Never did I find any hints in the book about the duke family origin at all. It was interesting to see that there was more than just the book's content which made this all the more real. Not only that but it gave me hope that things would not go according to the book. Well they had to no matter what. I was way too young to die and I had no intention of dying as well. There were still soo many things I wanted to do and see! Now was however not the time to think about that at all.
"This might be a bit of a long story. Good that we have half an hour left of the ride to get to the central plaza anyways."
"I don't mind it being long."
This was how it started:
Once upon a time this land was a barren land without any place that could harbour anything living. It was said that this land was used for the worst of the wors of mankind. However things were not as they were told. In fact the people living on this land were no other than poor people without any origin nor any history or family. That included money, a title and a property. They didn't had anything to live by.
Day in and day out the people of this land would fear their death. It was normal for them to encounter it due to a variety of reasons. One was a lack of food. There was nothing that could grow on this land and even if they wanted to and tried it out, it would always wither away and dry out before they could even harvest something.
There was not a single place which was not roamed around by monster which called this land their homes. The people tried to build homes but they would get destroyed due to the poor quality of their houses. They would freeze in the winter without any kind of shelter and without any kind of heat source.
These days were just dark for mankind on this land.
However there was one creature which looked at the humans in interest.
It watched them day and day out without any break and couldn't help but wonder. This mighty beast didn't understand why the humans would continue to try and rebuild the homes they lost and grow things on a land which was dry. There was no water way around the place either. It just didn't make any sense to it at all.
One day it decided to descend from his cave and get out of hiding.
To its surprise the humans were not scared of it at all. In the contrary they looked at the beast and welcomed it with open arms. They knew why couldn't fight it yet they had all weapons in their hand. None of them attacked the creature first and the beast knew that as long as he wasn't provoking them, they wouldn't attack at all.
"Tell me humans.... Why are you all staying here?"
That was what it spoke to the people around him. Unsure as of what to respond they just looked at each other. However there was one brave woman which walked toward the beat. She was a very beautiful maiden but she was very thin and malnourished. One could see the fatigue in her eyes but there was a burning flame that told the beast everything he needed to know. She wanted to live no matter what and wouldn't stop at anything.
"We just want to live in peace."
In the end that was what the brave woman said to the creature. Something about the way she spoke to him made him more and more curious. They were weak beings and yet they did things with a lot of pation and will power. What was it that kept these people going?
"Why not move to another land instead then?"
"Where should we go? This is our home. This is all we have."
"It may be so, but how about a fresh start instead?"
The word of the beast made sense but little did he know that there was a backstory to why these people were on this land.
"They would kill us the moment we stepp over the borders."
"And why would that be?"
"We are the people of a civilization lost in time."
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHA. A civilization lost in time yet surviving and still being here. Then tell me how can you be lost in time if you are still here?"
"We are forgotten. Our magic is called witchcraft. Wherever we go, we would be hanged or drowned or even worse burned alive."
"Aren't you all the same specious? Why would that happen?"
"Because they are scared of us."
As short as this conversation was, the beast knew what the woman had just said to him as he was the last one of his kind as well. It was jealousy over their mighty power and their strength that lead other people on a hunt to kill them. No matter how much his kind seeked out a friendly way of coexisting, they would only meet the eyes of people filled with anxiety leading them to slaughter his race. In the end, his race became more and more angered continuing to attack and fight back because of their lost comrades but he was different. He has seen many things and many lives come and go. He knew better than to waste his own life for something like that.
So what the woman said to him somewhat made sense to him and he felt sorry for these fellow human beings being outcasted.
"You may reside here. I will not harm you in any ways, on the contrary, I will grant you a land which is prosperous as for kids to continue your linage."
It might have been on a whip or it might have been the dragon feeling lonely and comfort by being there with these people. Who knows what it was but it just gave the people a miracle.
"We do not take anything for granted. Please tell us the price of it."
"A price?"
"Yes."
"There is no price to it. I simply wish for peace as my race always did."
"By chance are you an outcast as well?"
"In some senses, yes."
"Then please stay here with us."
This brave lady was really something else. She was speaking for her own little group of people and everyone agreed with all she was saying without the need of second checking with them. They trusted her and her judgment and like this, the woman offered the beats a place to stay and company to be with.
