Over the next few days, I found myself spending more time inside the royal library than anywhere else in the palace.
At first, it was simply out of curiosity.
But after everything that had happened over the past few weeks—the war, the council meeting, my visit to the capital, meeting Malta and Fiona, and witnessing the struggles of ordinary people—I had begun to realize something.
A kingdom's present was shaped by its past. If I wanted to understand why Valenford stood where it did today, then I first had to understand the road that had brought it here.
Not the Valenford that existed today. The Valenford that once was.
The royal library occupied an entire wing of the palace. Tall shelves stretched from floor to ceiling, each packed with books that had survived generations of kings. Dust quietly rested on many of their covers, suggesting they hadn't been touched in years.
It was strangely peaceful.
Every now and then, servants could be seen carefully dusting the shelves or organizing old manuscripts, but otherwise the library remained almost completely silent.
As I slowly walked between the shelves, one thing became immediately obvious.
There were military books...
Everywhere.
Books describing famous battles.
Books documenting past wars.
Books on fortifications.
Books on military strategy.
Books written by renowned generals.
It almost felt as though the entire history of Valenford had been recorded through war.
Economic records were surprisingly scarce. Books discussing agriculture, governance, trade, education, or magic certainly existed, but compared to the military section, they occupied only a handful of shelves.
"...No wonder."
I couldn't help but mutter those words to myself.
Considering Valenford's geographical position, perhaps this wasn't surprising after all. For centuries, the kingdom had been surrounded by rivals.
Maybe survival itself had always demanded military strength.
Still...
Something about it didn't sit right with me.
If military power alone could create prosperity, then Valenford shouldn't have been struggling the way it was today.
Which meant there had to be something missing. That thought alone was enough to convince me to return every day.
The more books I opened, the clearer Terra Chronica gradually became.
The continent was home to eleven sovereign nations. Some had risen to become mighty empires, while others remained kingdoms fighting to preserve their independence.
The Solaris Empire.
The Lunaris Dominion.
Heliosar Empire.
Dravenmark.
Noctenvale.
Verein.
Isalara.
Velkyria.
Solvaris.
Aurendell.
...
And finally—
Valenford.
The smallest kingdom on the continent.
As I continued reading, another pattern slowly emerged. No matter which historical record I picked up—whether it discussed diplomacy, warfare, trade, or geography—the same two names continued appearing again and again.
The Solaris Alliance.
The Lunaris Alliance.
At first, I assumed they were simply military alliances. The deeper I read, however, the more I realized the truth was far older than that.
Nearly a thousand years ago, long before the modern kingdoms had fully taken shape, the people of Terra Chronica gradually embraced two different beliefs regarding humanity's origin.
One belief taught that mankind had been blessed by the Sun, revered as the Lord of Rising.
The other believed humanity owed its existence to the Moon, known as the Lord of Darkness.
Neither belief had ever been proven.
Yet over centuries, those ideas slowly evolved into cultures, traditions, and eventually political identities.
Kingdoms sharing the same beliefs naturally formed closer relationships with one another.
Those following different beliefs grew increasingly distant.
Distrust became rivalry.
Rivalry became conflict.
And conflict eventually shaped the continent itself.
By the time the modern nations emerged, Terra Chronica had already divided into two great alliances.
The Solaris Alliance, led by the Solaris Empire. And the Lunaris Alliance, led by the Lunaris Dominion.
As I unfolded an old continental map tucked inside one of the books, everything suddenly made sense. Valenford belonged to the Solaris Alliance. Yet nearly every kingdom surrounding its borders belonged to the Lunaris Alliance.
"...No wonder this kingdom has spent centuries fighting."
It wasn't simply unfortunate geography. History itself had placed Valenford in one of the most difficult positions imaginable.
Still...
One question continued bothering me. If Valenford had survived for so many centuries against overwhelming odds...
Then surely there must have been rulers capable of leading it through those hardships.
So where were they?
Where were their reforms?
Where were their ideas?
More importantly...
Why had the kingdom still declined into its present condition?
Closing the book, I let out a quiet sigh before returning it to its shelf.
"There has to be something I'm missing..."
"Perhaps," an elderly voice replied from behind me, "Your Majesty is simply looking in the wrong section."
I turned around.
Standing a few steps away was the royal librarian, an elderly man with neatly combed white hair and gentle eyes that carried the weight of countless years spent among books.
He offered a respectful bow.
"I apologize for interrupting."
"No, not at all," I replied. "Actually... you arrived at the perfect time."
A faint smile appeared on the old man's face.
"I've noticed you've been visiting the library quite often these past few days, Your Majesty."
"I have."
"If I may ask..." the old librarian said politely, "...what exactly are you looking for?"
I glanced around at the shelves surrounding us before answering.
"To be honest... I'm not entirely sure myself."
He waited patiently.
