Princess Elrune VIII 

The Valeain Empire.

This nation was a major power, excelling in both agriculture and industry thanks to its resource-rich soil. However, its ideology was one of elitism and hegemony. As the Valeain Empire aggressively invaded other nations and continued to claim their territories as its own, numerous neighboring small nations vanished one after another.

But that aggressive hegemony would eventually exact a price for the empire’s own ruthless behavior. Attacks from nations that viewed the Valeain Empire as a threat, as well as conflicts and radical revolutionary movements that erupted within its ever-expanding territories…

Although the Valeain Empire enjoyed a series of victories in the early stages of the war, it soon began suffering repeated defeats across the front.

The Valeain Empire rapidly fell into decline.

It was during this era that Princess Elrune VIII was born.

Born as the youngest princess of the Valeain Empire, Elrune possessed a strikingly delicate beauty. Her large, clear red eyes would have held their own even when compared to rubies of equal size. Above all, her long, lustrous silver hair was a symbol of her pure heart, untouched by impurity or evil intent.

For the people living through a dark age with no end in sight, Elrune’s presence was believed to be a guiding light.

Besides Elrune, there was her older sister, the Sixth Princess, who also served as a pillar of support for the people.

She was a princess of the hegemonic Valeain Empire, but also a rare pacifist. Consequently, she was shunned by some of the ruling elite, but she garnered the support of young politicians who shared her views, and above all, of the vulnerable citizens who lived in fear of the endless fighting.

Due to their popularity among the people and the fact that they were princesses with low claims to the throne, Elrune and her sister were frequently sent to visit camps on the front lines to boost the morale of the soldiers, and were used as icons in speeches addressed to the public; their presence was being exploited.

The people praised the two princesses as angels who had descended upon the battlefield. To respond to their affection, Erlune offered a dignified smile, despite her young age.

Her sister, too, wore a gentle, compassionate smile during her speeches… but she always wept once her duties were done. She grieved over the way her existence was being exploited for the sake of war. But more than that, she felt pity for the soldiers who, because of the nation’s foolish claims, were forced to march into certain death without a say… and for her younger sister, who was being exploited from a young age, before she even understood the merits of politics.

“I’m fine. I can still stand here of my own free will… but Elrune, you…”

Gently clasping her sister’s hand, which was trembling as she wept for her, Elrune smiled encouragingly.

“It’s all right, Sister. I, too, am a princess of the Valeain Empire… This is my duty.”
“Elrune…”

Her sister embraced the brave Elrune and wept once more.

That day, Elrune and her sister were watching the soldiers’ departure ceremony at the station, just as they always did.

Her sister had been cheering on the young soldiers, not much older than herself, as they set off. She then returned to her room after the ceremony ended and wept into her pillow as usual.

(Ah… Why must these young people, who should be building the future of this country, go off to such a foolish war? …No, it’s not just our country. I hear many children are dying in the enemy nations as well… This chain of sorrow must be broken as soon as possible!)

At that moment, she sensed someone behind her and turned around. There stood Elrune.

“…Sister, were you crying? Does something hurt?”

Not wanting to cause Elrune any unnecessary worry, her sister smiled as naturally as she could.

“…I’m fine, Elrune. But seeing all those soldiers heading off to the battlefield is just so hard to bear.”
“Why is it hard?”
“Why, you ask…? The battlefield is a very terrifying place. They might suffer serious injuries, or perhaps even lose their lives.”

Elrune replied with a blank expression.

“Isn’t it their duty to fight on the battlefield? Then, isn’t it inevitable that they’ll get injured or die there?”

Her sister gasped for a moment at Elrune’s words, but quickly came to terms with it.

(She is too young to fully understand the situation. Our country’s education system also emphasizes the legitimacy of war. …But surely, as the princess of a great nation, she’ll come to understand what truly matters someday.)

Her sister gently embraced Elrune and spoke to her in a soothing tone.

“Elrune, life is more precious than anything else. And it is equal for everyone. Both your life and the lives of the young soldiers we saw off today are equally irreplaceable.”

Elrune simply looked puzzled as she lay in her sister’s arms.

Time passed, and the war grew even more intense. Watching the soldiers head to the battlefield after receiving their orders to charge were Elrune, now a beautiful young woman, and her older sister.

“Come on! Everyone! Fight for the country and die gloriously! That will be your greatest honor!”

