Arc 2 Side Story 2 : Two Dream

[??? PoV]

The Republic of Venetia...

A country sitting at the very heart of this continent.

This country was founded 300 years ago by the Venetian people, a race known for possessing no magic whatsoever, often referred to as Non-Sorcerers.

Descendants of Non-Sorcerers could technically gain the ability to use magic if they married someone who could, though only at a low probability.

Still, even after generations of intermarriage with mages, the Venetian people had never managed to produce a single mage of their own. Their descendants remained Non-Sorcerers, generation after generation.

Because the entire Venetian people were Non-Sorcerers, they were frequently looked down upon and discriminated against by other country.

Without magic, they were often dismissed outright — no country wanted to align with them, since they held no perceived value beyond serving as manual laborers. Without any real influence, they had no way to elevate their own people's standing.

In the year 318 of the Frankian calendar, word spread that the Novgarad Federation intended to sell off half of Florentia Island, located at the center of the continent, to help address their own economic struggles.

"We must stand on our own if we don't want to keep being oppressed by other race!"

That was the rallying cry raised by the pioneers of Venetian independence. They then called upon every Venetian scattered across the continent to pool their resources together, hoping to purchase half of Florentia Island.

They wanted to establish their own nation, so their people would never again suffer the oppression they'd endured living within the borders of foreign lands.

After successfully raising five million gulden, they finally managed to purchase half of Florentia Island and established the nation known as the Republic of Venetia.

But the most difficult period came right after founding this new nation. Lacking any real strength, the Venetian people constantly found themselves at a disadvantage whenever negotiating trade deals or forming partnerships with other nations.

Still, the people of the Republic of Venetia refused to give up. Since they had no magic, the Republic of Venetia instead focused entirely on business and innovation.

Gradually, they grew into a wealthy nation, eventually able to purchase the remaining half of the island from the Novgarad Federation.

Today, the Republic of Venetia stood as one of the most important nations in the world, holding complete control over the Gulf of Cosentia and the Central Sea, giving them dominance over critical trade routes.

Because of this, quite a few country harbored resentment toward the Republic of Venetia, particularly the Aragon Empire, the strongest country on this continent.

Relations between our two nations had grown increasingly hostile lately — even our Minister of Defense and Minister of Foreign Affairs predicted they'd formally declare war within the next year.

Right now, I was at my residence, reading through several reports from our intelligence field team stationed within Imperial territory.

The reports detailed how several minority peoples there felt deeply dissatisfied with how the Empire treated them. Discrimination against minority groups within the Empire was common — whether seeking employment, education, or other basic rights.

"I believe we could exploit this to stir up conflicts that would weaken the Empire from within."

By inciting unrest and spreading propaganda highlighting the Empire's mistreatment of minority peoples, we could potentially spark a civil war, provided our operation proceeded smoothly.

—Knock! Knock! Knock!

I heard a knock at my chamber door.

"Captain Siena, a message from the President — he's ordering you to report to the presidential palace in two hours."

That was the voice of a man quite familiar to me.

Currently, I held the rank of Major within the Republic of Venetia's military, as well as Captain of a squad called the Cavalier — knights without magic, whom I'd personally trained. Despite lacking magic, they could hold their own against knights who wielded such power.

"Wait there, I'll be out shortly."

After organizing the reports I'd received, I left my room and saw a handsome man with dark blue hair.

That was Valentino Calguera, Vice Captain of the Cavalier Squad.

"Let's head out right away, Valen," I told him.

"As you command, Captain."

I then walked out of my residence, a castle, with Valentino following behind me.

This was the headquarters of the Tigrenata Battalion, specializing in infiltration and ambush tactics, numbering 500 soldiers in total.

Two years had passed since I'd taken command of this unit at the age of nineteen.

Stepping outside the castle, I saw soldiers training, both physically and in technique. Noticing my presence, they paused their activities and immediately snapped to attention.

Outside the castle, a carriage was already waiting for me.

"Good morning, Miss Siena," the carriage driver said, bowing to me. "I'll escort you to the Presidential Palace."

I simply nodded in response and boarded the carriage alongside Valentino. Once inside, the carriage began moving forward slowly.

"Valen, why do you think the President summoned me today?" I asked, seeking his opinion.

"I imagine it's something fairly important, Captain," my deputy answered. "Perhaps the President wants your input before making a decision, as usual."

