“He’s a bit unsophisticated and wasn’t made with any consideration toward his occupant’s circumstances, depending on his owner, he can exert more power than any other magic mount.”
She nodded her head.

  “I heard that modern magic mounts aren’t made this big because it’ll help reduce the burden on their occupants. Even the old magic mounts displayed in front of the Imperial Palace aren’t this big.” 
“Of course. From the start, this damned bastard wasn’t created with that in mind.”
“Sir?”
Adelaide was in the middle of questioning the man’s unfathomable words when the man spoke.

  “I will give you what you want.”
Startled, Adelaide turned towards him.

  “But before that, I have to ask you something.”
Adelaide gulped as she looked into his inscrutable black eyes. 

  “I can go to the Imperial Capital and place you on the throne right now. I can end the war with such dignity and power that none of the princes would dare want what’s yours. However, the moment you sit on the throne, I will no longer be involved in the affairs of the Empire. Then perhaps soon…”
“There may be another civil war.”
The man didn’t disagree.

  “Are there any other options?”
“You may use me, but step out of my shadows and do not allow me to overshadow you. Make it so that even after the civil war is over, it’s impossible for anyone to question your qualifications ”
With the first option, she could quickly ascend the throne and end the civil war, but there was a possibility that another civil war would erupt at any time. Even if all her competitors disappeared, the Grand Dukes had already expressed their ambitions and they would never leave the Empire alone.

  And with the latter, it would be a journey incomparably difficult to the previous. She may even face the hell that she had seen in her dreams.

  “I…”
Adelaide didn’t deliberate for long. 

  “I don’t want the Empire to ever be divided again.”
She made her choice and the man respected her decision.

  “Take it.”
The man held out a sword. It didn’t look particularly remarkable.

  [So you’re the one that Hyung-nim’s been talking about!]

  The moment she grabbed the hilt of the sword, a flippant voice rang through her head. 

  “Ah!”
Startled, she threw away the sword as she collapsed. With an expression that said he understood everything, the man picked up the sword and handed it back to her. 

  “He’s a bit noisy, but if you give him to the child of the Trail Family, he’ll be of big help.”
Without realizing it, she took back the sword and the voice in question spoke again. 

  [Just try throwing me again!]

  She was prepared this time, so she was able to avoid embarrassing herself by throwing the sword again. However, she couldn’t stop her expression from turning nervous when the sword continued to be loud and flippant. 

  “He’s not a bad guy.”
For some reason, the man’s face seemed to express that he had dealt with a huge burden of his, but that was probably just her feeling.

  ***

  Adelaide didn’t stay in the forest for long.

  “She’s gone.”
Kim Seon-Hyeok smiled bitterly as he stared at the back of the princess who was moving towards the center of a difficult civil war with only one knight escorting her.

  “Am I asking too much from that child?”
He already knew that the princess didn’t have any power or authority. And yet, he had ordered her to lay the foundations of becoming an Empress. The troubles she would face was clear.  

  “If she cannot, then it means that from the beginning, she did not have the ability to reestablish the chaotic Empire. It would be a tragedy to place someone like that on the throne.”
Ophelia was right and he knew that as well. But considering how she was his bloodline, he couldn’t contain his pity. 

  “Although its characteristics have changed a lot from the beginning, the Holy Sword is still a powerful object. On top of that, she has one hundred Elven Cataphractoi, including Maram, so I’ve more than paid for that precious magic mount.”
Kim Seon-Hyeok looked guilty as he spoke. 

  He hadn’t told Ophelia that he had secretly sent the Hero - someone who was both the guardian of the Holy Sword and the one trapped in it - as well as the Hero’s Companion, and the Elven Cataphractoi with the princess in case there were any emergencies. He hadn’t told her in case she would refuse him.

  But, contrary to his goal, she already knew everything. 

  “It’s not that I didn’t tell you, it’s just that I forgot…”
“And you must also have forgotten your promise to help out three times in the most important battle.”
Kim Seon-Hyeok began cold sweating profusely when he realized that Ophelia knew much more than just the fact that the Elven Cataphractoi had joined the princess.

  “I’m not trying to blame you, so there is no need to look so worried. From the start, you were the one to make the promise with Victor so it has nothing to do with me.”
She truly didn’t look angry at all.

  “But you know.”
Seeing him looking blank, Ophelia continued. 

  “I wonder if Victor had made such an unreasonable request to give you an excuse to return to the world. He probably felt sorry for his father who was confined to the forest because of his stubborn mother.”
“Ophelia.”
He hurriedly grabbed his wife’s hand when her voice hinted at remorse.

  “I never once thought I was imprisoned here because of you.”
“Even if you don’t say it, I know very well that you do not blame me. But because of that, I feel even more apologetic towards you.”
The two of them had unified the Empire, but she had wanted it to belong to their descendants. That was why she had decided to confine herself, and of course, Kim Seon-Hyeok had followed her. After all, he also knew that he was too strong to involve himself in the matters of the world. 

  Not once had he felt a single ounce of resentment towards her. He had only felt a bit bored and dull. 

  “But like you once said, I want to be like an ordinary woman and be a little bit more selfish.”
“As much as you want.”
When his wife bared her heart for the first time, he promised to listen to her.