Elrune was exactly the same as she had been in her childhood. Watching the soldiers fighting with desperation, she offered them an innocent smile.
Seeing this, her sister finally realized something was wrong with her.

(Elrune… Something is missing in her. Something that people must never lose…)

By now, Elrune had begun to take the battlefield of her own accord.
Radical politicians had rushed to her side, elevating her status.

Eventually, even students were conscripted.
Her sister and other moderates criticized the mobilization of student soldiers. But Elrune, backed by the radicals, delivered the following speech:

“Even if the honor of adults or the authority of the military are tarnished, as long as our nation ultimately wins, that is all that matters! The people must stand as one and fight until the very last person remains!”

Her sister tried desperately to persuade Elrune, who was pushing for war, but her words fell on deaf ears.

Then, one day…

“Elrune!? Is my sister all right!?”

Upon hearing that Elrune had been seriously injured in a terrorist attack during her speech, her sister rushed to the hospital where she had been taken, without even grabbing her belongings.

(Oh no! Elrune! Please, please be safe!)

While her sister desperately worried about her sister’s safety, deep down she also felt a sense of relief.

(…Now Elrune will finally understand the horror of war and the preciousness of life.)

Until now, Elrune had merely been shouting from a safe position, never actually stepping onto the battlefield herself.

Her sister believed that by suffering pain herself, Elrune would surely come to understand the brutality of war.

But upon arriving at the hospital and being shown to her special room, she realized her hopes were nothing more than a faint dream.

Elrune was trembling, yet she was smiling.

“One wrong move and I would have died. The Grim Reaper certainly pressed a cold blade against my neck. So this is war… being wounded, wounding others, trampling, being trampled… It’s wonderful! I want to savor this joy more and more!”
“Erlune…”

Elrune was undoubtedly gravely wounded. Yet, even as her bandages soaked through with blood, she kept on laughing.
That smile was without a single cloud.

From that moment on, her sister became convinced that an insurmountable gulf existed between her and Elrune.

After sustaining serious injuries herself, Elrune ventured to the dangerous front lines to preach the legitimacy of her country’s war. The extremists hailed her as the “Valeain War Goddess.”

In opposition to this, the moderates elevated her sister, attempting to stop the war by presenting her as a “Symbol of Peace.”

Thus, the sisters came to face off against each other through their respective propaganda.
Her sister tried to explain the folly of war to Elrune at every opportunity, but her words fell on deaf ears.

“You’re so sneaky, Sister. You gather everyone under the banner of peace, but when push comes to shove, you don’t lift a finger yourself.”
“Elrune…”

Upon hearing Elrune’s words, her sister secretly formed a peace delegation. She then sent the delegation to the enemy nation, intending for them to serve as special envoys to demand an end to the war, but…

Elrune quickly caught on to her sister’s scheme. She leaked information that a “secret unit” was heading to the enemy nation, setting the stage for its elimination. Furthermore, she then claimed that the enemy nation had destroyed the peace delegation and launched a fierce condemnation.

She succeeded in provoking public sentiment and instigating a retaliatory war.

The destruction of the peace delegation plunged the war into a quagmire.
The exchange of fire continued, and the blood of not only soldiers but also many civilians began to flow.

Despite this, her sister desperately continued to preach the importance of peace and called on the people to end the war, but her voice no longer reached anyone.

Just then, an enemy bomber squadron suddenly launched an indiscriminate bombing raid on the Valeain Capital.

The ferocity of the attack threatened to engulf even the Valeain Castle, where Elrune and her sister lived.

“Your Highnesses! Please flee!”

The attending maids tried to lead Elrune and her sister to safety via a secret escape route.

“Understood… Come on, Elrune, let’s go.”

Her sister urged Elrune to evacuate. However, she refused to budge.

“What are you doing?! The enemy’s attack is right upon us!”
“…I will remain here. If you must flee, please do so alone, Sister.”
“What are you saying…”
“There’s no time left!”

Watching her sister’s retreating figure as she was practically dragged away by her retainers, Elrune muttered.

“…It would be such a waste to flee now. This is the perfect opportunity to experience the thrill of battle… But what I desire is more fighting! More bloodshed! …I simply cannot die here, can I?”

Elrune descended into the military facility she had secretly prepared in the castle’s basement.

“…Now then! My dear children! The time has come for you to cry out into the world!”

