角色故事•一（解鎖條件：角色等級20）
北境帝國許珀耳，嚴寒的國土燃燒着不熄的野心。
自那無嗣的君主隕落，繼位者懸空，帝國已然四分五裂，內戰不止。
失去家園的難民踏上乞討為生之路，受傷的女孩因那一頭罕見的藍發在皚皚冰雪中格外顯眼。
「只有受塔蘭頓賜福的王室，才有如同火焰一般飄揚的藍發，也唯有天選之人，才能流淌金色的鮮血……」
只因偶然的一瞥，野心勃勃的貴族將乞兒收養，向外散播着流浪王女的傳言。
她被帶上輝煌的高台，貴族高舉她的手臂，那刺破的指尖滴下如同黎明一般濃郁的金血。
台下民眾眼神狂熱，那灼熱的期待似乎要將她一同點燃。
「從此刻起，你就是王女『刻律德菈』。」
貴族將她帶入宮殿，她穿上華美沉重的服裝。
「刻律…德菈？」
只因一刻猶豫，臉上火辣的刺痛幾乎讓她流下眼淚。
「我是，我是…刻律…德菈……
「我是刻律德菈。
「我是。」
她忍住自己的顫抖，任由耳邊的哭喊遠去
——那是上一任王女的哀嚎。
她日復一日地學習皇室禮儀，直到狹窄的束腰再也不會讓她疼痛，直到她能面不改色地大聲演講——
「王女年幼，我將攝政，統理許珀耳帝國政務。」貴族以她的名義收攏人心，將王室之權據為己有。
「反正都是任人擺弄的棄子，她扮演得還不錯，可以留着。」陰影里，新任的攝政王對宰相竊笑。
幽閉的時光望不到盡頭，稚齡的「王女」將目光從遠方隱約的星空移開，落回眼前的棋盤。
這是她用於自保的遊戲。
「驕傲的王女，你的眼睛似乎總在觀察，也似乎總在隱藏，就像……」
「就像什麼？」
悄然幾手間，她將要抵達棋盤的邊境。
「就像…將要燃起的火焰……」
老師苦笑着擲下棋子，千百次的對弈中，已沒有王女無法解開的棋局。
• Unlocked at Character Level 20
Hyperborea, the Northern Empire. A frigid realm where ambition burns without end.
Since the childless sovereign fell, the throne sits vacant while the empire tears itself apart in endless civil strife.
Refugees who lost their homes resort to begging to survive. A wounded girl with unusual blue hair stands out starkly against the pristine snow.
"Only the royal family blessed by Talanton possesses such flame-like blue hair, and only the chosen ones have golden blood flowing through their veins..."
An ambitious aristocrat takes in the beggar girl simply from just a passing glance, and begins spreading rumors of a lost princess.
They lead her onto a magnificent high stage where the aristocrat raises her arm high. From her pricked fingertip drips blood as golden as dawn itself.
The crowd below grows wild with excitement, and that heated anticipation seemingly sets her ablaze as well.
"From this day forward, you are Princess 'Cerydra'."
The aristocrat leads her into the palace, where she's dressed in ornate, heavy garments.
"Cery...dra?"
A single moment of hesitation earns her a slap so sharp it nearly brings tears to her eyes.
"I am... I am... Cery...dra..."
"I am Cerydra."
"I am her."
She controls her trembling as distant screams fade away.
— Those were the screams of the previous princess.
She studies royal etiquette daily until the tight corset no longer causes pain, until she can confidently deliver speeches...
"As the princess is still young, I shall serve as regent and oversee the Hyperborean Empire's affairs." The aristocrat gathers support in her name while seizing royal authority.
"She's merely a pawn we can discard, but she plays her role well enough to keep around." In the shadows, the new regent exchanges knowing smirks with the chancellor.
Endless days in captivity blur together as the young "princess" reluctantly abandons the distant shimmer of stars to focus on her chessboard.
This is the game for her self-preservation.
"Proud princess. Those eyes of yours, always watching, always hiding... They are like..."
"Like what?"
With barely any effort, she will soon reach the border of the chessboard.
"Like a flame soon to ignite..."
With a bittersweet smile, her teacher places down the final chess piece. After thousands of matches, there's no longer a chess strategy the princess has not mastered.
