Emma Watson

Emma Watson had originally been a noble young lady. Compared with a noble like Kerry, their statuses were worlds apart.

She was a noble of the Fagran Empire, the country with the largest territory, greatest population, and strongest army on the continent. Her father was even a powerful marquis, with influence ranking among the empire's third tier.

She was a true high noble. Her family's ancestral fief was larger than those of many grand dukes of small kingdoms, and she even had a powerful Cuirassier Knight Order under her command.

Emma's life had originally seemed like something out of a fairy tale. She would wait for a tall, handsome prince to marry her and make her his princess consort. Perhaps even a prince of the imperial family would marry her and make her his imperial consort. From then on, she would live a happy life free from worries about food and clothing.

But there was no telling what the heavens might bring. One afternoon, a large number of the empire's elite guards suddenly stormed into the powerful marquis's residence, surrounding it so thoroughly that not even water could pass through. They then began arresting everyone without reason—old people, children, and women alike. No one was spared.

Her father was an eighth-level Sky Knight, and many of his subordinates were Sky Knights as well. They had intended to escape through the air, but the enemy had clearly planned everything in advance.

A large number of Griffon Knights and many Sky Knights above level five nearly filled the sky above the marquis's residence. Even though her father resisted fiercely, he was ultimately captured.

At the time, Emma happened to be shopping with her stepmother—the marquis's third concubine. Her stepmother had some sense of danger. When she saw the imperial Griffon Knights filling the sky above their home, she immediately took Emma and fled toward the outskirts of the city.

She knew a wandering mage who lived outside the city. By coincidence, she had done the mage a favor in the past. Although she did not know what had happened to her family, it was always better to be careful. Fortunately, the city gates had not been closed yet. However, she saw large numbers of soldiers hurrying toward them, and guessed that the city would soon be placed under martial law if they did not leave.

The journey went fairly smoothly. When Emma first met Gandalf, he was sunbathing in a small courtyard. Gandalf was very weak. The great battle six months earlier had greatly reduced his strength, and he had already been planning to find somewhere to enjoy his later years in peace.

Emma's stepmother had clearly ruined those plans. A favor owed to a powerful expert was the hardest debt to repay. After learning why the two had come, Gandalf quickly agreed to shelter them until they could find out what had happened in the city and decide what to do next.

What followed was the beginning of Emma's suffering. After half a month of anxiety and unease, all sorts of rumors began circulating in the city. Some said Marquis Watson had colluded with an enemy nation. Others said Marquis Watson had embezzled funds and accepted bribes. Still others claimed that Marquis Watson had been discovered having an affair with the empress, and that His Majesty the Emperor intended to confiscate his family's property and exterminate his entire clan.

But according to the more reliable information Emma's stepmother had obtained, the truth was that the empire's number-one grand duke, the imperial chancellor, had grown wary of the marquis's increasingly powerful influence. To prevent Marquis Watson from challenging the existing grand dukes, he had joined forces with several dukes who had economic or territorial conflicts with Marquis Watson. They had struck first, destroyed the marquis's power, and planned to divide the spoils among themselves.

Emma's stepmother, the third concubine of Marquis Watson, had not been with Emma's father for the sake of money. She was the daughter of a minor noble family, and the two had been together purely out of love. She entrusted Emma to Gandalf, then decided to secretly enter the city and petition His Majesty the Emperor directly.

Before leaving, she warned them that if she did not return, Gandalf was to flee with Emma as far away as possible. His Majesty had yet to officially declare Marquis Watson's crimes, so there was still a chance to turn things around. As long as little Emma could grow into a great mage, she might still be able to rescue her family someday.

Emma studied at the empire's Royal Magic Martial Academy. Unfortunately, she had not worked hard at her studies and was only a level-two mage even now. If she truly had to flee Faglan this time, she could still learn magic under Gandalf's guidance.

Three days later, light rain fell from the sky, occasionally mixed with sleet. Gandalf decided to leave Faglan that day with little Emma and head for Ionia. The magical atmosphere there was richer, which would help her development. He also had many old friends there and could take the opportunity to visit them.

Three days had passed, and her stepmother had not returned. Even though Emma was still young, she had roughly guessed that the emperor of Faglan might be involved. The only good news was that there had still been no word of any charges against her father and the others. Emma had already resolved to grow strong on her own, become a great mage, and return to save her family.

She set out for Ionia with her newly accepted teacher, Gandalf. They could take an airship from the capital, as many airship routes led to Ionia.

They could also take the Magic Train to the imperial border, then change trains or ships after crossing it. Another option was to travel by ship. Faglan's capital, Barren, was the largest port city on the continent, and there were quite a few passenger ships that went directly to Ionia.

Unfortunately, according to Gandalf, although not many people knew that Emma's stepmother had once done him a favor, there were still enough who did. The three days they had spent waiting for news outside Barren were already the limit. Someone might soon come to arrest them.

They could not enter the city to take an airship, nor could they go to the port and board a ship. It was best not to take the Magic Train outside the city either, since large numbers of guards might already be waiting there for them to walk into the trap.

In the end, the two of them could only travel overland to the nearest port city and see whether they could find a ship to Ionia.

But they did not know that when the third concubine was arrested by the emperor, she had revealed, for the safety of the people from the marquis's residence, that the escaped young princess, Emma, had already begun her journey to Ionia to study magic.

The emperor had not handled this matter cleanly. If he sentenced the marquis's family to death and had them beheaded now, Emma would certainly become a great mage who gave the empire a headache before returning to take revenge.

The emperor was, of course, not afraid of a single mage seeking revenge against his empire. If he had to worry about such a thing, then this country would not be an empire—it might not even qualify as a duchy.

However, the emperor had other concerns here. As the third concubine had said, this matter was not clean. They had finally found an opportunity to strike while all the important members of the marquis's household were present, yet someone had still slipped through the net. If that fish had been an ordinary minnow, it would have been easy to deal with, and the emperor could now dispose of the entire Watson family. Unfortunately, that little fish had been taken to Ionia by a famous Old Mage.

That little fish might grow into a great shark. Of course, even a great shark was not something the empire feared. The problem was that if such a powerful figure exposed Faglan's actions, the entire world would listen. Then the emperor's fear of allowing his subordinates to become too powerful, along with his efforts to suppress nobles and prevent trouble before it began, would no longer remain hidden. What would the empire's thousands upon thousands of nobles think then?

If they developed too successfully, they would be suppressed. If they failed to develop, they would decline. Who would still want to remain a noble in Faglan? What would happen if everyone capable fled to Ionia?

In the end, the emperor of Faglan made a difficult decision: Marquis Watson would be handled quietly, and his power would be confiscated.

If the escaped young princess became a shark, they would return her. They had already swallowed the marquis's power, and even if they returned it, the Watsons would not dare accept it. If she did not become a shark, they would imprison her for life. The goal would still have been achieved, and they could certainly afford the small expense of feeding her.

A lot of background had to be explained in this chapter. If you do not enjoy it, feel free to skip it.