  “Once I leave this world, you will travel freely with the Dragon. That’s why, even if it’s only for a short while, I earnestly hope that you will remain completely mine.”
Although 500 years was by no means ‘a short time,’ it also wasn’t a long time for them when she had a lifespan that was close to eternal.

  No, now he wanted her restriction to continue. His heart ached just listening to her say that the end was near.

  “Ophelia.”
“You can curse me for being selfish.”
“Ophelia.”
She had dedicated her entire life to the Empire but then had passed it to her descendants. All she had left was her husband. How could he not know what she was feeling? 

  “I do not curse you or resent you. It’s fine even if we live here for another thousand years.”
Ophelia rolled her eyes at his exaggeration. 

  “Well, considering that, you sure went outside the forest without me knowing quite often.”
He took a while to make excuses. He never thought she would have known that.

  “I simply went out on short trips to inspect and make sure the Transcendentals didn’t have any other thoughts and were behaving themselves.”
“I’m sure.”
He gave a lame response to that.

  “Still, I’ve been quiet for the last 20 years or so…”
“I’m sure.”
Once Ophelia fell asleep, Kim Seon-Hyeok went outside the cabin alone and looked into the air as he asked a question.

  “Edda, do you know what Ophelia’s thinking?”
There was no answer. The Dragon Lord had fallen into a deep sleep in order to completely revive the Dragon Clan that had been ruined in the fight against Chaos. It would be quite a while before she woke up. 

  But, Kim Seon-Hyeok couldn’t help but think that, maybe, Edda had known what Ophelia was thinking from the start. There was no other reason for Edda, who had succeeded in restoring her pair of wings, to deviate from her original plan and sleep so deeply with the other Dragons.

  “500 years have passed, but I’m still a fool.”
It seemed like growing older didn’t give wisdom and knowledge to everyone.

  Pawwwwk.

  The owner of that squawk was the biggest proof of that.

  “When will you become a dragon?”
Kim Seon-Hyeok sighed. He was beginning to wonder whether this stupid sub specie had fully established his identity as a wyvern.

  ***

  Three years passed since Adelaide went into the forest. 

  “It is said that Princess Adelaide succeeded in winning the support of the nobles from the former Astoria Kingdom after she obtained support from the Grand Duke of Iberia.”
From time to time, news was delivered by the Elven Cataphractoi about the changes in the outside world, and it was truly shocking. The rootless princess, who only had the surname Adenstein going for her, had suddenly become a strong candidate for succession and was supported by the powerful Grand Duke of Iberia, as well as, the nobles of the Holy Kingdom. 

  But as much as she had grown, the world had become more chaotic.

  It would be stranger for the continent to be quiet when a new competitor had been thrown in when the two princes and one princess had maintained a miraculous balance. 

  Battles took place everywhere and Princess Adelaide wisely overcame several crises. After another year had passed, Kim Seon-Hyeok heard news that the one princess, who had been fighting with the princes, had passed away

  Now, the civil war was a three-way war. 

  The two princes did their best to get closer to the throne by putting the powerful magical weapons they had inherited from the Empire at the forefront.

  Princess Adelaide’s power was much weaker than those of the princes’. Her supporters didn’t have any magic weapons and even if the Grand Duke of Iberia had a fair amount of magic ships and a few magic mounts, it wasn’t enough and was only embarrassing when compared to the power of the Imperial Family. 

  But even in the midst of such inferiority, Adelaide expanded her force surprisingly quickly. Her innate insight and tolerance shone through. 

  “Many refer to Princess Adelaide as the second coming of the past Adenstein monarch.”
Countless people were captivated by her nature and plunged into a war with unfavorable conditions for her sake. Soon, it came to the point where her assailants were dragged down by her supporters and the citizens. 

  By this point, the princes’ felt the need to stop the exhaustive war and find a way to break the princess’ rapidly growing power.

  And the method the two princes used against the youngest and weakest princess’ authority was too harsh.

  A temporary non-aggression pact was reached between the princes and the frontlines between the two parties lulled. Using that time, a large force began to march towards the Iberian Peninsula - Princess Adelaide’s headquarters. 

  It was a tremendous force that had about forty airships and a similar number of magic mounts. 

  It was an overwhelming force that, even with all of Iberia’s magical ships and magic mounts, it would be impossible to stop. The princes were determined to use this chance and completely take her out.

  The nobles of Adelaide’s party turned pale when they heard from their spies that the battleships of the aviation corp were moving on the offensive.

  “All the Iberian Fleet’s magic ships are anchored at the pier and all the magic guns are aimed at the aviation corp’s battleships, but it’ll only protect the main castle and not the other fortresses and castles!”
“With the magic mounts we have on hand, we will never be able to stop the latest magic mounts for the Imperial Family! Both the amplification efficiency of the heart and the external armor are inferior!”
It seemed like the leaders of the Iberian Fleet and Panzer Corps, the most powerful forces of Adelaide’s camp, seemed to have lost their fighting spirit before the battle even began. 

  Their despair and sense of defeat quickly spread throughout Adelaide’s army and the people believed that the princess’s wisdom would have to bow down in front of the princes’ overwhelming force.

  However, even in the midst of such defeat, the princess remained very calm.

  “Reinforcements will arrive soon, so please, don’t act hastily.”