First of all, two warnings: 1-Just to let you know, English is not my main language, so if you have a lot of grammar mistakes, please… Let me know, ok? I'll try to do something about it eventually. 2-This is a Route of Wrath with some concepts and values a little different, but in essence, the idea is the same. A story about a boy who has lost confidence in the world and who, in order to have peace in his short nights of sleep, seeks to control everything through fear. That said, good reading!
The atmosphere was one of tension and excitement.
It was a gift, a day that would go down in history.
In the throne room, a place where the last Lion King had ruled, were present the members of the council of sages, the royal knights, some members of the nobility and of course…
The Dragon Candidates, each with their own peculiarity, with their ideal of how to govern this Kingdom lacking a capable leader.
Anastasia Honshin, owner of the Honshin bell and leader of the Iron Fangs, was one of the biggest merchants in Kararagi Province. Being a youthful looking girl, although her age did not match her appearance, she brought up the proposal to rule Lugnica through the Economy.
To her money was everything, and if having a country meant having even more money, then so be it.
After all, she was "a greedy girl."
Priscilla Barielle, for many, was just another baroness who made her late husband's lands prosper, but considering her connection to Vollachia and how those who followed her had her absolute devotion made her a worthy candidate of interest.
Her government was simple, "be happy with my leadership" as if the empty seat in the throne room already belonged to her.
Though many disliked her arrogant personality, they couldn't deny that her confidence and superiority was the mark of a strong leader, of someone who could rule this realm with a fist of steel.
All because the world worked for her.
Crush Kursten, the current head of the famous Kursten family with direct connection to the former royal family, was by far everyone's favorite. A noble descent, a leadership and a number of achievements that only a royal, only someone like the emerald-haired Valkyrie possessed in the current situation.
There wasn't much to say about her, just the rumors that were already circulating, and that was more than enough for most to support her.
Although her proposal to rule the Kingdom involved breaking her pact with the Dragon, however blasphemous, everyone could say her leadership would be powerful.
"Through our own strength," as she herself had pointed out.
Felt, a girl fresh from the slums. By far the least popular, or rather, to this day, no one even knew of its existence and being frank, she would have preferred it that way.
However, due to some circumstances, she needed to be there on an equal footing with the other princesses. Even though she didn't have much, the fact that the holy swordsman himself supported her and that together with her supposed connection to the deceased royal family made her a factor to watch out for in this election.
That said, as someone who came from below, the former thief was willing to topple this petty empire, turning the rules upside down after taking the throne.
Living strong through her one government was the fate of whoever she was to support her.
"No doubt this election will be close. I can see these ladies are quite straightforward in what they want." Miktolov commented with a laugh.
The leader of the council of sages could wait no longer for this day. The chance for Lugnica to have a strong leader again was getting closer.
Despite some setbacks, the prophecy could finally be fulfilled and the great Volcanic Divine Dragon could bring security to the country.
If only it wasn't--
"Excuse me."
A soft but firm voice lifted a hand high, bringing her attention.
"Yes, Miss Kursten. Do you wish to comment on something?"
A green haired man wearing armor like that asked. It was Marcos Gildark, leader of the order of royal knights.
"Actually, I have a question…" Crush, hands over his chin, began to study the other candidates with his amber gaze before turning back to Marcos. "If I remember what was said by you earlier, the Dragonstone prophesied four maidens worthy of ruling, am I right?"
"Yes, that's right, Miss Kursten. As stated, all four of you have been selected by the Dragon to rule." Marcos replied bluntly.
"I see, in that case, allow me to ask one last question… Why did you lie?"
Silence!
At Valquiria's only accusatory question, more than half of the great hall had fallen silent, while the other half had begun to stir at such an allegation.
"What's that mean, Crush-Sama?"
"That we were lied to about the prophecy, more precisely about the number of royal candidates…" Crush replied to his faithful knight, Felix Algyle.
With that, an uproar broke out over the entire hall. Why would they lie about the prophecy?