"How can I stay looking like this. Your people are scared of me. I do not wish to disturb anyone at all. I was just curious why you all would do something foolish and useless like this."
"You may see it as foolish and useless but for us, this is the only way to survive."
"I now understand that as well."
"I still want to invite you to stay."
No matter how the beast tried to decline this woman, he couldn't help but accept in the end. There was no way this woman would let a no pass after all. She could see the loneliness in this beast eyes and since it was so generous as to help them out, it would be natural to help this poor creature out as well.
"Very well... I shall stay here then."
"Do you mind, if I change your appearance?"
"Change my appearance? How can a simple human being do this?"
Clueless over the ancient tribe he had encountered, he would soon be surprised as well. These people were not normal people as they possessed the ability to manipulate the magic flow around them. Some of them, like this woman, possessed an enormous talent for this. She even had something they called a mana heart. It was the place they would store some of the mana, the magical energy, and use it at free will. This was how she immediately got to work and changed the beast appearance to a humans like herself.
"How about this?"
"May I ask how you did this? As far as I know only my kind knows how to use magic."
"We simply made it our own mission to live in harmony with our environment. This was how we came to learn about it.
There were soo many questions this beast had and now that he had a human appearance, he could now be with these people.
Days passed and days evolved to weeks. Soon this beast stayed in this small village for a year and he became close to the people. There were no traces of any fear left at all anymore. Furthermore there was love he found. This mysterious yet daring woman he encountered was so magnificent and unique that he couldn't help but fall for her.
It couldn't be helped they say, since these two were a match made in heaven. The woman loved the beast as much as the beast loved her. After a couple of years they started to build up a small town and the land started to prosper under the dragon's guidance. Soon he found himself having a child and said child possessed the same golden eyes as the beast had. It was proof that this child was the result of their mutual love for each other. What shouldn't have been possible happened and the child who looked like a human, grew up like a human, possessed a mana heart like her mother and the strength and power like his father.
Due to the power changes in the environment, this beast didn't wish to endanger his family and chose a close friend to his beloved wife as the kind who would rule over the land he gifted to the people who lost everything.
"This was how the empire and the land came to prosper and grow over the years under the dukes protection.... What do you think about the story Vivi?"
"I never heard about it."
"There are many different types of it as well. Some say that the woman was the first queen and others say she abandoned the land to live in peace where our castle is now. Fact is that we do not know what happened but this is something we know for sure."
"How do we know that though?"
"We have the first diary of the dragon who became a human being. He noted down every single bit of his journey as every head of our family did."
"Wow..."
"Anyways looks as if we are here."
"Wait brother!"
"What is it?"
"What happened to the dragon and the woman?"
"They lived happily ever after."
"But why do the people hate us then?"
"HUH?!"
He sounded really surprised but I just wanted to know the truth. I clearly remember having read this over and over again. The people of this empire feared the duke's family and they hated them to a point they wished for their death. No matter where the duke or their descendants would go, looks filled with jealousy and malice would follow them. Even though I can kinda understand the fear, I never really understood the other part. It was the kind himself who was even more dangerous and despiteful and yet they loved their king.
"Why do you think so?"
"I don't know... I just get that feeling."
"Vivi, is there something that I should know?"
"No..."
"You can tell me everything."
"People are looking at our carriage with malicious intent...."
"You noticed that as well huh...."
He sighed heavily but there was not really a response that I got for my question. Instead he patted my head and decided to pick me up and get out of the carriage. It may be something that he wasn't allowed to tell me or simply didn't wanted to tell me. Whatever it was, I was not about to question it more. There was a reason for sure and I had to have faith in that.
"Vivi, how about this? After we get you a dress,we are going to the next patisserie and get some really really delicious cake?
"Cake?"
I heard cake!
Yes cake!
Of course cake!
How can I say no to that?
"Yes, cake."
"Let's do that!"
"Alright."
This was the end of our discussion and we quickly got into the dress shop. Though it was nothing as I would have imagined. Every book which described something like this was definitely an understatement. However the hostile air was just something that would have made me choke if not for the fact that I was holding on to my brother which was giving me some moral support.
You definitely owe me cake after this!