"I'm trying to understand Valenford," I continued. "Not just where it stands today, but how it became this way. Every problem this kingdom faces must have started somewhere. If I can understand that... maybe I'll know where to begin."
Hearing this, the librarian looked genuinely surprised.
He remained silent for a brief moment before a faint smile slowly appeared on his face.
"...I see."
"I've searched through books on history, geography, diplomacy... even military campaigns. They've certainly helped me understand the continent better, but..." I shook my head slightly. "...I still feel like I'm missing something."
The old librarian nodded in understanding.
"If Your Majesty seeks financial records, the Royal Treasury preserves them."
"If you're searching for laws and royal decrees, the Royal Archives would be the proper place."
He paused before continuing.
"But if what Your Majesty truly seeks is to understand why Valenford became the kingdom it is today..."
"...then I believe I know exactly where you should look."
That immediately caught my attention.
"You do?"
Without another word, the old librarian turned and began walking toward a quiet corner of the library.
Unlike the main shelves, this section seemed almost forgotten by time. Dust rested thick upon the books, and the scent of old parchment lingered heavily in the air.
Finally, he stopped before a narrow wooden shelf.
Carefully brushing away years of dust, he pulled out a worn leather-bound volume and held it out with both hands.
Its faded cover bore only a single title.
Foundations of Governance
Beneath it...
Written by Prime Minister Aldren Vaelis.
I looked at the unfamiliar name before glancing back at the librarian.
"...What is this?"
A faint smile appeared on the old man's face.
"This book was written by Prime Minister Aldren Vaelis, the First Minister who served during the Aurelian Era."
"The Aurelian Era?" I repeated.
"The reign of King Aurel's descendants," he explained. "Historians often regard it as the greatest period of prosperity in Valenford's history. It was an age when trade flourished, reforms transformed the kingdom, and our people enjoyed generations of peace."
His gaze briefly drifted toward the old shelves surrounding us.
"Many of the institutions that once made Valenford prosperous were established during that time."
He then looked back at me.
"If Your Majesty wishes to understand how our ancestors governed this kingdom... and perhaps discover what we've forgotten over the centuries..."
He gently extended the book toward me.
"...then I believe this is where your search should begin."
For a brief moment, I simply stared at the worn leather cover resting in his hands.
Somehow...
It no longer felt like just another book.
"Has anyone read this recently?" I asked.
The old librarian smiled.
"I don't believe anyone has asked for it in decades."
For a brief moment, I simply stared at the worn cover resting in my hands.
Decades.
A book written by one of the kingdom's greatest statesmen...Left untouched for decades.
Somehow... That felt far sadder than I expected.
Finding an empty table near one of the library windows, I carefully opened the first page. The paper had yellowed with time, yet the handwriting remained remarkably clear.
I began reading.
One page became another.
Then another.
Before I realized it, hours had passed.
Sometimes I found myself rereading an entire page. Sometimes I stopped simply to think.
Occasionally...I couldn't help smiling.
By the time I finally reached the last page, the afternoon sunlight had already turned golden.
Slowly, I closed the book.
Neither excitement nor surprise could properly describe what I was feeling.
This...This wasn't merely a book.
It was wisdom preserved across centuries.
A treasure.
One that had somehow remained hidden inside this library all along.
"...Incredible."
For the first time since becoming king, I truly understood something.
Valenford had never lacked brilliant minds.
Perhaps...
It had simply forgotten them. As my gaze drifted back toward the countless shelves surrounding me, another thought quietly surfaced.
If a single forgotten book could change the way I thought about governing...Then what other stories had this kingdom buried within its own history?
Leaving the Prime Minister's journal behind, I slowly walked back toward the same shelves again.
The more I thought about everything I had just read, the more one question refused to leave my mind.
If Valenford had once possessed ministers capable of thinking so far ahead...Then what had happened to the kingdom?
How had everything changed? After searching through several shelves, I eventually found the book I had been looking for.
The History of the House of Valenford.
Unlike many of the military records, this book looked considerably older. Its leather cover had faded with age, while several pages had clearly been restored over the centuries. Countless hands had preserved it long before I was ever born.
Carefully, I opened the first page.
"Seven centuries have passed since King Aldric, founder of the House of Valenford, united the western coast beneath a single banner."
The opening sentence alone immediately captured my attention.
King Aldric.
The founder of Valenford.
As I continued reading, the early history unfolded before me.
Unlike the great empires that expanded through conquest, Valenford had originally been established through unity. Dozens of coastal settlements, fishing villages, farming communities and merchant towns had gradually pledged themselves to Aldric's banner in exchange for protection against pirates and raiders that once plagued the western shores.
It wasn't a kingdom born through overwhelming military power.
It had been built upon cooperation.
Trade.
And trust.
By the end of his reign, Aldric had transformed a collection of independent settlements into a recognized kingdom.
His greatest achievement, however, wasn't founding Valenford.
It was ensuring that it would survive after him.
