"King Emeric IX was born as the seventh child of his father, and shouldn’t have had anything to do with the throne. Even as he grew up and showed himself to be promising among the Royal Family, his fate was to become the Duke of the Brightsky Duchy."

Earl Eric paused in his narration, looking at Felix and searching for something. What he found, was confusion, which seemed to satisfy him as he pointed out, "Yes, as in the Brightsky Kingdom. The Margarita Kingdom used to be much larger than it is nowadays."

He then resumed his tale, "37 years ago, in 3E1232 (Third Era, Year 1232) Emeric was appointed his position as Duke, and the matter was celebrated throughout the nation. He was known to be a loving ruler who was capable of being both just and forgiving, and even accepted the races known as generally hostile.

"Around the same time, his father the King fell ill. This was a rather strange matter at the time, he was the strongest ruler our country had ever had, a Tier 5 King Rank powerhouse. He should have lived for many more years healthily, yet within two years of his disease, he died."

Felix asked, "I suppose this wasn’t really a disease, and that Emeric had something to do with it. He wanted to take his father’s place?"

Earl Eric sighed and did not immediately answer, and instead decided to make Felix think for himself, "The Third Era began with the ascension of the Empire, following the Apotheosis, and the Margarita Kingdom was made a couple hundred years after that. We are in the year 1269, and even a Rank 2 like me can live for more than 300 years. Can you see the problem?"

Everything quickly linked together in Felix’s mind as he said, "King Emeric IX. In my world, not every King is named the same, and I’m going to bet that the same happens here. That means at least 9 Kings succeeded each other in the last millennia."

"King Emeric IX was our 19th Ruler."

"I doubt many of these rulers were weaklings, with the resources and training they must have had growing up, so even if they only lived 300 years each, and every successor was selected on the brink of death… I guess your country had a maximum period of regency for their rulers?"

Earl Eric smiled and revealed, "Not only the Margarita Kingdom, but even the Empire. It is generally set at around 50 years, but it isn’t a real hard limit. A bad ruler could be forced to abdicate after only 10 years, while some could last for more than 200 years."

"So what happened to the rulers once they abdicated?"

"It depended on every individual. Some left to explore the world, some left to live ordinary lives, and some left for the Empire. But whatever they did, they were to be the foundation of our nation, the hidden strength that would be used were our country to be threatened."

Now sporting a frown, Felix said, "So even to rise to the throne, killing the old king would be harming the country. But I don’t find it that surprising, many would willingly hurt the foundation of the kingdom for their personal interest. At least, in my world, it happened many times."

Earl Eric approached one of the bookshelves, his fingers moving across the books with melancholy as he consented, "Human nature is treacherous, or at least they can easily be led by their ego. But that wasn’t it. While the king was sick and unable to attend to the matters of the country, Emeric rose to fame through the kingdom, while his siblings slowly lost their status, his sisters mostly being sold to other nations while his brothers fought against each other for the throne.

"Finally, in 3E1234, Emeric was crowned King of Margarita."

"And all hell broke loose?"

"No. At first, the country seemed to be thriving. Our relationships with the other nations were better than ever, and the Kingdom was said to be at its peak. While we had been called the Pearl of the Empire for many years already, this name once again rang true throughout the world."

Puzzled, Felix asked, "What happened then?"

Earl Eric once again decided not to give the answer right away, but continued with the context, "The Brightsky Duchy might have looked as a particularly prosperous region of the kingdom, but in reality it was nothing but an outpost for the foreign races to invade us. For years they had been planning, and they had finally managed to get their hands on the highest authority in the Kingdom."

Earl Eric turned away from the bookshelf and looked straight into Felix’s eyes as he said, "Don’t misunderstand, I am not throwing these accusations on Elves blindly. They were the one who declared war after all. Thirty years ago, on the 4th of February 3E1239, 50 Ancestors of Ilin teleported to Margarita, and assassinated every Ancestor of our Kingdom.

"On the 5th, King Emeric IX, who was supposed to be overseeing the succession of the Brightsky Duchy to a Dwarf, led Orcs from Burg against his own Kingdom. Almost 4 million humans were massacred that day."

This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

"On the 7th, the capital of Margarita, Nacre, was wiped off the map. The Royal Family, supposedly erased. All that was left, was King Emeric and his Elven Consort."

With every word Earl Eric spoke, Felix felt something weigh down on him, making him feel like gravity had suddenly increased, and the world itself was pressing down on his mind.

His eyes shining with a dangerous red light, Earl Eric asked, "Now, you tell me, if your country was burned before your very eyes, your family enslaved by so called superior races, and the Empire, whom was supposed to protect you, did nothing but watch… would you so easily forgive?"

