The capital city of the Gredia Empire, Tradon.

It was a city spanning over 15,000 km2, making it one of the biggest cities in the world. Many archeologists were awed by the gigantic structure of the city and its functionality despite its size.

The royal family resided in the castle exactly in the center of the city in a magnificent castle.

Fifteen thin, round towers form a protective wall on two sides of the castle and are connected by enormous, wide walls made of an unknown material. Ornate windows are scattered thinly around the walls in seemingly perfect symmetry, along with holes of various sizes for archers and artillery. The castle itself was pure white.

Statues of emperors are lined up outside of the castle gates, serving as reminders of the past. This castle has clearly been around for at least a thousand years, but it doesn't seem like it will collapse any time soon.

In a dark area inside this amazing castle, there was a commotion.

Inside a room, having only a few torches on the walls as a source of light, servants and noblemen alike were kneeling down reverently towards a figure in front of them.

It was a female, the only thing that could be made out by her figure lit up by the torches.

"Congratulations on your awakening, Your Highness!" All of the kneeling people said at the same time.

The woman only nodded towards them and stayed silent for a few moments and her subjects similarly did the same, not daring to interrupt her thoughts. Only she knew what she was thinking.

"It seems it's time, huh. I wonder if he has awakened yet?" Her voice seemed excited, something her subordinates were not used to seeing. It was not something they welcomed either.

The woman finally stepped into the light and it revealed her features.

She was an extremely beautiful woman with waist-length silver hair, who wore a pure white dress. She had striking red eyes, which seemed to shine in the darkness. She also had a light smile on her face.

Normally, when such a beautiful woman smiled, it would only make her more beautiful. That was the same for her as well, but her subordinates all felt a chill down their spine upon seeing her smile.

For them, it mattered not how good-looking she was, because they did not see her as a human in the first place.

One of them gathered his courage and stood up as he bowed and reminded her.

"The preparations are mostly complete, Your Highness Victoria. Only the parts that need your supervision are left."

"Hm. Then, let us go. First, let me go and change. We have much work to do, after all." Her smile vanished and her voice radiated authority. The kneeling people immediately stood up and left to do their tasks, while some maids remained behind to help the newly awakened Princess Victoria.

"Your Highness Victoria, there is no need to worry. We will naturally meet again on the promised stage. And I am sure it will be the most exciting event in your life."

"If you are the one saying so, then I will believe those words."

'O my nemesis and lost half of my soul, it is time to settle the score. Will you fall into oblivion along with your madness or will I be extinguished along with my pride? I am looking forward to the time you fulfill your promise.'

***

Ubel was following after Ayla as they moved through the same hallway he used previously with the maid in order to get to his room.

"Let's go from here, Allen." Ayla said as she turned towards the fountain with the statues from earlier.

As they passed the statues of the previous Lords of the Noble House of Ruthergett, he noticed something very odd.

It was the statue of Baron Ruthergett, whom Ubel remembered as the Lord of Ruthergett from when he was 14. His statue was slightly bigger than the others. Furthermore, it was placed behind William's and one other person, who should be William's father.

He widened his eyes and stood in a daze for a few seconds until Ayla asked him why he stopped.

"Excuse me, I was just admiring the beautiful scenery."

"I see. I also often come here to relax because of the calmness of this place." Ayla smiled.

"By the way, could you please tell me more about the Ruthergett House and the territory you govern? I want to know more about those things since I will be living here from now on." Ubel asked her politely as they continued walking.

"Of course! As you probably know, since we border the barbaric tribes and because of the frequent beast tides, we are required to have a strong military at all times. In the first place, the Ruthergett House was created here precisely to deal with the barbaric tribes and the beast tides." William's daughter began explaining.

"We have done a good job of fulfilling our responsibilities, keeping the barbaric tribes at bay and suppressing the beast tides, which meant that the royal family valued our House, since it was the only territory bordering the war-loving tribes. Moreover, the territory itself wasn't bad, so we have always prospered. Originally though, we were only Barons. That was because we essentially were military-centered nobles, who were appointed by the Emperor at that time to combat the various problems in the north of the Empire. The Ruthergett family weren't appointed because of achievements or something glorious like that, so at the beginning we were practically an extension of the Royal Army. The first Head was a third son of a Viscount House, who was a commander in the Royal Army in the first place."

"It was like that?"

"Yes. Anyway, because the Ruthergett House was military-centered, the Lords barely bothered with politics, economics and things like that. Though we prospered, that was only because of the good condition of the territory and the citizens themselves. The Lords barely did anything, but the citizens were satisfied nonetheless because of the low taxes." She laughed a little.

"However, it is said that this all changed one day when one particular Lord received a message from a certain goddess. The Goddess of Humanity, Izal."