King Aldric had two sons.
The elder prince, Aurel.
And the younger prince, Caelan.
Following tradition, the crown naturally passed to Crown Prince Aurel after Aldric's death.
As I turned another page, the tone of the book subtly changed.
"The reign of King Aurel marked the beginning of an age historians would later remember as the Aurelian Era."
The following chapters described nearly four centuries of history.
Four centuries...
During that entire period, the descendants of Aurel continued ruling Valenford without interruption.
What surprised me wasn't how long they ruled.
It was what they achieved. The kingdom expanded. Merchant guilds flourished. Roads connected distant provinces. Irrigation systems transformed farmland. Schools were established in major towns. Agricultural knowledge spread from village to village. Trade with neighboring nations reached unprecedented heights.
Every few decades, another reform appeared.
Another institution.
Another improvement.
Even the names of famous scholars, merchants and administrators appeared repeatedly throughout the records.
Reading through those pages almost didn't feel like studying history. It felt like watching a kingdom slowly perfect itself. Yet one detail continued appearing again and again.
Peace.
For nearly four centuries, although border disputes occasionally arose, Valenford avoided any large-scale invasion.
Its rulers believed prosperity itself was the kingdom's greatest strength.
Military forces certainly existed. But compared to the enormous attention given to trade, agriculture and administration...
Defense had gradually become secondary. I quietly closed my eyes for a moment.
"So that's how it happened..."
No kingdom willingly neglects its army. It simply happens when generations grow up without experiencing true war.
As I continued reading, another chapter title immediately caught my eye.
The Fall of Aurel's Line.
My expression slowly became serious. Something about that title alone felt ominous. Turning the page, the story changed completely. Without warning, three neighboring kingdoms launched a coordinated invasion against Valenford.
Dravenmark.
Velkyria.
Noctenvale.
The records described it as the greatest military disaster in the kingdom's history.
The western defenses collapsed one after another.
Cities surrendered.
Trade ports burned.
Entire villages disappeared beneath the march of foreign armies.
The kingdom that had spent centuries building prosperity suddenly found itself struggling simply to survive.
Even the royal capital eventually came under siege. The final battle lasted only three days.
King Lucian II fell defending the capital alongside nearly every member of the direct royal family.
By the time the battle ended...
The bloodline of Crown Prince Aurel had ceased to exist. I slowly lowered the book onto the table.
For several moments... I couldn't bring myself to turn the next page. Four hundred years. An entire branch of the royal family.
Gone.
Just like that.
Eventually, I continued reading.
The book explained that while Valenford stood on the verge of collapse, the Solaris Empire finally responded to repeated requests for aid. Allied armies crossed the western frontier and forced the invading coalition to retreat before the kingdom itself disappeared from the map.
Valenford survived.
But survival came at a terrible cost. With Aurel's descendants gone, succession passed to the only remaining branch of the House of Valenford.
The descendants of Prince Caelan.
Three hundred years had passed since then.
And even today...Princess Elisa belonged to that very bloodline.
The final chapters described the reign of the Restoration Kings. Unlike their predecessors, they inherited a kingdom scarred by devastation.
Their priorities were no longer prosperity.
Their priorities were survival.
Fortresses were expanded.
Standing armies increased.
Border patrols strengthened.
Weapons and armor filled the royal foundries.
Military expenditure steadily became the kingdom's greatest investment. As resources shifted toward defense, many institutions established during the Aurelian Era gradually disappeared.
Trade declined.
Guilds weakened.
Several administrative reforms quietly faded from use. None of it happened overnight. Nor was it the result of poor rulers. Each generation simply believed another invasion could happen at any moment.
And after reading everything...
I couldn't honestly blame them.
If I had witnessed my entire family and kingdom nearly disappear...Perhaps I would've made the same decisions. Closing the book, I quietly looked toward the shelves surrounding me.
For the first time...I truly understood Valenford.
This kingdom hadn't become weak because its rulers lacked wisdom. It had become cautious because history had taught them to fear.
The kings of Aurel's line protected prosperity.
The kings of Caelan's line protected survival.
Neither had been wrong. They had simply answered the challenges of their own era.
A faint smile slowly appeared across my face.
"...Then maybe..."
I looked once more toward the journal resting on the table beside me.
"...my era simply demands something different."
I carefully placed both books side by side.
One contained the wisdom of governance.
The other contained the wisdom of history.
Only after reading both together did I finally understand their true value.
The future couldn't be built by abandoning the past. Nor could the past simply be repeated.
It had to be understood...and then carried forward.
Outside the library windows, the evening sun had already begun to set. A warm orange light spilled across the old wooden shelves, illuminating books that had silently watched generations of kings come and go.
Standing up from my chair, I carefully returned both volumes to their proper places.
"I'll be borrowing these again," I quietly muttered.
Somehow...I felt as though my real education as King of Valenford had only just begun.