“Killed?”
Harvis’s words made Shien’s heart clench.
“What’s going on?” Shien looked at Harvis and asked in a deep voice, “The Raifurut family is Diere’s mother’s family, right? I heard that they valued Diere’s talent and wanted to take her back, but I didn’t hear that they wanted to kill her.”
Therefore, Shien was completely surprised by the news Harvis revealed, which concerned Diere’s life and death.
Seeing Shien’s serious expression, Harvis knew that his information was indeed correct. This Viscount Buztout had a very good relationship with the daughter of the Elvenbein family.
Ordinary people wouldn’t know this. Only someone resourceful like Harvis could find out.
After all, Shien and Diere had never shown much closeness in public. Their relationship was even more hidden than the one between Shien and Lucy. Ordinary people couldn’t possibly know.
Harvis seized on this point and believed that Shien was someone worth cooperating with.
Therefore…
“Let me start from the beginning.”
Harvis considered his words carefully before starting his story.
“Actually, this matter started ten years ago.”
Ten years ago was exactly when the royal capital was attacked by the Old Demon Faction’s [Assassination Branch].
According to Harvis, everything started from that time.
“Before that year, although the relationship between the Empire and the Kingdom wasn’t particularly friendly, it wasn’t as tense as it is now.” Harvis said, “Although the Empire and the Kingdom had fought several wars in the past due to border disputes, those wars were limited to the border and didn’t affect our domestic environments.”
Shien also knew about this.
The Empire was established earlier than the Kingdom.
Because the Kingdom was founded a thousand years ago by the Hero who defeated the Demon King, and that Hero, known as the strongest of all time, was the last Hero. After that, the Hero Summoning Ritual was sealed. Therefore, the Ragna Empire, also founded by a Hero, could only have been established before the Kingdom of Mitra.
However, unlike the renowned Mitra, the Ragna Empire’s founding Hero wasn’t as famous. He might have been very powerful among humans, but he was somewhat inferior to other Heroes, considered among the weakest of all Heroes. Therefore, after establishing the Ragna Empire, within a few years, he was killed by a Demon Lord.
That Demon Lord was Airi.
Airi had killed two Heroes, which was why she was so infamous and feared by many.
Because of this incident, the Ragna Empire, although founded by a Hero, experienced many hardships, not only being criticized by many, but also facing many difficulties. RâNỘ𐌱Ěŝ
Shien had heard that during that dark era, as a nation founded by a Hero but having lost their Hero, the Ragna Empire was targeted not only by many demons, but also by many humans.
After all, for the demons, who were extremely hostile towards Heroes, their natural enemies, the Ragna Empire, founded by a Hero, was a thorn in their side. And for other human nations, the Ragna Empire’s royal family was descended from the Hero and carried the Hero’s bloodline. If they could intermarry with them and obtain descendants with the Hero’s bloodline, it would naturally be a great thing.
Therefore, the Ragna Empire was greatly targeted at that time.
Demon forces would invade the Empire every few days.
Other human nations exerted various pressures, forcing the Empire’s royal family to intermarry with them.
To survive that era, the Ragna Empire struggled desperately, not only selling their dignity many times, making the royal family members like breeding stock to obtain support from other human nations, but also striving to gain the attention of the Divine Race, seeking their protection as descendants of the Hero, continuously sending their elites to the battlefield as the frontline force against the demon army, experiencing countless near-death situations.
Under such circumstances, the Ragna Empire barely survived the darkest era and finally became the most powerful human nation during the war a thousand years ago, a true military empire.
But at that time, Mitra suddenly emerged, not only carrying the hopes of the human race and successfully defeating the Demon King, but also establishing the Kingdom of Mitra right next to the Ragna Empire, rapidly developing with the help of the Divine Race and other human nations, and soon becoming a nation comparable to the Ragna Empire.
How could the Ragna Empire, which had gone through so much darkness, be reconciled to this?
This wasn’t just because of an imbalance in their hearts, but also because the location Mitra chose to establish his kingdom was actually the battlefield where he defeated the Demon King.
And the Ragna Empire was right next to this battlefield. What did this mean?
It meant that during the war, they were the ones who stood at the forefront, bearing the brunt of the demon army’s attack.
As a result, as the nation that faced the most enemies and bore the most pressure on the battlefield, not only did they not receive the rewards they deserved, but even the land of that battlefield was taken by Mitra. The Kingdom of Mitra, also founded by a Hero, not only didn’t face any difficulties or criticism, but was also covered in glory, continuously receiving help from the Divine Race and other human nations, rapidly developing and becoming their equal. How could the people of the Ragna Empire not find this irritating?
Furthermore, with their territories adjacent to each other, and both being Hero nations constantly being compared, it was almost inevitable that conflicts would arise between them.
However, Mitra was the hero who ended the war, and the Kingdom of Mitra was treated with courtesy by the Divine Race. The Empire couldn’t openly target the Kingdom excessively. That wouldn’t be justifiable.
Therefore, in the past, the conflicts between the Kingdom and the Empire were limited to a few minor wars on the border, nothing too major.
If it weren’t for this, the Empire wouldn’t have had the opportunity to send Diere’s mother for a political marriage, right?
It was precisely because their hatred wasn’t too obvious.
It wasn’t until ten years ago, after the large-scale assassination in the royal capital, that the relationship between the Kingdom and the Empire hit rock bottom.
Harvis said,
“If I told you that incident ten years ago was actually a spur-of-the-moment decision, would you believe me?”
Harvis said these words.
“A spur-of-the-moment decision?”
Shien was stunned.
“That’s right.” Harvis said seriously, “The Raifurut family is a military family that trains spies, assassins, and elite soldiers. They are highly valued by the royal family in the Empire, and in history, they have been granted marriage alliances with the royal family several times, marrying princesses. Therefore, they also have the Hero’s blood of the Ragna Empire.”
Hearing this, Shien was surprised.
Wouldn’t that mean…
“Diere Elvenbein is actually the inheritor of the Hero’s bloodline from both the Mitra Kingdom’s royal family and the Ragna Empire’s royal family. The Empire’s initial purpose for proposing the marriage wasn’t to have the Raifurut family’s daughter become a spy, but to steal the Hero’s blood of the Kingdom of Mitra, combine it with the Hero’s blood of the Ragna Empire, and give birth to a child with extraordinary talent.”