The people of the Republic of Venetia held me in high regard. And not without reason — I'd frequently provided them with new innovations, such as military system reforms, new inventions, and the special ability I possessed.

"I hope this won't take too long, since tonight I intend to draft a proposal for an operation to weaken the Empire," I told him.

"Wasn't it you who proposed the previous operation as well, Captain?" Valen asked me.

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"That's right, but they wouldn't let me personally lead that operation," I answered him. "They feared the mission might fail and that I'd be captured by the Empire."

After nearly twenty minutes, the carriage we rode in came to a stop, its door opening to reveal a magnificent palace, the pride of our nation.

"We've arrived, Miss Siena."

We stepped down from the carriage and headed straight for the meeting room where the President currently sat.

Inside the building, I happened to cross paths with several ministers of state present there.

Politics within the Republic of Venetia was dominated by patriarchs of major business families. Whenever the presidential election season arrived, they'd form coalitions among various factions to secure the largest possible vote share.

Once elected, the President then had the right to appoint their ministers, typically drawn from those who'd helped them campaign during the election period.

Before long, we arrived outside the meeting room door. The attendant escorting us spoke briefly with one of the guards.

The door soon opened, and Valen and I stepped into the meeting room.

Inside, one woman and three middle-aged men sat waiting.

They were Wanda Belgera, Presidential Secretary; Antonio di Margarette, Minister of Defense; Marcelino di Borselino, Head of the National Intelligence Bureau; and finally, Luciano di Reginossa, the 32nd President of the Republic of Venetia — and also my father.

"Siena, you've arrived," the President said. "Please, sit. There's something we need to discuss with you."

Valen and I took our seats as instructed. "So, why did the President summon me here?" I asked him.

"Wanda, explain it to her," Father ordered his secretary.

"Understood, Mr. President."

The Presidential Secretary then explained the failure of the operation to steal the Armor of the Hero Pendragon. Truthfully, I was the one who'd designed the strategy for this operation.

While no strategy is ever perfect, I hadn't expected this operation to fail so completely.

"Of the 50 personnel deployed in the field, only 19 were reported to have returned after the operation concluded," Wanda said, stating the number of surviving members.

"According to reports, they managed to execute the plan flawlessly right up to the final stage," I told them. "Which means their failure occurred during the escape phase. But according to the strategy I designed, their success rate should have reached at least 80 percent, had they properly completed that stage."

Hearing my words, they simply sighed, seemingly at a loss for what to say.

"Read this newspaper from the Empire, Major Siena," Marcelino said, handing me a sheet of paper.

I read through its contents — it stated that the theft of the Pendragon Armor artifact had been stopped by an academy student.

Honestly, I didn't want to believe this report, but facts were facts, and I couldn't change that. It was true the unit deployed for this operation possessed no magic whatsoever. Still, they'd received training sufficient to fight against knights.

Yet this only proved why the Aragon Empire was called the strongest nation on this continent.

I then read the name of the student mentioned in the newspaper.

Raul de Garcia...

Garcia, huh? Weren't they a wealthy noble family with territory in the northern Empire? I'd remember that name.

"Currently, there's no one leading our intelligence unit within the Empire," Father said, looking at me seriously. "Captain Niccolo was one of those who didn't return from that operation."

Hearing Father's words, I felt a pang of regret over this news. Captain Niccolo and I had a good relationship — he'd always carried a strong sense of patriotism.

"I want you to take his place, leading our intelligence activities within Imperial territory," Father said, revealing the reason he'd summoned me here.

"Understood. I'd recommend Valentino take over leadership of the Tigrenata Battalion in my place," I answered him.

Father simply nodded in response to my words.

Field duty within Imperial territory, huh...? Honestly, I'd always wanted this assignment, to reconfirm the information I'd gathered about the Empire firsthand.

If it turned out to be accurate, this would prove an enormous advantage for us.

Once the Intelligence Bureau finished briefing me on the details and current status of our field intelligence unit, I left to prepare myself for the journey to the Empire.

Before I knew it, evening had fallen by the time I returned to my chambers at the Tigrenata Battalion headquarters.

The attendants then helped me organize and pack the belongings I'd be bringing with me to Imperial territory.

Once everything was settled, I sat down at my desk, removed the pendant hanging around my neck, and studied it closely.