"Order!" shouted Marcos seeking to normalize the situation.
"And what makes you say that, young lady?" Miktolov asked, closing one of your eyes curiously.
"It's not too hard to find out. Most here already know I have the wind-reading blessing, lying to me is unfeasible."
Those words were enough to silence any excuses the board members had.
It was tiring, but Miktolov had no choice but to tell the truth.
"We didn't want to hide it, but the truth is, the prophecy didn't quite follow the line it was supposed to." He confessed the elder with a small sigh.
"The Dragonstone actually prophesied five maidens worthy of the throne and after confirming that the fifth candidate had been found about 4 months ago we were planning to start this election 1 month later..."
"But there were three months late, why is that?" Crush asked the old man curiously.
"The fourth candidate, the one who was being sponsored by the greatest wizard in the Kingdom, Roswall L. Marthes, currently has her whereabouts unknown."
And with that the eyes of Crush, and many others, widened in surprise as they finally understood the reason for the lie.
"As everyone knows the leader of the Mathers Family was murdered over two months ago. The Miliod family is currently taking over the lands that formerly belonged to him, while the candidate for the throne, young Astrea, could give her account?"
"Yes sir!"
At Miktolov's request, the most holy swordsman and current Felt knight, Reinhard Van Astra, offered to explain.
"About 4 months ago, in addition to finding Felt-Sama's whereabouts, I also had the honor of meeting Emilia-Sama, the fourth Dragon candidate. I helped her with a little personal problem she had and after that, about a month and a half later, there was an attack on Marthes Mansion and as a result no one knows what happened to it or to most of the residents. It is believed that some sort of organization of a group of assassins carried out the attack."
Reinhard thus dropped the bomb on everyone, creating a rather uncomfortable atmosphere.
"So big sister and big brother went…" Felt beside his knight could only grieve at what had happened. Having your benefactors fallen for that fate left you with a bad taste in your mouth.
"Who cares what happened to that candidate? She was only a semi-human with her offspring similar to her own calamity, having her absent from this election is one more reason for relief…"
"To Bordeaux, my friend. This is not the best time to say that in the current situation."
Miktolov could only sigh at Bordeaux Zellgef's words. Everyone knew that the current council member had participated in the demi human war, and that he himself held a grudge against them.
"Hmpf! I believe many here agree with me. I honestly have no problem being honest given the problem that lying about that half elf has given me."
"But do you know how much work we went into organizing this event? Likewise, the risk that this could affect the prophecy, isn't it?"
Faced with Miktolov's question, Bordeaux can only close his eyes and remain silent.
It couldn't be denied that not fulfilling the Dragon's prophecy could be described as something terrible, and for that reason, to avoid a fuss, it was necessary to hide that information. And above all...
"We have no choice but to go through with this election with one less candidate. Do you understand now Miss Kursten?"
The elder had now thrown the question to the green-haired woman who was still on the lookout since she started this discussion.
"I understand perfectly now sir. Sorry to take your time." With a small greeting Crush returns to his position beside his knight as he awaits the final word.
"Okay, that's all taken care of! Come on guys! In Kararagi we say time is money, and already wasting a lot of mine, so get it over with." The purple-haired merchant said rather impatiently.
"Minaself doesn't want to stay a second either! Don't waste my time…" With a huff, the baroness starts to fan herself with obvious irritation.
"Right… We don't have anything else of importance. That said, with the prophecy that 5 maidens would be chosen to reaffirm the pact with Dragon, even though one is absent, we're starting to--"
"WAIT!"
Before Marcos could finish his words. A messenger ran into the throne room, going to the front of the council of sages.
"Wait please! I have an important message…" Said the messenger taking a breath.
"What happened now? It had better be of utmost importance as we are in the middle of an event that will decide the future of the Kingdom." Marcos said with a severe tone. He could tolerate a real candidate interrupting him, but never someone below him.
