The princess's past

The long conversation had taught Zhang Han a great deal, but it had also exhausted the mental energy he had accumulated. Soon, with Chloe bidding him good night, he fell into a deep sleep.

Zhang Han was not the only one who felt he had gained a great deal. Chloe did too.

Before falling asleep, the Overmind had transmitted a recorded memory to her. In it, she saw a tide of the Swarm hatch from their hives and tear apart every enemy in their path. Sturdy cities and fortresses were engulfed by the Swarm, their valiant defenders able to offer only futile resistance.

This unstoppable power intoxicated Chloe. She recited in her heart, I am the one in the prophecy, the one chosen by destiny. I am the empress.

With this power, Chloe could consider how to take revenge on those who had plotted against her, regarded her with hostility, and murdered her mother.

In fact, Ymir had been right. To a certain extent, the prophecy really had harmed Chloe. When she was eight, she had still been a carefree little girl enjoying life as a princess.

Back then, her father and mother had both doted on her, coming to play with her from time to time. Beautiful and charming, Chloe was all the more beloved by everyone.

Beyond the gowns, fine food, and toys in the palace, her three elder brothers also showered her with affection. Who would dislike a pretty little sister who posed no threat whatsoever to their position?

So they too often visited Chloe, bringing her many novel things from outside the palace. It could be said that this was how her whole life should have passed: carefree, happy, and loved by everyone.

Fate was fickle. Everything changed the year she turned nine.

The Astrologers' Association announced that they had once again caught a thread of the world's destiny, and one end of that thread was tied to the little princess. The association then sent three renowned masters to the court of the Altia Empire, where they performed a divination together to prophesy the little princess's future.

Then that astonishing prophecy came to light.

Although the entire human world took the view that it was better to believe a prophecy than dismiss it, this particular prophecy was far too astonishing.

Many dared not believe it, nor did they want to. Especially when the central figure in this destiny was a little girl who had only just turned nine and was as adorable as a doll, the truth of the prophecy seemed even more doubtful.

Besides, it was not as though the Astrologers' Association had never made an incorrect prophecy. They had made many. Asking the rulers and peoples of every nation to believe that a nine-year-old girl would lead terrifying magical beasts to unite the human world ten years later was simply too sensational.

Thus, after the Astrologers' Association delivered its prophecy with great fanfare, the representatives from the various nations who had come to observe all departed.

Yet the little princess's fate had still changed. Her father began to believe that his daughter would achieve imperial supremacy.

The Normanov Family had always been an ambitious family. The history of the Altia Empire was a history of the Normanov Family's wars of conquest.

The Altia Empire's hunger for land knew no bounds. Every neighboring nation had fought wars with it. Even the phrase "reckless militarism" was insufficient to describe the empire's military investment and ambition.

Now a prophecy said that the emperor's youngest daughter would become an empress who united all humanity. Though it was only a prophecy, it was enough to make this elderly father too excited to sleep.

From then on, the old emperor, already advanced in years and gradually growing lax in attending to affairs of state, began devoting his energy to educating his daughter.

Dance, etiquette, painting, and language lessons were all canceled. In their place came military studies, swordsmanship, psionics, statecraft, and history.

Besides doubling the intensity of her lessons, the emperor frequently taught his daughter himself. He intended to educate her into someone accomplished in every field, who would then inherit his throne.

Chloe's happy, carefree childhood was gone for good.

Ambition could be inherited. The old emperor's three sons had already been secretly fighting one another over the succession to the empire. Now the old emperor had given them another rival.

What did it matter if that rival was their beautiful, adorable little sister? Any stumbling block on the path to the throne had to be kicked aside.

Fortunately, Chloe had a mother who still loved her. The empire's empress was a woman thoroughly versed in politics and possessed of keen insight.

She selected several loyal, dependable knights to protect Chloe, one of whom was Ymir. Under their protection, Chloe escaped dozens of assassination attempts.

These included hired killers, covert attacks, poison, and explosions. Each escape from assassination cast another shadow over Chloe's heart.

Gradually, Chloe changed from a lively, cheerful girl into someone withdrawn, silent, arrogant, and suspicious. She herself increasingly believed in that prophecy, believing that she was meant to be the chosen one.

Disaster struck when she was sixteen. Her mother fell gravely ill and was about to die. Before leaving this world, she called Chloe to her bedside and told her the truth: she had been poisoned. Anger filled Chloe's heart, and she urgently demanded to know who the murderer was. She wanted to avenge her mother.

The empress smiled faintly and shook her head. They were all her children. How could she bear to watch them slaughter one another?

What worried her was who would protect Chloe after she died. Of the original three guardian knights, two had already died in the line of duty. Only Ymir remained.

Furthermore, the old emperor's power had long since been divided among the three princes. How could the weak Chloe possibly protect herself?

But she still had a way. A marriage alliance would be enough to safeguard her daughter's life for the time being. The Death Forest lay on the empire's border. Since magical beasts often rushed out of it and threatened the people's safety, the empire had stationed a marquis there to defend its frontier.

This marquis was far from the political center, and he happened to have a son close to Chloe's age. As long as the two became engaged, Chloe's brothers would believe that she had relinquished her right to inherit the throne. That would keep her safe.

Chloe was unwilling. She had already brainwashed herself with the prophecy. How could she, the future empress of humanity, marry the son of a border marquis? But she was no longer that naive little girl. She knew her mother was right.

If she did not take a step back now, the three elder brothers who had doted on her so much in childhood might launch a coup at any moment. They had even killed their mother. Would they care about killing an old emperor as well?

Without the old emperor's protection, what would she amount to?

In the end, she followed her mother's arrangements and came to the border. The marquis indeed treated her very well and devoted considerable effort to protecting her. After all, Chloe was a princess marrying beneath her station, and his future daughter-in-law.

But would Chloe be content to spend the rest of her life here? Of course not. Her surname was Normanov too.

She agreed to the engagement, but at the same time set the marquis a condition: when she turned eighteen, he had to give her an elite force to accompany her deep into the Death Forest. If the prophecy proved wrong and she encountered no extraordinary opportunity, she would return and marry the marquis's son.

The marquis considered it. Thinking that the princess was, after all, the subject of a prophecy, he agreed on the basis that they might as well give it a try.