This half-crescent moon pendant was an artifact given to me by my mother. She'd told me it had a matching counterpart — another half that would form a perfect full crescent moon once combined with mine.

I was a special woman to the Venetian people...

That was because I'd been born with the ability to use magic, unlike anyone else within this race. I was the only descendant of the Venetian people in history to break that fate.

Which was exactly why, since birth, I'd always been revered — many placed their hopes in me, believing I would carry our people to the very pinnacle of glory.

But when I turned fourteen, I suffered an accident that left me in a coma for an entire year.

Not a single doctor could wake me, and even after Father brought in priests from the Temple of Goddess Diana, the result remained the same.

During that coma, I experienced something almost impossible to believe.

While unconscious, I dreamed of the lives of two women I'd never known at all. "Dreamed" isn't quite the right word, though — it felt more like I was living their lives directly.

Their emotions, their habits, their ways of thinking — I experienced all of it firsthand within that dream.

The first was Liana de Grantz...

A hero possessing extraordinary swordsmanship from the Empire.

Her talent could arguably be said to surpass even the other Grand Espada. She was the first woman ever to earn the title of the Empire's strongest knight.

Her techniques, fighting style, and habits — I experienced all of it within that dream, broadening my understanding of both combat and magic considerably.

I deeply respected Liana de Grantz. She'd sacrificed the glory she could have claimed had she simply ignored the city under demonic attack — glory as the strongest Grand Espada in Imperial history, and the greatest knight this world had ever known.

She'd given her life to defeat that high-ranking noble vampire, ensuring the city's people survived that terrifying ordeal.

I still remember her final thought, before she decided to leap into battle against that overwhelmingly powerful creature.

"I am a knight of the Empire — what does glory mean to me, if I abandon the duty and responsibility entrusted to me?"

She'd rather be remembered as a knight who protected the weak from evil's threat than as the strongest knight in history.

The second woman I dreamed of was... Liana Rosentina.

She lived in a world called Earth, a world vastly different from the one I currently inhabited.

There, magic didn't exist at all, yet countless fascinating innovations flourished across every field of life. That world was a dream for people unable to use magic, like the Venetian people.

I wanted to make my own nation like theirs... With technology and weapons that required no magic at all, I believed our people could become a force to be truly feared across this continent.

That was exactly why I'd studied and attempted to create weapons similar to theirs. Still, I hadn't fully grasped the composition of that strange powder needed to make such weapons function.

Liana Rosentina had owned one such weapon — I'd built a model nearly identical to it.

The real problem now was the material needed to produce the powder that made this weapon function. That's because the composition required to create it was exceedingly rare to find on this continent.

Right now, we'd begun producing these weapons on a small scale, distributing them only to specialized units for field testing. If this weapon truly proved capable of changing the course of battle, I intended to propose that the nation begin mass production.

Liana Rosentina's own life, in my view, wasn't quite as profound as Liana de Grantz's.

She'd worked as a researcher at a military facility in one particular nation, in that world called Earth. She came from a well-off family and had attended a renowned academy in that country.

She'd had two romantic partners, though I believe she'd only truly loved the first.

His name was Evans Baxter, Liana's first love.

They'd both attended the same academy and began their relationship during their second year. While she was with him, she always seemed to smile, genuinely happy.

Honestly, I found myself deeply moved by their relationship at the time. The two of them seemed like the ideal couple everyone dreamed of becoming.

But after graduation, they suddenly began seeing each other less and less, occasionally arguing, and their relationship gradually grew distant.

Eventually, they had to part ways when Liana's family decided to arrange her marriage to the son of a major business tycoon in their country.

Liana met Evans one final time, at her former lover's home.

Her heart ached terribly, forced to say goodbye to the man she loved so deeply. She left him full of regret, weeping as she walked away from her ex-lover's house.

These two dreams of these women's lives changed mine completely...

Through knowing Liana de Grantz's life, I gained combat techniques and experience that made me far stronger. I also learned several secrets of the Empire known only to Grand Espada like herself.

Through knowing Liana Rosentina's life, I came to understand the direction my own nation needed to take to grow better. I intend to bring the Venetian people to the very peak of civilization.

Rising from my desk, I walked toward my chamber's window.

The moon and stars adorned the beautiful night sky above.

"I hope everything goes well ..."