Lorelei

The Common Man’s Hope When Lorelei was young, she displayed great martial prowess and learning ability, allowing her to enter into the Royal Academy despite her not being of noble blood. Growing up around nobles, she gradually experienced class prejudice. Although she was unable to change who she was, Lorelei always tried to use her grades to get in with the nobles. The Queen’s Appointment Yearning to stand out from the crowd, Lorelei wanted to gain victory at the sword fighting tournament, but this tournament had turned into the noble’s playground; victory was only possible as part of a team. She became a popular teammate choice for many big families, but she didn’t answer to any of their invitation until the day of the tournament. Standing in the center of the arena, she pulled out her sword and rejected everyone’s invitation, deciding to fight on her own. Her bad experiences at the Federal’s Royal Academy gave Lorelei insight into the Federal’s current situation. Upon graduation, she was determined to become a great knight to change her birth disadvantage and empower the common people. But Lorelei quickly came upon resistance; even though she had outstanding ability and achievements, the nobles would still resent the fact she was a commoner and exclude or suppress her. Running into obstacle after obstacle didn’t dampen Lorelei’s spirits; she noticed a great opportunity - the sword fighting tournament held by the queen across the whole Federal. All she had to do was win this tournament to gain a chance to finally become someone. However, not only did Lorelei have this idea, the other six powerful and distinguished noble families had also been planning for a long time to obtain this honor. It was at this time that they finally realized Lorelei’s value, she had exceptional ability but no one to support her; she was an easy-to-use and really useful pawn. Lorelei saw through the nobles’ intentions at once. In her opinion, the great promises of distinguishing her and giving her position were just ways to exploit her - She was used to these methods from her days at school. To avoid being stifled by them, she didn’t directly reject any of their invitations but instead said that she’d make her decision on the day of the tournament. The tournament finally started, and when it was Lorelei’s turn to enter the arena, she elegantly stood in the arena, bowed to the queen and then turned around. "I won’t join any of you. I don’t want to be your appendage, what I want is a fair competition. " Depending on them would turn her into a part of the nobles, preventing her from being able to express the will of the people. The nobles thought she was insane, not joining a team meant certain defeat; the twenty-odd people in the championship all considered her an enemy. They surrounded her and commenced taking turns in battling with her. In the melee, Lorelei was agile and firm footed and her blade moved as though it was an extension of her arm, flowing like it was dancing. In an instant, two or three people’s weapons were already lying on the floor. She looked like an elegant conductor, completely understanding how to use her blade: stab, swipe, thrust, each action disrupted her opponent’s defense or their dodge, accurately knocking their weapons onto the floor. After over ten swordsmen were defeated in a row, the crowd were no longer curious about who would win, but just how great Lorelei’s ability really was. So by the time that she had defeated all her opponents and stuck her sword into the center of the arena, the whole crowd fell silent. Breaking this silence, was the applause of the queen; she stood up, smiling and nodding. "I really like your ability, but I like your will even more. Maybe you really do have the ability to bring a wind of change to the Federal. The First Order of the Federal, King Blades welcome you to join anytime. " "I’d be honored, my queen. " Pure and Untarnished Lorelei gained the approval and admiration of the crowd, but the conservative nobles were still thinking of ways to use her for their own gains. She may have been clever and powerful, but she was clueless when it came to emotions and feelings. The nobles thus found a way to divert her attention and used this as a cover for their illegal businesses; but just as they were pleased with themselves for pulling the wool over her eyes, Lorelei had already silently hit back at them. Lorelei used her ability to prove herself and made everyone around her take notice. No one ever looked down on her low status again. She’s now a bright star in the Knighthood, valiant and heroic and with a limitless future. This situation alerted the conservative nobles, they thought that if they don’t sort out this problem then their own benefits would be compromised as they’d be unable to continue with their illegal trade. "That Lorelei, she’s able and clever, but she is clueless when it comes to feelings. " They had never seen Lorelei get close to a man before, let alone have a relationship with one; so if someone was able to capture her heart, then they could not only align with her, but also use the Knighthood to protect themselves. Lorelei had recently been searching all over for a shipment of smuggled goods. Coincidentally, she met a man from a family of great reputation and status. This nobleman was attracted by her charm and started courting her, trying his hardest to give her care and attention. The funny thing was, that the smugglers that she was chasing were in fact his family. They wanted to use romance to distract her. The plan worked like a charm; the intensity of her investigation waned as the two of them spent more time together. They discovered that as long as this man kept a hold of Lorelei, they were able to boldly go about their business. After they got the knack of it, they extended their business and started to become more reckless. More people became involved with the operation; not only criminal groups but also royalty. Everything seemed to be going smoothly. Today, they decided to meet an old customer out in the marshes beyond the city. But when the nobles brought the goods to the exchange point, waiting for them wasn’t their customer but fully armed and equipped members of the Knighthood. The knights wanted to arrest the noble, but were told to back off. "I’m Duke Thor! What gives you grunts the right to arrest me? " "You now know that you’re a duke, but these past two years you’ve been smuggling goods, selling arms and taking advantage of the Federal. These aren’t the actions of a duke. " Standing off with this noble, was in fact Lorelei. Lorelei came out with her nobleman, the duke had gone a pale-sheet of white out of surprise, realizing that his smuggling had been busted and had been caught in Lorelei’s trap. Their family member didn’t tip them off at all, but instead chose to go against them. This made the duke furious. "Why, you... you’ve sold out your own family! " "You first exploited my emotions, my sincere feelings for Lorelei have been used by you to harm the Federal! Luckily she has keen insight and didn’t associate me with you. " It turned out that the first time they met, Lorelei told the nobleman of her suspicions and he himself was surprised to find that his family was involved with illegal activities. After this, he was talked round by Lorelei to join in with the investigation. Their romantic activity was a cover for their investigation in order to reduce the noble family’s alertness. "I didn’t expect that someone who looked so naive would use a honey trap so effectively. You really are a cunning one.." "I’m sorry, but I wouldn’t dream of stooping to your level, using those sorts of methods. Everything I did as just to arouse his sense of justice and righteousness. "