Prologue: Christina’s Recollections
In her youth, Christina Beltrum considered herself to be someone special.
She was born as the first princess of Beltrum, first in line to succeed the throne of the most influential kingdom of the Strahl region, blessed with both academic and magic talent, and hailed as a genius by all her instructors in everything she learned.
Hard work wasn’t difficult for her, either. She considered working hard to be a natural obligation imposed upon her because of who she was—a person that stood above others. Plus, if she worked hard to get better results, her parents would praise her, and her beloved little sister would look up to her with respect.
That’s why she was naturally able to work harder than the average person from as early as the age of three or four. She wanted to meet her parents’ expectations. She wanted to be an older sister worth respecting.
Her hard work paid off. She never experienced failure and was hailed as a genius no matter what she did. It was truly smooth sailing throughout her entire youth.
However, that background caused her belief that she was a superior, special person that stood above others to gradually grow stronger. Because she was special, there was nothing she couldn’t do. There was no one above her. Her pride grew until it was all she could believe.
And yet, despite that, she never considered her less-talented little sister to be stupid. She adored Flora. She was also happy to be complimented by her parents. As royalty, there were few people that could treat her on an equal level, so she always treasured her family.
Which was why when she was seven years old, her world fell apart when she learned that Flora had been kidnapped on her ceremonial outing outside of the castle. She followed Vanessa and Celia, who had gone to investigate on the confidential order of her father; she forcibly snuck out of the castle in what was a most foolish act.
She arrived in the slums of the capital. It was her first time stepping into such a place—a place she normally would have never ventured in her lifetime.
There, she met an orphan.
His name was Rio.
His messy hair was long enough to cover his face, his skin was rough and covered in dirt and grime, and his tattered clothes had a sour stench to them. On top of that, the boy himself was withering away.
He was the same age as Christina, and lived a life that was completely opposite from the one she spent in the castle as royalty.
So there are children like this in the world—that was what she thought after seeing an orphan for the first time in her life. But she didn’t know how to approach such a boy, and—with her rising panic over Flora’s kidnapping—ended up hurtling inexcusable words at him.
Rio’s response was unexpectedly polite. They weren’t able to gain any beneficial information from their first conversation with him, but later, they spotted Rio carrying an unconscious Flora through the slums. Christina flew into a rage—this orphan had lied to her face, saying he knew nothing about her sister.
Christina slapped Rio and screamed at him, but Rio stared back at her with a gaze that chilled her to her core. It scared her into reflexively attempting to slap him again, but Rio caught her hand. When she tried to slap him with her free hand, he caught the other one, too.
And that...
That was the first time she had ever had her freedom taken away from her by force.
That was the first time she had ever been glared at coldly.
That was the first time she had ever thought of another human as terrifying.
Because she was the first princess, no one had ever treated her rudely or roughly. Everyone had always respected her.
She was mortified. Her pride had been wounded. She realized that she wasn’t actually a special person at all, but rather, an extremely unreliable girl.
Christina had been fiercely enraged at the time, but looking back on it now, the events of that day were probably what made her come to the realization that she wasn’t someone special. She was a normal person no different from anyone else.
She was simply born in the position of the first princess. What was special was her position, not herself. That became even more clear once she started attending the Royal Academy.
Indeed, she was able to produce results better than the average person in every field. But her talents stopped there. She was able to maintain her top scores in the academy, but that was simply because she was well-behaved and studied hard.
She didn’t have any prodigy-like talent, and couldn’t compete with the true geniuses of each field. For example, Celia Claire was considered a genius sorcerer—and Christina was no match for her. She had once read the thesis Celia submitted to skip her grades and though she could understand its contents, she couldn’t imagine writing something similar at the age Celia had been.
Besides...
There was one more person that could have been a genius. She didn’t want to accept it at first, but that person was Rio.
He couldn’t have had a proper education in the slums, yet he was able to read and write shortly after entering the academy, eventually pulling ahead of the rest of the students to reach the same top grades as Christina. He had tremendous learning capability.
Christina had prided herself on her ability to study, so she had been secretly shocked at the time. If she were in Rio’s position, would she be able to achieve the same grades as him?
On top of that, she saw him practicing with his sword after class multiple times. His form was extremely beautiful—his movements were clearly different from the other students.
He was elegant, yet sharp, with movements honed until he stood far above anyone else in terms of skill level. Perhaps that was why Christina found herself captivated by the sight of him swinging his sword before she realized it.
Yes, he must be a genius, she thought.
But that realization didn’t change the relationship between them, and she continued to do her best to avoid him on the academy grounds. Part of the reason why was because of the guilt and awkwardness she felt about their first meeting. Even if she were to reach out to him, she didn’t know what to say. Because of what had happened, she didn’t think he wanted to talk to her, either.
More importantly, she was the first princess. She couldn’t just thoughtlessly apologize to other people, as it could end up causing a bigger problem.
She was special, but it was a restrictive kind of special.
Considering the inconvenience she could cause for her father, who was already distracted by the power struggles within the country, she decided to refrain from any actions that could cause discord.
Being born into a special position meant that she had to act like someone extraordinary. Even if it wasn’t true...
That was the duty of someone like her—of royalty entrusted with the rule of a kingdom, she believed.
However, when she saw Rio isolated in the academy, she felt a sense of discomfort she couldn’t identify.
The sons of nobility mistakenly assumed themselves to be special and acted with no consideration for others. Watching them reminded Christina of her past self, causing feelings of shame to well up alongside the discomfort within her.
When she saw Flora’s sad face on top of all that, she felt pathetic. Powerless to do anything against this reality...
Yet, despite that, she maintained her path as a spectator.
And the result of that was a scapegoat being born. Rio must have sensed the danger he was in, as he disappeared without a trace and never appeared before Christina again.
The memories, as sour as they were, sometimes resurfaced on a whim.
They would never meet again. Rio would be better off that way.
With that thought in mind, she nailed the coffin shut over her bitter memories.
That is, until today...
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