There, sitting imposingly, was a massive golden weapon.
This weapon, named Siren by Elrune, was a new type of weapon that used high-powered microwaves to easily destroy the core of enemy weapons.

“Come! Siren! With your songs, bring about countless deaths!”

Using Siren, Elrune succeeded in shooting down the enemy nation’s bomber.

This incident solidified Elrune’s position in Valeain.

Through the Battle of Valeain, Elrune’s position became firmly established.

At first, the extremists had been using her, but now they had been reduced to being used by her.

And although the circumstances were unavoidable, the status of her sister, who was deemed to have temporarily abandoned the castle, continued to plummet, in stark contrast to Elrune’s rise.

The Valeain high command, now led by Elrune, shifted its stance from a temporary inclination toward peace back to glorifying war, thereby boosting morale.

Engaging in reckless battles and depleting its resources, Valeain was on a path to utter exhaustion. Nevertheless, the extremists and soldiers, having decided there was no turning back, continued to wage frenzied battles.

Meanwhile, the people were growing desperate. Under the military’s oppressive rule and reign of terror, they were utterly exhausted. For those without political power, it made no difference who ruled the country.

Among such citizens, the voices calling for an end to the war grew quietly but surely stronger. Elrune not only ignored the voices of the people, but when they took any form of action, she dealt with them swiftly and without mercy.

Valeain was ruled by despair and madness. Amidst such circumstances, there was one who had not yet given up on peace.

It was Elrune’s sister.

Elrune’s sister never gave up on the path to peace, no matter what situation she found herself in.
She sought to create a system that would allow people to explore the path to peace across all social strata, recruiting talent not only from fellow politicians but also from the general public.

(Once, out of fear for my own life, I committed the folly of abandoning the people of this country. This time, I must stake my very life to save the people… to save Valeain!)

At first, her words were like a small smoldering ember, but they gradually ignited the hearts of those praying for peace, gathering supporters along the way.

However, the political mainstream in Valeain was still dominated by extremists, and the moderates remained a tiny minority.

Even with the princess serving as their standard-bearer, it was far too dangerous to advocate for anything that defied the current extremists.

A leading member of the moderates argued to Elrune’s sister that the only way to break this deadlock was to eliminate Elrune.

“As long as Lady Elrune lives, the extremists’ momentum will not stop, and the war will not end. …Your Highness, please make a decision.”
“I fully understand your arguments. But… I cannot bring myself to lay a hand on my own sister.”

The fact that the moderates remained united was largely due to the personal integrity of Elrune’s sister. Furthermore, her concern for her sister’s safety even in such circumstances was very much in character for her, and wishing to respect that as much as possible, the moderates had been postponing a decision. However, allowing Elrune to run wild any longer would threaten the very survival of Valeain… that, too, was a fact, and the moderates found themselves in a dilemma.

Amidst this, a dinner party between Elrune and her sister was arranged. The purpose of this gathering was to foster closer ties between the radicals and the moderates and to discuss a better future for Valeain.

Despite the palpable tension in the air, the dinner seemed to be proceeding smoothly. However, when her sister realized that the waiter offering Elrune wine was a spy for the moderates, she couldn’t help but alert her.

“No! Don’t drink that! Elrune!”

Her warning came too late; Elrune had already downed the wine in one gulp.

(Oh… no!)

Thinking of Elrune’s fate after gulping down the poisoned wine, her sister instinctively covered her face.

In contrast, the leading figures of the moderates smirked, anticipating the success of their assassination plot and the evil woman’s demise.

However, Elrune showed no signs of collapsing.
Rather, she continued to enjoy her wine with a serene expression.

Just as the moderates were beginning to wonder…

“…Why are you all so flustered? If it were poisoned wine, your friends would surely be enjoying it by now, wouldn’t they?”
“Wha…!?”

Elrune had seen right through the moderates’ assassination plot.

“…To believe that such a childish plan could remove me from power, you are truly adorable. …But it seems you’ve taken your little game a bit too far.”

Elrune ordered her aides to capture the moderates and dispose of them. Left alone at the scene, her sister stood dumbfounded for a moment at the sudden turn of events, but eventually pleaded desperately with Elrune to spare the moderates’ lives.

…However.

“That won’t do, Sister. Crimes must be punished. That is the way of the world.”
“But… at least spare their lives. In this era of such grim strife, we must not allow lives to be lost in vain.”
“All lives are of equal value… You taught me that yourself, Sister. If that is so, then there is no such thing as vain or beneficial. A life is a life. That is all.”
“Erlune… You treat human life far too lightly!”