Felix felt the pressure continue increasing, while Earl Eric looked like he didn’t even realize he was emitting it. Despite it, Felix stood his ground as he asked, "How did you survive, then? How did things end up becoming the way they are right now?"

Earl Eric seemed to calm down as he looked away, half of the pressure instantly disappearing as it continued going down, "That day, not everyone in the city was killed. The 9th Princess, who was only 15 at the time, managed to escape."

"What could a 15 year old do? Don’t you get access to the System at 18?"

The topic seemed to give Earl Eric a smile as he replied, "Some children can be… precocious. But you are right, by herself, a 15 can’t do much. So she grew, and we hid."

Rolling down his sleeve, covering his metallic prosthesis, Earl Eric added, "While most of our armies were destroyed by the Traitor, many managed to escape. Knowing they did not stand a chance against his forces, they went into hiding, waiting for the day they would get the Margarita Kingdom back."

Raising an eyebrow, Felix remarked, "You started by saying the Margarita Kingdom was known as the Pearl of the Empire until 20 years ago… Was it really still called that after those massacres?"

Earl Eric scoffed, "In many places, including the Empire, yes."

Hooked, Felix asked, "What happened, then?"

"The 9th Princess went through many perils as she traveled around the world, searching for allies to take back the country. She was met with ridicule and scorn, as well as danger as a bounty had been placed on her head by Ilin, the land of the Light Elves. But she endured, she survived, and 20 years ago, she came back.

"By then, Margarita was only a shadow of itself. How could it not be, they hadn’t taken over out of interest over ruling the land, but instead to plunder it. They broke the circle as they took and kept, reducing our mountains to rubble, drying our rivers and destroying our soil. As for the Princess… they took her as nothing but a frightened child, who had probably been eaten up by this cruel world."

"But she wasn’t eaten."

"Indeed. Her cause seen as hopeless and mere folly, she returned to Margarita, alone. Oh, my body may rot and my magic wither away, I shall remember this day to my last days. A long sword in her hand, she started from the West. On the 1st of January 3E1249, she started marching. On the 31st of January, she stopped in this very city, the head of Emeric in hand, the blood of a million enemies beneath her feet and a Kingdom in her back."

Earl Eric grew emotional as he muttered, "The March of the Queen."

Across him, Felix felt fully immersed in the story when he felt something lightly poke his mind, a wave of magic. Curious, Felix did not resist it, as he felt he could, and as he did a scene appeared in his mind.

A cinematic!

Felix started above the sea, and quickly approached the coast, where a woman walked. He only saw her back, but he could easily see that she was a warrior.

A city appeared in the distance, and despite the fact that she was walking at a normal speed, she somehow arrived right before it in a matter of seconds. Strangely enough, a giant tide of water appeared from within the city, threatening to destroy everything and kill the woman.

However, she swung her sword once, and the entire wave was split in two, before disintegrating. Meanwhile, the woman did not stop as she passed by the city, but she was not alone anymore. Around himself, Felix spotted several figures, but he could not distinguish their features.

Her journey continued as she cut everything in her path, and as she advanced, not only did her following increase, but the aura she gave off also changed, going from a warrior, to a ruler.

At last, she reached a place Felix well recognized, as it was Fìrma. Before her was a massive rocky desert, on the other side of which was a vague, massive land. However, a massive mountain rose in front of her, larger than any obstacle she had ever crossed.

Yet, like always, all she did was swing her sword once. The giant mountain was split right in the middle, creating a large opening through the mountain. A pass through the mountain, if you will.

The Mana powering the cinematic ran out as Felix returned to the real world, and saw Earl Eric grinning.

"You saw it, didn’t you? The March of the Queen."

As the Earl said those words, Felix once again felt the same poke, and refusing it this time he asked, "What is that?"

"An illusion, and a sort of Scripture. All I need is to pronounce these words, and anyone I am talking to will receive a vision."

"Impressive piece of magic."

"It is."

Thinking back of the story though, Felix asked, "So, what about Brightsky? I heard the Mountain Pass was used by merchants to go between Brightsky and Margarita."

Earl Eric nodded and explained, "Emeric’s Consort, a puppet of Ilin, is still leading the country. They represent a threat, and while I would rather have them gone, the situation back then did not allow for a prolonged war into Brightsky. The power of the Queen forced the other races out of our land, but continuing the attack would have brought the true weapons of our enemies, and caused a lot of damage to us. Besides, many died during Emeric’s Reign, and we needed time to consolidate our Kingdom back. Hence, she has established trade relationships with many powers, including those who attacked us, and ignored our pleas for help. For now, that is."

Felix nodded as he felt this made sense, before asking, "For now?"

Earl Eric snickered, "The bitch of a Consort has been mad since she lost her puppet, and she has threatened us with war more than once. One day, she will act on her words, once she gets the support from her homeland. And that is exactly why I have been speaking for so long to you."