Revolutionary Princess Eve

Chapter 1

The imperial family of Hadelamid had met its end; and it was treachery, of all things, that spelled its demise.

Eve, the seventh princess, could easily predict what was coming. It wouldn’t even surprise her if today heralded her execution.

She sighed. I knew this day would come.

It was the foolish members of the imperial family who had brought this fate upon themselves. In order to secure their absolute power, they had turned to the “homunculi,” created using a forbidden technique in alchemy.

A “homunculus” is a human manipulated from birth by alchemy to excel in both the use of magic and sword. Loyalty to the imperial family was imprinted in the homunculi’s brains, and they were sent on all kinds of perilous missions, ostensibly for the sake of the empire, keeping the peace, and maintaining a strong, prosperous military. Many homunculi died battling monsters, and others were often exploited for their labor in the magic stone mines.

Homunculi acknowledged for their exceptional talent were granted knighthoods and given slightly better treatment, but even they still had to perform arduous assignments for the imperial family. In reality, they were treated no differently than slaves. Although called imperial guards in the palace, that designation meant little.

Thus, it was only to be expected that the homunculi would harbor resentment toward the imperial family, considering the harsh reality of their lives. An insurrection had been all but guaranteed.

If only my father had listened to my petition early on that the homunculus system needed reform. But unfortunately, he only had ears for my third sister.

And if the Emperor, Desmond II, had done nothing to change the precarious situation, Brigitte—third of the emperor’s daughters and proclaimed heir to the throne—only made things worse.

The exploitation of the homunculi worsened after Brigitte began exercising her newfound power. Outside the imperial palace, the homunculi were forced to risk their lives on dangerous conquests and in physical labor with abhorrent conditions, while inside the palace, they were requisitioned into Brigitte’s harem—sullying their honor as knights. Unable to stand by and do nothing, Eve had begun looking into how to depose the crown princess.

Eve had always been a thorn in her sister’s side, and Brigitte had already been planning to have Eve married off and sent to some distant kingdom to get her out of the way. Settling the fate of an imperial princess with no political clout was easy. Eve’s marriage of convenience was decided by imperial decree. However, the marriage didn’t go through.

During this time, in the space of a single week, one man mobilized all the homunculus knights in the imperial palace and began a rebellion.

Sir Agnito...

Eve thought bitterly, her face darkening.

The traitor, Mikaelis Agnito, was named “King of the Homunculi.” He was a man born with an intrinsic immunity to the imperial family’s brainwashing ritual and was thus a natural leader who could organize the embittered homunculi and reign absolute over them.

Trusting too fully in the power of the brainwashing ritual, Desmond II let down his guard—Agnito cut off his head and became the new emperor. In his new position, he then commanded that all members of the Hadelamid imperial family be killed. Not even those who had married and left to their new families were to be spared. If anyone had so much as a drop of imperial blood in them, he made sure they were sent to the executioner’s block. This action alone showed just how much this new emperor hated the imperial family, who had oppressed his kind for so long.

Eve sighed in regret. She was also to be executed for the crimes of the imperial family.

If I’d known this would happen, I’d have become crown princess myself and tried to change things.

She’d considered the throne off-limits to one such as herself. However, from how dismally the imperial family had met its ruin, Eve thought that maybe she had been selling herself short.

I wouldn’t have messed up as badly as my third sister, at least.

She’d thought this a thousand times over the past month. In fact, she’d nearly brainwashed herself with false confidence in her unproven political acumen. If she could be granted a second chance at life, she was certain that she’d be capable of claiming the throne for herself. This kind of thinking was meaningless in the face of death, however. It was nothing more than a futile attempt at avoiding her reality. Eve decided to quit her wishful thinking and face the facts.

Soon Rosenitte will be the only living member of the imperial family.

The new emperor had decided to leave one princess alive so he could marry her. Receiving the empire in the form of a dowry would be the most hassle-free way to gain ruling power.

In addition, the “Philosopher's Stone,” a symbol of the emperor, would only respond to those with imperial blood in their veins. The new emperor needed a woman with Hadelamid blood to access the power of the Philosopher's Stone.

Unfortunately, Eve didn’t even get a chance to be the one valued family member. Eve was anything but the docile and stupid woman that the emperor wanted. The new emperor chose Rosenitte, the eighth princess, who fell for him so hard that she would have given him her literal heart if he’d asked.

I wouldn’t have wanted to live if that’s what it took anyway. Any regrets I have should be about failing to become the crown princess.

That was when she heard footsteps in the corridor. A figure slowly melted out of the darkness.

