Chapter 3: Three Crowns and the First Blood

Shortly after, inside the vibrating hull of the helicopter, Hans succumbed to exhaustion and fell asleep. His body leaned back peacefully, as if the chaos he had just orchestrated was left far below.

Across from him, Olivia watched him in silence.

In his sleep, Hans’s mind drifted back to the past.

Before his reincarnation, he had been a young man from another world—Japan—named Hiro Hitsui. A delinquent known for sowing discord within society, particularly by pitting rival gangs against one another. He rarely used his fists; words and incitement were enough to ignite a war.

But his streak didn't last.

One day, Hiro was stabbed by a mysterious stranger. No warning, no explanation. The wound claimed his life, and that darkness became the end of Hiro Hitsui.

He was then reborn.

Hans was born on April 30, 982 A.R.S., to a woman named Victoria Adelheid von Vahlburg, the second wife of Kaiser William Edwald von Rabenmark.

Victoria was a woman born and raised in a neutral city where intelligence wars were a daily reality. From her, Hans inherited a perspective that distrusted symbols, public morality, or claims of sanctity—he believed only in systems and their consequences.

Ten years passed.

Hans, now a ten-year-old student, received news that his mother had given birth again. He was overjoyed and rushed to welcome his new sibling. On the other hand, Leonhard viewed Hans and the newborn as viruses—threats to his path to the throne that had to be purged.

Hans arrived at the palace. The tiny infant lay sleeping while his mother rested, pale and frail, in her bed.

"Mother, I’m back," Hans said.

"Hans, welcome home. How was school today?" she asked with a weak smile.

"It was fine. Everyone is so happy to hear that you’ve given birth."

Victoria laughed softly, gently stroking Hans’s face.

"By the way, Mother... have you given her a name?"

Victoria paused for a moment, then whispered her answer.

"Margarethe Elina William."

Hans was ecstatic. He sat by her side, telling her stories of how he would one day become king, and recounting legends of heroes from another world. He spoke with fiery passion, while his mother smiled warmly beside his sister.

But that happiness was short-lived.

Three months later, Queen Victoria began to wither. She coughed up blood; her body grew weaker by the day. The royal physicians declared she wouldn't last long. The King was distraught, but for Leonhard, the news was a celebration.

One night, the King entered Hans’s room.

"Father, what’s happening to Mother?" Hans asked, his voice trembling.

"Nothing is wrong, my son," his father replied, masking his grief. "Your mother just needs a little rest. She’ll be well soon."

Hans stopped smiling. He was tucked into bed, and the darkness felt heavier than usual.

The next day, Hans graduated with perfect scores. Everyone praised him—"Congratulations, Hans!"—but his heart wasn't in it. He felt a hollow sadness because his mother couldn't attend. Even his father was absent. Instead, a loyal servant named Sebastian Galloway stood there. Tall, dignified, with silver hair and sharp yellow eyes, he approached Hans in his immaculate livery.

"My apologies, Lord Hans," Sebastian said respectfully. "I am not your parent, nor do I intend to replace them. But I will always remain by your side."

They returned to the palace, but Hans was barred from seeing his mother. Soon, the Kaiser ordered Hans to be sent to Grenzstadt Vahlburg—his mother’s birthplace—to continue his education. He tried to say goodbye, but his father blocked his path. Ultimately, Hans left without a word—without seeing his mother or his sister one last time.

Fifteen years later.

Hans had grown into an active teenager, known for his outward charm. One day, he prepared to return to the kingdom with excitement.

"Sebastian, get ready. We are returning to Rabenmark."

"As you wish, my Lord."

But before their departure, a siren wailed from the radio. The news was clear: The Kaiserreich Nordfall had declared war.

Bombers appeared in the sky, dropping payloads without mercy. Artillery began to rain down on the city. One bomb nearly struck Hans’s residence, and they survived only by a stroke of thin luck.

"Lord Hans, are you alright?" Sebastian asked.

"I’m fine. What about the others?"

"We are safe, my Lord. But you must head to the bunker immediately."

"No," Hans answered firmly. "I’m not going anywhere but Rabenmark."

Suddenly, the terrifying scream of an engine tore through the air. Soldiers screamed in panic. Hans looked up at a familiar silhouette as a soldier shrieked:

"STUKA! GET DOWN!"

BOOM.

The bombs were dropped deliberately, targeting panicking civilians. This conflict would later be known as the War of the Three Crowns (997–999 A.R.S.).

The Kaiserreich Nordfall believed that borders were merely lines waiting to be erased. They exploited the tensions between Rabenmark and Aurelheim to launch a rapid expansion. Nordfall cared nothing for moral legitimacy; they only craved territory and strategic logistics.

The attack happened before dawn. Rail lines and communications were cut first. Hans witnessed the horror firsthand: an old man forced against a wall while his child was made to watch the execution. The trigger was pulled, bodies fell, and the child’s cries were drowned out by the soldiers' mockery.

"Lord Hans, come. This is not our concern," Sebastian urged.

They moved through the shadows, searching for safety, but gunfire echoed everywhere. Eventually, they were spotted. Four enemy soldiers approached. Hans felt a chilling sense of familiarity.

'For some reason... they look exactly like the soldiers from my world,' he thought.

As they leveled their rifles, Hans hurled a brick at one of them. The soldier's head bloomed with blood, and he collapsed. The surrounding civilians, spurred by Hans’s action, swarmed the soldiers. In the chaos, Hans snatched a weapon he knew all too well—a Kar98k.

To survive, Hans had to stain his hands with blood.

Everything he did was for one goal: to return to Rabenmark alive. Meanwhile, Rabenmark and Aurelheim formed a temporary alliance to halt the wider war, while Hans and his group fought to escape the burning ruins of the city.