In truth, Rellia had not come here because she wanted to.
The vast continent of Drakanea, boasting an enormous size.
On this continent existed five empires with long and storied histories.
In the distant past, a dragon that had slumbered for ages awakened. As a result, countless monsters appeared and attacked people, and humanity seemed to begin walking the path of extinction.
At that time, those who defeated the dragon and saved the world were the Holy Emperor, leader of the Kreuz Church, and five knights who had received the divine oracle.
Since then, the Kreuz Church took deep root across the continent, and the five knights each established their own empires and began to rule the land.
The Holy Emperor shared the dragon's magical power he had absorbed with the five knights, forming a blood alliance with them.
It was a solemn oath wherein each empire would worship the Kreuz Church's doctrine as the state religion and answer the Holy Emperor's call, while the Church would support and guarantee the authority and legitimacy of each empire's imperial family.
The Kreuz Church established 'Kreuz Sanctuary,' a divine neutral zone, at the center of the five empires, dispatching priests to each empire and exerting influence throughout the continent.
The Holy Emperor did not involve himself in secular territorial matters, but he absolutely would not tolerate the complete replacement of the imperial bloodline ruling an empire.
Thus, the five empires maintained a balance of power while keeping each other in check under a subtle tension, and until now, they had preserved peace under the protection of the temple.
However, a few years ago.
At the edge of the continent, a Mad Dragon's egg appeared. A volcano erupted, and unknown dark magical power boiled around it. Due to its influence, ferocious monsters began to awaken once more.
People were seized with anxiety. This was clearly an omen that the terrible event recorded in ancient texts would repeat itself.
'And it actually is repeating...'
The Kreuz Church tried to destroy the egg before the Mad Dragon could hatch, but it was utterly impossible.
The ancient texts also stated that the Mad Dragon's egg could not be destroyed by anything.
'There is only one way. To fight the dragon directly once it hatches.'
The temple realized it could not solve this matter alone. Thus, the current Holy Emperor, based on the oath, summoned the emperors of the five empires. After the meeting, the five empires began to gather a subjugation force in advance by combining their strength.
According to the ancient texts, there were still several years remaining before the dragon's egg would hatch.
So they sought to prepare for the battle with the Mad Dragon in advance, even if just a little.
Additionally, apart from gathering the subjugation force, the temple summoned young imperial family members and nobles from each empire.
'Gathering these kids, what exactly are they trying to do...'
Anyway, this place where Rellia had come was precisely the training academy in the neutral zone prepared by the temple.
'Well... it doesn't seem like they're expecting a hero to emerge from among these children here...'
Still, they were future leaders who would lead the five empires in the years to come. There was probably some intention to foster friendship in advance.
So that when the Mad Dragon appears, the five empires could combine their forces without pointing swords at each other.
'In short, it's essentially a camp for fostering friendship.'
Of course, it was also a form of surveillance and hostage-taking.
But why was Rellia present in this place...
It was precisely because of the 'real crown prince.'
Rellia was of imperial blood, but her situation was little different from being an invisible person.
The circumstances of her home country, Auralia, were somewhat complicated.
'It was quite a mess over the emperor's throne.'
The second son, coveting the throne, killed the eldest son and seized the imperial seat.
Raidios, who became emperor through rebellion, established his son Leo as crown prince and strove to bring the country under his control.
However, the neighboring countries' view of an emperor who ascended through rebellion was not favorable, and even the internal gaze was not kind.
The emperor always feared that his son might be assassinated. The crown prince felt the same way.
'That coward...'
The crown prince was a coward and an incredible hypochondriac, so everyone believed him to be frail and sickly.
In reality, he was robust enough to send Rellia flying with a single kick.
Then what was Rellia's true identity?
She was the daughter of Princess Iris, the youngest imperial princess who had watched the throne battle between her two older brothers.
The princess had fallen in love with her guard knight and given birth to a child, and that was Rellia.
'Unfortunately, the princess died not long after giving birth to the child...'
Rellia, the daughter of the deceased princess.
Amid the great chaos of the throne battle, she was as good as a forgotten member of the imperial family.
Rellia, who lived in a small tower at the edge of the imperial palace, lived quietly receiving only the food that a few maids brought her.
'Even that they didn't take good care of, though...'