“You are awake, seventh princess.”

“Sir Agnito?”

She wondered if her eyes were playing tricks on her... but it seemed to really be him. He was a handsome, dark-haired man that, despite his stoic knight outfit, oozed with allure. There was none other like him in the empire.

Mikaelis Agnito. He was an imperial guard and the personal knight of Eve’s half-sister, the eighth princess, Rosenitte.

The traitor-turned-emperor, who now owned the entire empire, stood before her.

“You don’t look too happy to see me.”

Mikaelis had once treated all members of the imperial family—including Eve—with the utmost respect, but now that he was emperor, he had dropped all decency.

Click.

Mikael swiftly unlocked the cell door and came inside.

“What do you want, Sir Agnito?”

“I came to see how you were doing, seventh princess.”

They were not close enough for him to care about such things. It was more likely that he wanted to see how she was dealing with her impending execution.

Eve had no intention of giving him the satisfaction. She forced herself to smile.

“You didn’t have to come so early in the morning to see me. You’ve only just taken control of the empire. I suppose you must be quite busy at the moment—what with the sudden change in status and your lack of knowledge about being a ruler.”

“Oh, yes. Things were really quite hectic for a month. I’ve only now just managed to find time to come and check on you.”

Perhaps there hadn’t been enough sarcasm in her tone. Mikael’s response sounded so ordinary, almost innocent. Depending on how one interpreted it, one might even think his tone was slightly apologetic. Mikael’s attitude actually made her heart sink. Apparently, to him, she wasn’t even worth mocking.

“Come to check on me? That sounds a little too friendly for my liking. The thing is, I hardly need your care, Sir Agnito,” said Eve.

Mikael didn’t seem to register her refusal. In fact, he actually took a step closer.

“Eve.”

Eve flinched. He’d never called her by her name, much less her nickname.

It was too early on to be surprised at his informal attitude, however. Mikael suddenly gripped the back of Eve’s chair and bent over, bringing his handsome face very close to hers.

“Your long incarceration seems to have made you quite upset. You’re free to resent me all you like for your sad fate. But don’t think I have nothing to say to you.”

“OK, I understand, but would you back away a bit please, I don’t like—”

“Evienrose, seventh princess. You should have chosen me.”

“What?”

“If you’d chosen me as your personal knight, you would not be here right now.”

“...”

Eve’s eyes grew wide at this unexpected comment.

Each member of the imperial family was allowed to choose one of the homunculi of the imperial guard as their “personal knight.” A personal knight was duty-bound to show nothing but absolute loyalty to the princess or prince that chose them. The members of the imperial family, on the other hand, often treated their personal knights as disposable. There were always more where they came from, after all.

It had been for this reason that Eve had refused to choose a personal knight her entire life. The imperial family had criticized her for this choice, saying she was ignoring imperial tradition and lacking in propriety.

The eighth princess, Rosenitte, on the other hand, had impassively dismissed her own personal knight in favor of Mikael, with whom she’d fallen head over heels in love.

You planned to use Rosenitte from the start.

A more accurate telling of events would be that it had, in fact, been Mikael who had selected Rosenitte, likely because she was the easiest to exploit.

“Mikael,” said Eve.

He’d casually used her nickname first, so she chose to do the same.

“You’re saying that if I’d chosen you, things would have been different?”

Eve gave a short, derisive laugh.

She continued, “I suppose you have a point. If I’d played Rosie’s part, I likely would have survived. It wasn’t specifically Rosie you needed, after all, Mikael, but a foolish princess who would fall in love with you and do anything you wanted.”

“I won’t deny it.”

It was a clear admission. Eve gave a satisfied smile.

“You should have worked on your charm a little more so you could have had me instead.”

“Ha.”

It was a meaningless provocation, but strangely enough, it was having an effect. Mikael seldom showed any emotion, but right now he looked offended.

“You know, you really...”

She expected him to say that she was disappointing. But what he said next with a hollow laugh was hardly that.

“...aren’t an easy woman.”

“...”

Mikael finally pulled his face away from hers. That was when quick, loud footsteps could be heard approaching the cell. A soldier came running up and reported to Mikael.

“Your Majesty! The imperial princess, uh, I mean, the empress, has asked to see you.”

“What is it? If it’s not urgent, tell her to wait.”

“Well, sire, she says something may have happened to her baby...”

Eve could hear their conversation clearly.

Her baby?

Mikael furrowed his brow, looking troubled.

“The imperial bloodline is too precious... I must go see this. We’ll continue this conversation later, Eve,” Mikael said, showing a clear reluctance to leave as he walked away.