"I apologize Captain Marcos, but the message I have for the counsel of Sages is as relevant to the future of the realm as you might think."
With these words a new commotion began to run through the royal hall.
What could it be this time to be equivalent to choosing your next leader?
"Important for the future of the realm, you say? In that case, let's not waste any more time, come closer."
Miktolov said, instructing the messenger to come to him and whisper the message in his ear.
At that moment, the throne room had fallen completely silent. No one would dare disturb their attention to Miktolov's expressions. Whatever message was going to be delivered to the elder, it should be something really important to take place at such a legendary event like this.
"Hmm…"
At first, as Miktolov listened to the message, everyone could see his half-closed gaze on the messenger's words.
"What…?"
Soon after, his serene expression changed to one of surprise and shock, which surprised those present who were looking intently at the old man.
"I understand…"
And finally, a face of pure understanding appeared on his face after the messenger gave the sage room to think.
"That changes everything…" he whispered to himself "Let them in!" And he gave that last order so that everyone in the place could hear.
"Open the gates!" shouted Mark towards the entrance to the throne room. He didn't know why, but it was the orders of the leader of the council of sages he wouldn't question.
Then the doors began to open with a great creaking sound.
It was not known why, but the ambient light had dimmed a little, the atmosphere had grown colder, and everyone's attention was focused on the figure standing in the doorway.
Without a single word, the figure started walking with closed eyes. Graceful footsteps that echoed over the silent hall.
It didn't take long for those present at the scene to recognize the figure as a woman.
And it wasn't just any woman. She had long silver hair that swayed gracefully with every step, her posture was straight and full of nobility, skin as fair as the moon and a long bride's dress in the predominant color of the purest white.
If they were going to give her a nickname, it would be something like "The Princess in White".
"What is she doing here? Why is she here?" The first to speak was Bordeaux, his tone with enormous hostility to the woman's identity.
The reason was simple…
"Why did this disgusting half-demon show up?"
The woman, with her pointed ears, upon reaching the other royal candidates, gracefully opened her eyelids, revealing ruby eyes with the amethyst tint that was indifferent to the insults hurled at her.
"Emilia… Sama?"
It was Reinhard who said this with mild surprise.
Was her! It really was her! Though the feeling of guilt and relief was mingling, he couldn't believe she was there, even after the rumors and the cruel fate of his faction.
"It's really a surprise… It also proves that the Dragon Prophecy is never wrong."
Likewise, Miktolov could not have been more relieved. There were a lot of headaches for three months about how to proceed with the election with one candidate less. And now that the latter was present, the fate of the country could be decided more securely.
"That doesn't matter! Even if the Dragon chose her, the fact that we have a Demon like her present in this room won't change my opinion of her parentage."
Bordeaux, on the other hand, only increased its venom for Emilia, who remained unchanged in mood. Almost as if she didn't give a damn about the words that roamed around her.
"And on top of that you don't even feel the need to answer. What a disappointment…"
And with those final words, a wave of insults began to spread.
"That's right!"
"Why is this half-demon here?"
"The service will come!"
"Throw her into the fire! Burn this abomination!"
Insult after insult came back and forth. While Emilia remained unchanged in front of them all.
"Big sister…"
Felt can only grunt at such treatment to his benefactress. She wished she could scream and protest against these abuses, but for some reason she felt she wasn't worthy of the role, not after having caused her so much trouble in the past.
"Damn! I'm not sure this is the right way to treat a potential future royal..."
Suddenly, a disinterested voice spoke up in Emilia's defense. Though, her tone sounded more like mockery than concern.
"Ceci-san, don't be so noisy, we are in a place full of nobles. Have manners."
The owner of the second voice said as a warning, however, he was more relaxed than anything.
"Don't talk to me about manners when you're smoking in front of everyone, Halibel-San."
"What can I do? I'm nervous! I need something to calm me down…"
Both the two said so as if they were longtime friends. Although the latter's supposed nervousness could be a problem, as he was making a lot of smoke while using his pipe.
