Anne of Normandy, seventeen years old, the youngest daughter of King Robert.
The House of Normandy was not the orthodox royal family of this country.
Even to their Gallic colleagues they were an incongruous foreign race.
Their ancestors had been Norsemen, the infamous pirate people of the Northern Continent’s coasts.
Yet as the monarchs of the Northern Continent tightened their control over the coastlines, the business of raiding grew steadily worse.
The ancestors of the House of Normandy found another path, crossed the fog-shrouded sea, and became mercenaries of the King of Caroling.
At that time there was still no Lucis Empire.
The great ruler named Karl of Caroling was contending with the Heartland King for hegemony over the Southern Continent, and the extraordinarily brave Norse mercenaries became the sharp sword with which King Charlemagne expanded his territory, earning the glorious name of the Varangian Guard.
At first the Caroling royal family paid the Norsemen in gold as military wages, yet the kingdom’s finances grew increasingly strained.
The king of that time had a sudden inspiration and granted the barren land bordering the grasslands of the Northern Continent to the Norsemen as compensation.
Not only could they defend the kingdom against the invasions of the beastman khans, it also rapidly filled the deficit in the national treasury.
That region adjacent to the Northern Continent was named Normandy and became the homeland of the Norsemen.
From then on the House of Normandy became the hereditary dukes of this land.
Many Norsemen who made their fortunes here continually sent word back to their pirate kin still on the Northern Continent, extravagantly boasting of how wealthy the Southern Continent was.
This attracted even more Norsemen who came seeking fame, campaigning in every direction for the Caroling royal family and exchanging the heads of enemies for gold and land.
The territory of Normandy grew larger and larger.
The Norsemen settled on the Southern Continent, planted crops, and built castles.
After several generations, the Norsemen who had become landed nobles on this soil began to call themselves Normans and drew a clear line between themselves and their former pirate kin.
After the Kingdom of Caroling was incorporated into the Empire’s territory, Normandy remained the most powerful source of troops in the Gallic Governorate.
Their armored lancers shone brilliantly in the campaigns against the demonkin, and the princes and marquises of the Southern Continent competed to hire Norman mercenaries to settle their own disputes.
Seventy years ago the Caroling royal family, unwilling to remain in the position of governor, took the opportunity of the Fifth Human-Demon War to declare independence and successfully clung to the thigh of the newly established United Kingdom of the Northern Continent.
The Duke of Normandy followed his liege lord in breaking free of the Empire’s rule.
Yet the independent Kingdom of Caroling did not become any more prosperous.
As a strategic stronghold sandwiched between north and south, the Caroling royal family exhausted itself trying to please both sides.
The annual gifts required for diplomatic treaties even exceeded the military pay given to the standing army.
This ancient and enormous giant on the Gallic plains finally began to show signs of decline, giving the Normans an opportunity they could exploit.
Thirteen years ago Anne’s father—the duke known as “the Fox,” Robert—raised the banner of rebellion against the Caroling royal family.
He declared that the current King of Caroling was weak and incompetent, and that the House of Normandy was the true successor of King Charlemagne.
He raised his army from the city of Rouen.
By the time the King of Caroling reacted, the Norman cavalry had already reached the gates of the capital.
The royal family trembled within the city of Paris that was surrounded layer upon layer.
The King of Caroling had originally intended to hold the solid city and wait for the support of his vassals, yet Robert had long since bribed the pro-southern ministers within the court.
The rebels inside the city cut off the King of Caroling’s head and opened the gates to welcome their new king.
When the allied forces of the dukes of Anjou, Bourbon, Burgundy and others arrived to rescue the king, they saw only the old king’s head hanging high upon the walls of Paris.
That Norman known as the Fox stood before the city gate wearing the golden crown of the King of Caroling, and behind him stood more than a thousand fully armed armored cavalry.
The great dukes could only withdraw their troops one after another.
From that time onward Robert inherited the national mandate of Caroling and took for himself this kingdom lying between north and south.
Monks and scholars with a sense of justice whispered in private about the various crimes of the usurper Robert.
Yet no matter how they criticized him, the old fox sitting high upon the throne simply turned a deaf ear.
For no one could deny that under Robert’s rule the Kingdom of Caroling was gradually radiating new vitality.
His methods of governance were unique and effective, making the usurped throne more and more stable, making those who despised him despise him even more, and making those who feared him fear him even more.
Therefore when people heard that there was a troublesome little princess in the House of Normandy who could even make Robert feel troubled, everyone regarded it as a small punishment from Heaven upon him.
Anne was Robert’s youngest daughter.
Although she had received an imperial-style education from childhood, she had not become a standard Southern Continent noble like her elder brothers.
Instead she had grown into a little schemer.
By the time she was eight or nine she had already become famous among the various countries, not only because of her striking pink curly hair but also because of her reputation as a “wicked girl.”
At the annual gatherings of peers Anne did not compete with the other noble children to display herself before the adults.
Instead she quietly gathered her own little clique among the children.
During one game Anne’s little group nearly injured the young master of the House of Anjou in an “accident” with a clumsy plan, frightening her two elder brothers into repeatedly apologizing to the Duke of Anjou.
Robert was not angry.
Afterward he asked Anne why she had done it.
Anne merely said calmly, “The Duke of Anjou is our political enemy. Eliminating his eldest son will inevitably disrupt his family’s succession. And I am a child. If I accidentally kill someone during a game, nothing will come of it, will it?”
