- 3 - Behind the Scenes with the Newcomers and the News Announcement, Part 2
Gilit, the former chairman of the largest conglomerate on the Continent of Flame, was originally from a lineage that traced its roots back to a gentle, rain-soaked small kingdom — a line descended from a royal princess who had fled her homeland during the world war.
Until his parents' generation, Gilit's family retained the privileges of royalty in the princess's homeland.
However, those privileges came with a condition:
If a descendant reached the sixth generation without marrying into the direct royal line, they would lose their royal status.
Had the fifth-generation heir formally married a noble from the princess's homeland, they would have been granted a royal-equivalent status and retained their dignity.
Yet, despite a marriage arrangement being underway, the fifth-generation heir suddenly abandoned their family, crossed the sea to the Continent of Flame alone, and married a local — starting a new family there.
As a result, from the sixth generation onward, all royal status and privileges were lost.
Originally, that should have marked the beginning of a quiet life as a commoner.
But the fifth-generation heir was different.
She clung desperately to the royal privileges she had forfeited.
Her family and homeland rejected her coldly.
Citing the broken engagement and the complete lack of diplomatic relations with the Continent of Flame, they formally expelled her from the royal lineage.
Panic overtook her.
However, during her marriage, she had bound herself with an unbreakable sacred magic contract (divine magical pact) to prevent any political marriage from being forced upon her.
Thus, no matter how much she regretted it, there was no path left to return to royalty.
Life on the Continent of Flame — despite her husband being from a respectable local family — was far poorer compared to her royal upbringing.
In time, she fell into despair, and her bitterness began to lash out toward her child.
The one who suffered most deeply from this was the sixth-generation descendant: Gilit himself.
Every night, Gilit was told the same tales by his mother:
Stories of the family's lost glory, their education, the privileges stripped away, and the bitterness toward her homeland and family — even though exile had been her own choice.
These tales were repeated like lullabies.
Gilit's father tried to tell him the truth.
But due to his frequent business travels, he had little opportunity to intervene, and he passed away prematurely when Gilit was just seventeen.
Thus, by the time Gilit was no longer a "child," there was no one left who could correct his course.
Under the guidance of his paternal grandfather, Gilit quickly rose to prominence.
By the time his granddaughter was born, he had already become an unrivaled industrialist on the Continent of Flame.
In terms of wealth and influence, his achievements far outstripped anything the gentle rain-soaked kingdom could offer.
Yet, the obsession with royal glory and privilege, planted deep in his heart since childhood, never healed — no matter how great his success.
Then, during a family trip to the Eastern Federation, destiny struck:
His granddaughter fell in love with the prince of our country, Annabel.
At that moment, Gilit understood:
—This is a second chance granted by the gods.
He acted without hesitation.
Gilit gathered every piece of information he could —
from the internal power dynamics of Annabel's royal and noble families, to the rumors popular among the city girls, and even the desires of the farming communities.
As part of his plan, he targeted the deputy director of our research institute.
The reason was simple.
The Prince of Annabel was known as a man of impeccable discipline —
fulfilling his duties to the nation without fail, excelling in academics, martial arts, and diplomacy, and never once involved in scandal.
Yet—there was one thing that stirred his personal passion.
That was magical artifacts related to the Lake of Memories .
The prince, it was said, eagerly collected even broken antique artifacts connected to the Lake of Memories.
He had openly stated during his student years that, had he not been a direct heir to the throne, he would have pursued an academic career at the Lake of Memories Research Institute in earnest.
And so, Gilit struck precisely at that vulnerability.
