’A history that predates the empire itself? How is that possible?’

As her father had explained it himself, the nobles were rulers assigned to govern parts of the imperial territory, so how could a noble have a longer history than the empire itself?

It was basically the same as saying that a doctor who works in a hospital has experience that predates the existence of that hospital itself.

"Papa," she tilted her head. "How is that even possible?"

He offered her a smile.

"This is a long story, one that goes back to around four hundred years. Back then, there was no empire, and the entire south-east, as well as a part of the south-west, which is now imperial territory, used to be the continent’s most resource-rich land. Because of this, the land was filled with small kingdoms wishing to prosper with the help of those resources."

His smile deepened. 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

"And the first kingdom that had established itself here was... the Caelis kingdom. As time passed and the number of established nations in that land increased, Caelis remained one of the largest, strongest, and most prosperous nations. It was so powerful that no other nation dared to offend it. They all feared the consequences of doing so."

Then he leaned in and added in a low tone.

"...But something overturned all of that like a storm, a storm called Solthar."

’Caelis...’

She didn’t quite know what to make of that. Possible theories were already forming in her mind, but she was intentionally ignoring them. After all, her father would explain it soon, anyway.

But the way he had described the Caelis kingdom made it sound like some untouchable force. Well, House Ravenshade was described in a similar manner, so she didn’t quite know what to make of that.

Her father continued.

"In that land of abundant resources, a single kingdom grew abnormally large and amassed power that was comparable even to Caelis. That kingdom was Solthar. After becoming that powerful, Solthar did something no other nation had dared to attempt."

"It waged a war of conquest on all other nations. It was a war that lasted twenty-seven years, the War of Pandemonium. With the help of individuals like Sthenios, the first emperor was able to conquer all other nations and establish the Valcarion empire we currently live in."

After explaining up to that point, her father looked at her with an expectant gaze. She instantly knew what that meant.

"But even after they completed the conquest and established the empire, there was a big problem. Evangel, what do you think that problem was?"

’Oh, that’s an easy one!’

She raised her hand.

"They must’ve had too much land after conquering all those kingdoms. They wouldn’t have been able to manage it."

The question was rather easy to answer if she considered what he had told her before about Imperial nobles.

A proud, satisfied smile stretched across his face.

"A perfect answer. But not only that, the anxiety of citizens was at its peak after twenty-seven years of war; there was a high risk of revolts or revolution campaigns from the citizens. The newly established empire would not have been able to manage if something like that had happened."

"So, following the advice of the Grand Orchestrator, the previous royals or nobility of the fallen kingdoms–those who were still alive, at least–were threatened and forced to calm the citizens and manage the territory they had previously ruled over. This is how Ancient Nobles came to be."

Evangeline briefly leaned back and pressed a hand to her temples.

’That’s... a lot to process.’

She was feeling quite overwhelmed by the sheer amount of information her father had practically forced into her brain.

She sighed.

’So basically, Ancient nobles are ruling the land they used to rule before the empire was even formed. The difference is that they were subjugated by the imperial family. Well, now I feel bad for them.’

Maybe because of seeing her so overwhelmed, her father remained silent for a while, perhaps to give her time to sort her thoughts.

He spoke the remaining part after that break.

"Ancient nobles use the name of their now fallen kingdoms as their middle names. Almost all Ancient Nobles have a grudge against the imperial family. Ancient nobles and the imperial faction have clashed for four hundred years. The tension between them continues to rise, and it’s almost at its breaking point by now. Maybe in a few years... we might see a huge rebellion..."

He trailed off. Then he shook his head and flashed her a wide smile as he leaned his face closer to her.

"Evangel, do you get it now? The Ravenshades used to be the royal family of the now fallen Caelis kingdom, which is why your fiancé has Caelis as his middle name. The blood of ancient royalty flows through his veins."

’Descendant of ancient royalty...’

She finally understood.

The feeling that he was special, the once-in-a-generation genius, an attitude that disregards others as if they were background noise, she finally knew what all these things were pointing towards.

’A genius who has to carry the weight of his family’s fallen legacy... The boy who will put an end to the conflict that has lasted for four hundred years...’

Suddenly, her imaginary world manifested before her eyes.

She was standing in front of a massive golden castle. Behind her, a large army stood with their weapons at the ready, aimed towards the castle.

At the forefront of the army, the one leading the soldiers, was a young man with deep, jet-black hair and piercing grey eyes. He gazed at the castle while his face remained completely expressionless.

Then he turned around, towards the army of soldiers behind him, and spoke in a cold yet firm tone.

"The time has come. The flames of rebellion shall plunge the land of thieves into chaos. The flames shall burn the robbers to ash. And from within those ashes... Caelis shall rise once again!"

All soldiers responded to his words. They all raised their weapons high and shouted at the top of their lungs.

"Caelis shall rise once again!!!"

While letting out those cheers, the army marched forward, heading toward the golden castle.

That was the end of her imagination, as the imaginary world slowly disappeared. But Evangeline remained completely still, as if still lost in her imagination.

She opened her mouth and unconsciously muttered.

"...Caelis shall rise once again."

"Did you say something, Evangel?"

"N-no, nothing," she hurriedly shook her head. "Anyways papa, thank you for all the information, I think I’ve finally understood the truth."

Her father gave her a confused look, but she ignored it and stood up as she returned to the sofa beside the window.

’It’s clear now... all the clues point in this direction.’

When her fiancé grows up, he will be the one to ignite the spark of rebellion against the imperial family. He will overthrow them from their thrones and paint the streets with their blood.

And after everyone standing in his way is dealt with, he will sit on the throne himself and rule everyone as the bloody emperor of the new Caelis Empire.

’Bloody emperor of the Caelis Empire... that sounds so damn cool.’

And since she had now guessed that future, she could start preparing for it.

Suddenly, she remembered the oath she had made five years ago in front of the mirror. She swore that she was going to become the female lead of this world.

But she hadn’t actually done anything since then to achieve that goal. No, what did becoming the female lead even mean? This wasn’t some story where she would steal the female lead’s role for herself; this was reality.

Just then, she remembered the last novel she had read in her previous life. A scene from that novel was still fresh in her mind.

The scene where the female lead becomes the empress and stands in front of all her subjects. It was a beautiful scene filled with cheers and praise from the crowd. That was... her favorite scene.

’Yeah, something like that...’

She also wanted something like that, something similar.

And now, the path was right in front of her.

’If he overthrows the imperial family and becomes the emperor, wouldn’t that mean I’ll become the empress since we are now engaged?’

If that really were to happen, then...

’It would be perfect!’

Now she had a clear idea of what she needed to do. She knew what would help her achieve her goal of becoming the female lead of this world.

Evangeline had to help that boy overthrow the imperial family and establish the Caelis Empire. She would need to start planning from this moment so that they can both achieve their goals in the future.

And in order to do that...

’I need to get close to him.’

They had only met today, and he didn’t seem to have a very good impression of her, considering the stare he had been giving her the whole time. So she needed to improve her own image in his eyes and get close to him.

She pumped her fists in determination.

’Let’s overthrow the imperial family together!’