"Halibel, I ask you not to smoke in the throne room and you Cecilus to be silent, please."
Cutting off the exchange between the two was Emilia, her expression still indifferent, but with a hint of authority in her voice.
"Sorry about that, Princess."
"Yes yes! My mouth is now a grave, miss."
Cecilus and Halibel, each taking a part with Emilia.
The first one had hair like sky blue, while possessing an expression that sounded childish.
The second was very different, a dog-like human demi with half-closed eyes.
If there was something they both had in common, it was the kimonos they wore and it's
the legendary swords they carried at their waists.
And the apparition of these two obviously blew the throne room into murmurs.
"The strongest in the province of Vollachia, Cecilus Segmut. And the strongest in the province of Kararagi, Halibel the Great…" Captain Marcos said with a frown. "Why are you two foreigners here in this country?"
"It's nothing Empire related, as some of you might think. We're just escorting the Princess. It's our new boss's orders after all."
"And who would that be?" asked Bordeaux with mild irritation. One wasn't enough, but now there were two human demi in the throne room?
"Of course that would be me."
"!"
Finally, a soft voice, but carrying an enormous weight, manifested itself behind Emilia's two bodyguards. It was an innocent tone, but it seemed to have all the evil in the world hit upon it, which stiffened many of the individuals present.
He was a peculiar looking boy, with long black hair, an exhausted and emotionless look that looked like he had already felt his own pain on his skin and with a simple kinomo, which only highlighted his orange scarf, he walked to forward towards Emilia.
His walk was almost dying and fragile, many thought, but it was as if his presence brought death and despair.
An aura that sent a shiver down her spine.
"Subaru?"
The first to recognize him was obviously Reinhard. As someone who came into contact with Subaru a few months ago, the sword saint really didn't expect him to be so…
Different.
"So the rumors were true…" Miktolov said with a slightly strained expression. "You are the child who, for a short time, created one of the greatest organizations in existence. The one known as the King of Purification, if I'm not mistaken…"
That statement was enough to make everyone get the surprise stamped on his face.
The King of Purification, a foreign boy who had made his fortune in such a short time. In less than two months since its existence being known, Pleiades, as its group was called, has become a very high level organization and of great influence in the trade with its products and labor.
To further emphasize the power of this organization, the frail skinny boy who was with them owned two of the most powerful swordsmen in the neighboring countries. And all of this being maintained through money…
And now, this same powerful boy, was in the throne room with the missing half-elf for what purpose?
"Finally something interesting…" An amused little whisper came from the princess in the crimson dress.
"So it's him? How magnificent..." said Anastasia with her eyes shining.
"It looks like a real turn of events that we have now." Crush, with his hands over his chin, can only give some thought to the next steps.
"Bro… What happened to you?" whispered Felt with great concern upon seeing the boy's condition.
Finally, with the unexpected arrival, a deafening silence reached the main hall of the Royal Castle. The atmosphere carried a different weight when those strange and enigmatic elements occupied space in the front ranks among the other royal candidates.
"So…" Miktolov said stroking his beard. "I have a vague idea why you're here, but just to be sure, could you tell everyone why?"
"Wait Miktolov, don't tell me--"
"Exactly how you think…"
Before Bordeaux could question the smug look that the leader of the Wise Men had, the dark-eyed, dark-eyed boy intervened.
"I, Natsuki Subaru…"
The boy began to speak, his voice loud and clear to everyone.
"Whoever leads the organization known as the Pleiades…"
Without an ounce of emotion or stuttering.
"I officially declare myself the sponsor of Emilia-Sama's candidacy for the throne."
With a little bow to the Sages...
"Forget about the speech, or any promises, her being the future Queen, it's something I look forward to and I will make it a reality…"
Bluntly, without explanation and without the slightest doubt, the King of Purification not only announced the victory of his princess…
"And me being the future King, bringing revolution to this country, is already more than decided."
As well as his own accession to the throne of Lugnica.