角色故事•一(解锁条件:角色等级20)
北境帝国许珀耳,严寒的国土燃烧着不熄的野心。
自那无嗣的君主陨落,继位者悬空,帝国已然四分五裂,内战不止。
失去家园的难民踏上乞讨为生之路,受伤的女孩因那一头罕见的蓝发在皑皑冰雪中格外显眼。
“只有受塔兰顿赐福的王室,才有如同火焰一般飘扬的蓝发,也唯有天选之人,才能流淌金色的鲜血……”
只因偶然的一瞥,野心勃勃的贵族将乞儿收养,向外散播着流浪王女的传言。
她被带上辉煌的高台,贵族高举她的手臂,那刺破的指尖滴下如同黎明一般浓郁的金血。
台下民众眼神狂热,那灼热的期待似乎要将她一同点燃。
“从此刻起,你就是王女‘刻律德菈’。”
贵族将她带入宫殿,她穿上华美沉重的服装。
“刻律…德菈?”
只因一刻犹豫,脸上火辣的刺痛几乎让她流下眼泪。
“我是,我是…刻律…德菈……
“我是刻律德菈。
“我是。”
她忍住自己的颤抖,任由耳边的哭喊远去
——那是上一任王女的哀嚎。
她日复一日地学习皇室礼仪,直到狭窄的束腰再也不会让她疼痛,直到她能面不改色地大声演讲——
“王女年幼,我将摄政,统理许珀耳帝国政务。”贵族以她的名义收拢人心,将王室之权据为己有。
“反正都是任人摆弄的弃子,她扮演得还不错,可以留着。”阴影里,新任的摄政王对宰相窃笑。
幽闭的时光望不到尽头,稚龄的“王女”将目光从远方隐约的星空移开,落回眼前的棋盘。
这是她用于自保的游戏。
“骄傲的王女,你的眼睛似乎总在观察,也似乎总在隐藏,就像……”
“就像什么?”
悄然几手间,她将要抵达棋盘的边境。
“就像…将要燃起的火焰……”
老师苦笑着掷下棋子,千百次的对弈中,已没有王女无法解开的棋局。
• 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.