At last, her sister raised her voice in a shout.
However, Elrune looked at her with an expression of utter bewilderment.

“I treat life lightly? Not at all. I love all life. I cherish it like a treasure. …And here is the proof.”

Elrune proceeded to list the names of every soldier she had seen or heard of who had died in battle since she was a child. Her sister’s face turned pale at this sight.

“…Do you understand now? I love all life. That is exactly why the sight of it fading away is maddeningly beautiful! A battlefield where so many lives are lost is truly a work of art bestowed upon us humans by God alone!”
“Elrune… are you saying you enjoy war?”
“Yes. Is there anything in this world that makes my heart race like this?”
“I don’t understand… I don’t understand your heart at all.”

Elrune’s sister collapsed, dropping to her knees right there.

Her face was wet with tears, but as she began to lose herself, she didn’t even bother to wipe them away.

Watching her sister grieve as she slowly lost herself, Elrune embraced her with a pained expression.

“…Poor Sister. To be wounded so deeply that your heart is worn to shreds… You were always so kind. I’ve truly loved you ever since I was a child.”

There was no falsehood in Elrune’s words. She was genuinely moved by the love her sister showed her, and she loved her in return.
But her love for her sister was equal only to her love for war.

“Sister… It pains me to watch someone as kind as you get hurt any further. It would be best for you to rest in a place with fresh air for a while… I hear that the country where Mother was born and raised is filled with beautiful natural scenery. Why not move there for a while?”

Their mother’s homeland was a small country far from Valeain, a place with many remote areas where no news from the outside world ever reached.

This was, in effect, a dismissal.

Having lost her backing, her sister did not oppose Elrune’s decision in the slightest. She showed neither despair nor anger. Rather, she remained concerned for her well-being until the very end.

“Elrune… I pray that you will one day find true peace.”

On the morning of her departure, her sister bid Elrune farewell. Elrune returned those words of farewell to her sister.

“Goodbye, Sister. We will likely never meet again. But no matter how far apart we are, I will always think of you.”

Elrune’s face was truly radiant. It was the same innocent smile she had worn since childhood.

…And so, having definitively drifted apart, the sisters parted ways. And just as Elrune had said, they never met again.

By ousting her sister, there was no one left in Valeain to stop Elrune. She continued to revel in war as she pleased, and eventually, the Valeain Empire was defeated and collapsed.

“The Unclouded Silver Goddess of War.” …Though hailed as such, it is said that Elrune either perished on the battlefield or took her own life alongside the empire’s demise, but the truth remains unknown.

In any case, the only truth was that she had vanished.

The defeated Valeain was occupied by the victorious nations and transformed from a dictatorship into a democracy.

Coincidentally, Elrune’s sister, who had been dismissed from her post and had fled to a remote region of a distant land, was unharmed. The former Valeain Empire welcomed her as its new queen and set out on the path to reconstruction.

“My life does not belong to me. It belongs to the people and to this reborn nation. Until my last breath, I will devote myself to the nation’s reconstruction.”

Elrune’s sister was welcomed by the people, who had long yearned for peace. Though rebuilding from the scorched earth was no easy task, the former Valeain Empire recovered at a speed that astonished the world.

Eventually, Valeain broke free from the victorious nations’ rule and was recognized as an independent democratic nation.

Elrune’s sister signed a peace treaty with the prime ministers of the victorious nations.
The event was reported by every media outlet.

…And there was a beautiful woman smiling as she looked at a newspaper featuring a front-page photo of Elrune’s sister exchanging firm handshakes with the leaders of various nations.

She was sitting on a café terrace, sipping a café au lait and skimming through the newspaper.

“…So, this is how it turned out, after all. How boring… Well, it can’t be helped. I did my best, after all… I’ll just have to use these lessons for next time.”

The beautiful woman made no move to continue reading the newspaper; after finishing her café au lait, she stood up. At that moment, a few strands of hair slipped out from under the hat she was wearing.

Their color was a silvery white, almost transparent.

“If I’m going to do this, I’d like to see an even bigger fire next time, wouldn’t I? …Well then, where shall I go from here? Hahaha… Let the war begin soon!”

With a melting, ruinous smile on her face, the beautiful woman walked off into the distance…