Freedom's Heart

Chapter 15

That is history as far as the kingdom is concerned. In reality, the horse tribe didn't raid anyone. Every tribe lived in peace until the sky tribe invaded. They slaughtered the other tribe's armies and convinced the survivors they were gods. Several events in the game are caused by that action. In prince Marshall's route, Marshall would say that my character bullied the heroine because I wanted to marry the prince and seize the throne. He would reveal that my family in this world is descended from the horse tribe leader. It wasn't a lie either, and there were plenty of records to prove it, so no one questioned the prince's words.

"Next, Noah Lamonia, please explain how the western plains joined our kingdom," Miss Erlis says, pointing to my brother.

"Our kingdom was in constant conflict with the people of the western plans for several years," Noah begins standing up as Marshall sits. "We fought over control of the river that separated our lands, which eventually led to all-out war. Our kingdom's forces were superior in strength and number. They quickly overwhelmed the enemy's army and captured their capital, ending the war in only a single month with only a handful of casualties."

That is another half-truth. Our kingdom did win the war in a single month but at a high cost. Most of the dead were nobles and their forces who were opposed to the king of that time. Some rumours persist even to this day that the king used the war to purge the kingdom of his political enemies. There are rebel groups that take great offence to the official story. If this was still following the game's script, I would have hired some of those rebels to kidnap the heroine on Noah's route.

"Good, now prince Zeno please enlighten us about how our kingdom became the first to open trade routes with the elves," Zeno stands and doesn't look happy. I can hardly blame him. It is like the teacher is bullying him by asking such a question.

"Your army marched into our lands and attacked a village," Zeno answers. I am surprised that he isn't even bothering to hide the truth. "They killed twelve elves and kidnapped thirty others. They threatened to kill the hostages if we didn't give your kingdom some rare plants that grow in our forest. We agreed since one of the hostages was our queen's sister. It was only when your current king took power that a proper trade treaty was signed."

"Prince Zeno, I advise you to study for the test," Miss Erlis looks worried as she glances around the class. "Allow me to give you the correct answer. Our kingdom sent many caverns into the forest of the elves looking to find a route through the forest only to find the elves by accident. The elves were impressed by our kingdom and showered us with gifts. When he took power, our current king indeed signed a trade agreement with the elves, teaching them the art of trade as thanks for their gifts."

I think I don't need to say what is true. One of the reasons Zeno would hate my character was how our kingdom exploited and bullied him. When he saw me bullying the heroine, it reminded him of what my kingdom did to his.

"I hope the rest of you know your history better. Now Angelina Lamonia. Tell us about our nation's first contact with the Great Eastern Empire," Miss Erlis looks to so I stand. "And how the Great War started."

The Great Eastern Empire is our kingdom's greatest enemy but probably the best place to live in this world. I have fought about running away to the empire many times. If I didn't have Noah or become such good friends with Marshall, I probably would have moved there years ago. The empire is a fair land led by a strong, competent leader and is free of corruption. It still has its problems like any nation, but it is paradise compared to this kingdom.

"Our nation first met the Great Eastern Empire one hundred years ago," I begin reading the script from the game in my head. "Our scouts just crossed the Great Sea and arrived at the empire's capital. At first, we got along peacefully trading with each other, but sixty years ago, when rare magic crystals were discovered on an island within the Great Sea, war quickly broke out between our two nations. It ended with the island being occupied by the empire and our fleet forced to limit its presence in the Great Sea."