel grey eyes entered with a convoy of guards, Alfred Cyrus von Narto, the second prince of the Northern Empire, entered the room. He stood beside his sister, who was standing before the emperor and his great throne.

“Good morning, Father, Sister.”

“Good evening, Brother. Looks like you messed up the time.”

“So, Elmesia, my darling, what is it you want, especially with your brother?”

“I want him to release the Canutes that I took under my wing, you know my maid’s family.”

“Huh…what? He would interfere with the Star-Crowned Princess’s plans,” chorused the nobles in the background.

“Well, what do you have to say to that, Alfred?” replied the emperor after the court quieted down.

A deafening silence filled the room, and all gazes were fixed on Alfred, from the knights to the dukes in the court. The pressure that was bearing down on him was something he had not shown, having been under extreme pressure before.

“They are not in the dungeon at all, I mean, why would you ask? Didn’t I tell you that I was not interested in the race for the throne anymore? I mean, my life is more important.”

“Then would you say my butler is lying against you?”

“W-”

“Before you continue, my taster unfortunately got wounded and my butler had to taste the tea; she unfortunately could not survive and told me about what you did. If you still don’t believe me, Rose.”

“BRING THEM IN!”