From then on the name Anne of Normandy spread throughout the various countries.
The lords all knew that Caroling had a willful little pink-haired fox who could actually make that usurper Robert feel troubled.
Yet in truth Robert doted greatly on this youngest daughter, for Anne’s temperament was very much like his own—an unsettled little fox.
He often discussed his ideas on statecraft and governance with Anne, including the notion of “whether or not to throw in with the south.”
The United Kingdom and the Empire were the giant beasts of north and south, each extending a sharp claw to press against the other, and the land clamped between those claws was the Kingdom of Caroling.
Given Caroling’s position, one either had to cling to the thigh of the United Kingdom or cling to the thigh of the Empire.
Sitting on the fence forever was no solution, yet the north possessed giant dragon magic while the south possessed guns, cannons and mechs, making it difficult to decide which side to lean toward.
Until the Münster Coup occurred and the southern continent fell into an interregnum.
Robert knew his opportunity had arrived.
He fixed his gaze upon the youngest candidate, Flora.
Anne had once asked her father why he did not pay attention to the other two candidates who enjoyed greater support.
Robert said, “War is the worst possible outcome for us. If the flames of war burn across our territory, more than a decade of accumulation will be destroyed. If we stand with Phine or Anthony, they will only try every means to make use of Caroling and bind us to their war chariot for the northern campaign. Only by supporting this Flora will we be her sole and unique ally. If she truly becomes empress, we will be the most honored meritorious subjects at the imperial council… and may even become co-emperors!”
This was the reason Flora had come to Paris to study abroad.
She would enroll together with Anne, symbolizing her good relations with the Caroling royal family.
Anne knew how greatly her father worried about the relationship between her and Flora.
He had even arranged for her an honorary position as a school board member and repeatedly instructed her to take good care of this imperial princess who had come to study.
Yet in truth Anne had long since decided to pledge allegiance to Flora.
At the age of twelve Anne had once followed the Caroling diplomatic mission to the imperial capital beneath the Platinum Tower to participate in the grand exposition.
Every ten years the governors and princes within the Empire would send missions carrying the latest techniques and crafts to hold exhibitions in the imperial capital for exchange.
Yet Anne understood that behind this seemingly lively grand ceremony undercurrents actually surged.
Various forces clashed here, and various transactions were quietly concluded.
In the short span of a few weeks the power structure of the Southern Continent for the next several years could be basically determined.
In the spacious and bright imperial palace of the capital, young masters and misses from every part of the Southern Continent were everywhere.
The Kingdom of Caroling was after all a protectorate of the United Kingdom, and added to that was her father’s reputation as a usurper, so Anne naturally suffered exclusion.
Anne herself had not held any hope of forming connections with the people of the Southern Continent.
She simply sat to one side eating desserts and watched from afar the Princess Phine who was surrounded by a crowd.
Phine had become the commander of the Order of the Hundred Flowers at a young age and was rumored to be the strongest Steam Knight of the present age.
The way she looked at those aristocratic youths was like a fierce tiger surveying a flock of sheep.
A tiger has no allies.
In its eyes there is only nourishment that can be eaten.
The fate of those who pledge allegiance to a tiger is only to be swallowed into its belly.
Anne rolled her eyes at those devotees.
At that moment a slender hand suddenly appeared before Anne.
Anne was startled for a moment.
Standing before her was that Princess Flora.
Anne thought she was being invited to dance and took the hand, yet Flora only smiled and led her by the hand, quietly weaving between the tables to recommend the desserts she herself loved.
In that moment Anne knew the kind of person to whom she would pledge her allegiance.
From then on Anne and Flora maintained correspondence by letter and occasionally attended social events together, which delighted Robert beyond measure.
Yet in truth the way the two of them got along was not particularly special.
Flora was always reading strange books and would share with Anne in her letters some little viewpoints that did not match the identity of an imperial princess.
Whenever Anne’s mood was low, Flora could always find a way to make her smile again.
When Anne was in high spirits, Flora chose to maintain an appropriate distance and did not intervene excessively.
She always maintained a subtle balance with those around her, neither becoming overly intimate nor deliberately distant.
Flora was very intelligent and always kept a vigilance like that of a small beast, yet she also had a fragile side and would often weep in her nightmares.
Whenever that happened Anne would gently take those slender hands and quietly wait for her to awaken.
Anne did not know what her feelings toward Flora counted as, yet she knew deeply that she could not lose this person.
Every smile of Flora’s appeared so deliberate, and deep within her heart some unfathomable secrets were always hidden… Yet she never left, like a small flame that burned quietly there.
Anne looked at the princess beside her.
She who had just awoken from a nightmare seemed somewhat dazed.
She stared blankly at the scenery outside the carriage window, her moist and reddened eye sockets revealing a trace of melancholy.
Anne touched Flora’s forehead and smoothed the hair on her brow.
Anne only knew that she would pledge allegiance to her.
Even if her enemies were serpent-like princes and tiger-like princesses, the young fox would still stand guard before this small flame until that flame became a prairie fire that burned across this entire continent.
In the autumn of Star Calendar Year 1781, Princess Flora from the imperial capital arrived in Paris.
Rumor had it that the Kingdom of Caroling intended to break free of the protection of the United Kingdom and throw itself into the embrace of the Lucis Empire.