IBTCETEC 01

~Chapter 1~

If there is no prey, the hunting dog will be killed (1)

Regina was a princess born from a maid.

She was a princess, but as an illegitimate child, she did not get the treatment a princess should receive.

Everyone thought of her as a bug, not even worth caring about. But on the day when, according to tradition, all royal children were gathered to measure their magical power—

Her fate changed.

“Oh my…!”

Regina’s small hand was covered in a red light that burst out, so you couldn’t even see her hand.

At the altar set at the highest place in the palace, the flower of light bloomed brilliantly like a rose.

People watching couldn’t help but gasp.

“Princess Regina has amazing magical power!”

A bright, blazing light like fire. Anyone could see that this light held an incredible amount of magical power.

The thin girl, with her rose-colored hair flying, looked at the miracle she had caused, as if she couldn’t believe it.

Meanwhile, the voices of the magicians leading the ceremony got louder and louder. Especially, the head of the Magic Tower looked completely shocked.

“Has the blood of the great archmage finally returned to the royal family…!”

The Permang Empire’s royal family, descended from a great archmage, had been losing magical power for centuries. Now, even the Emperor could barely create a small flame.

In such a situation, the appearance of a descendant who clearly had the archmage’s blood was nothing short of a blessing for the Empire.

“With this much magical power, she could use all sorts of magic!”

“If it’s Princess Regina, she can probably use multi-element magic and even healing magic.”

After the manifestation ceremony, where the old magicians kept admiring her—

Regina’s mother, the maid, was given the title of Empress, and Regina was allowed to live in a special palace in the royal grounds.

She was raised by the Empress’s hands and thought her life would get a little better now.

But—

The problem was that Regina was a genius who went far beyond the royal family’s expectations.

“Such magical power for an illegitimate child?!”

“She’s just a bug!”

The legitimate princes and princesses struggled with anger and jealousy.

Especially Heraith, the first son and heir of the Permang royal family, hated her beyond belief. He had so little magical power that people doubted his royal blood.

“How dare a bug set foot before the heir of the Permang Empire? I will make sure that girl goes back to her place.”

At some point, Regina’s mother became sick. To treat her, she needed rare herbs that were hard to get even in the palace.

Only Heraith’s mother’s family’s merchant group had those herbs.

From that time, Regina was under Heraith’s control.

“From now on, you are my dog.”

Heraith needed a ‘dog’ who would go and fight monsters instead of himself.

After a huge monster wave 50 years ago, the Empire lost some of its land, and people blamed the powerless royal family.

As the strongest candidate for crown prince, Heraith should have gone to fight and win back the people’s trust… but he didn’t want to risk his precious life in a monster’s nest.

So, when Regina turned thirteen—

“All royals must protect the Empire. So, Regina, you must show the dignity of the royal family!”

The Emperor sent Regina to the magician corps to fight monsters.

The corps was made up of people who had been kicked out of the powerful Magic Tower for all sorts of reasons.

Anyone in that group had to keep fighting on the border, dirtied by monster waves, for the rest of their lives.

Young Regina joined the corps and wandered along the borders.

She endured countless unfair things and was pushed into more and more battles every year, every month, every week.

And she survived. Her genius would not let her die.

At sixteen, she reached a level no one in Permang could match.

At eighteen, when the leader of the magician corps died to a monster, Regina took his position.

It was hard to find a spot on her body without scars.

This was how she became the dog of the crown prince and the royal family.

Regina’s magician corps became a special group that only followed her orders.

Every time she went to fight monsters, she saved people who had awakened their magical power. They were commoners or slaves, or even nobles from low-ranking families.

A magician who suddenly awakened magical power was dangerous if they couldn’t control it, so even their own families rejected them.

Regina brought them all together into her corps and taught them how to control their power.

“If you just learn how to use your power, you can become a real magician. Will you follow me?”

“If you can save me from this terrible magic outburst, I will do anything.”

Some magicians who almost became monster food without a lord to protect them also followed Regina.

Though abandoned, they were talented and became loyal to Regina, expanding the group’s influence.

Not only in cold Permang, but also in Fredericks, the country of knights, their old enemy.

While fighting monsters crossing the Empire’s borders, Regina and the corps survived many times when it seemed impossible.

They obeyed orders to go back out as soon as they returned alive, over and over again. Their reputation grew.

“This time, too, the magician corps defeated the monsters?”

“They say it would have been terrible without Princess Regina.”

“Is it true she’s the strongest among the royals?”

“It must be. Otherwise, how could she win every time?”

As Regina’s name became famous, jealousy and wariness from other royals also grew. Then, they started taking action against her.

For example, embezzling money that should have gone to the magician corps.

“What do you mean you didn’t get the money? I already gave it to your leader. Shouldn’t you ask your leader, not me?”

Or not giving them supplies they were supposed to get.

They tried to kill Regina in every way, but she survived every time.

But the cost kept getting bigger.

Her soldiers who died protecting the border disappeared without even leaving their names.

Even though they gave everything for the Empire, in death, they were still seen as slaves, commoners, traitors, or children of fallen nobles.

One day, when there was no support and half her subordinates died for nothing—

Regina, who always obeyed the royal family, raised her voice to the Emperor for the first time.

“Please accept my magician corps as official members of the Imperial Knights. Please recognize their achievements. Even if you give only a low title, please give them the status they deserve.”

Regina, covered in blood, begged, and the Emperor frowned as if he was disgusted.

Beside him, Heraith gritted his teeth at Regina, who was acting on her own.

Even with stabbing gazes all around her, Regina spoke with a stiff face.

“If you just promise me this, the magician corps will continue to serve the Empire as loyal citizens.”

She knelt on one knee and lowered her body. It was clear she wouldn’t move without a promise.

The Emperor, who was planning to just kick out the illegitimate child, started to think.

The magician corps, once seen as a trash bin for useless commoners, had now become a useful tool.

With just a little support, they gave better results than expected, so it would be a waste to let them go.

After thinking it over, the Emperor nodded.

“If you keep wiping out the monsters at the border and reclaim the Empire’s land, I’ll free the commoners in the magician corps and give them titles according to their achievements. I promise.”

“Thank you for your kindness. The magician corps will always be loyal to Your Majesty.”

Regina, her face relaxing a little, bowed again.

But not everyone was satisfied.

Heraith barely held back his rising anger.

His dog was speaking on her own. She was pledging loyalty to the Emperor, not to him.

This should not happen.

A week before a new expedition, Heraith called Regina to a duel.

When she arrived at the training ground and knelt, Heraith smiled and took something out.

It was a thick metal shackle.

“Your magic is strong, so you need something like this to make it a fair fight, right?”

It was the ‘Shackle of Restraint,’ a magic-sealing device for high traitors, passed down in the royal family.