Revolutionary Princess Eve

Chapter 2

Eve was once again alone in her cold cell. Mikael had implied they would meet again.

The words lingered in her mind. “We’ll continue this conversation later...”

He must have been referring to the execution.

Her prison cell was named “Birdcage.” It had a reputation. No one imprisoned in it had ever left alive.

Mikael’s words obviously meant that Eve was to die today. Though she had grown accustomed to fearful, lonely thoughts, her hands begin to tremble again.

Click clack click clack...

The sound of heels warned of another visitor. This time it was a blonde woman in a luxurious dress and fur robe. She strode up to the bars, looking quite pleased with herself.

“It’s been a while, dear sister.”

“Ah...Rosie. Yes, it has been a while.”

Ever since she was a child, Rosenitte had been known as the “white rose of the empire.” Even with age, her blinding beauty hadn’t diminished.

The imperial family was ruined, the heads of her parents and siblings chopped off, and yet there was not even a single wrinkle of distress on Rosenitte’s face. In fact, she looked thrilled—like she had everything she’d ever wanted. Eve knew it was pointless to criticize her sister’s lack of decorum. Rosenitte was a simple princess who’d built her world to be a garden of roses, and Mikael was at its center.

She noticed that Rosenitte’s dress was designed for a pregnant woman, and it showed a slight bulge in her belly. That fully grabbed her attention. Eve’s eyes went wide.

“My goodness. Rosie! You really are pregnant!”

“Yes. And it’s Mikael’s baby.”

“Mikael’s?” Eve said incredulously.

The homunculi’s life force came from alchemy, so even though they were capable of having sexual relations, they were ultimately infertile. This was another way the imperial family abused the homunculi, treating their personal knights as trivial sex toys.

Rosenitte caught Eve’s doubtful look and responded savagely.

“You don’t believe me. You think I slept with another man, then, to have this baby?”

“N... no, I wasn’t thinking that, truly! It’s just that I didn’t know it was physically possible.”

“Well the evidence is here in front of you, isn’t it? You should know the Philosopher’s Stone is almighty. Nothing is impossible with its power. The child inside me is Mikael’s and mine! Our love has finally borne fruit.”

Rosenitte’s tone grew more and more aggressive, as though she was confronting a personal enemy.

“Okay, okay...” Eve said, bowing to Rosenitte’s forceful voice.

Eve tried to take on a gentler tone.

“If you’re looking for Sir Agnito, he left to see you a short time ago. I guess you just missed each other.”

“No. I came to see you.”

“Me? What for?”

“I heard you were being executed today. I came because I was worried about you.”

Despite her words, Rosenitte did not look the least bit concerned.

“So, it is today...” Eve mumbled, reeling back in shock upon hearing confirmation of the date. However, Rosenitte did not pause in speaking.

“Do you know how our father and siblings were put to death?”

“How could you ask me such a thing now?”

“Well I suppose you don’t, then. Aren’t you curious? Would you like to guess?”

“How could you think to ask me something so inappropriate?!”

“Goodness! There’s no need to get angry. You’ll upset the growing baby. I’m just here to give you some information, that’s all.”

“I really don’t want to know.”

“It would be better if you knew.”

Eve decided to say no more. But Rosenitte seemed intent on saying what she wanted to say anyway.

“Our family members were all executed by their personal knights. Mikael thoughtfully allowed his own kind the pleasure of killing their most hated enemies with their own hands.”

“Their personal knights... killed them?”

“Yes. It was open season for revenge. Every imperial execution has been cruel to the extreme. Brigitte’s was the worst—she was burned.”

“Burned...!”

Burning to death was the most painful death Eve could possibly imagine. She shuddered noticeably. Even though she’d accepted her family members’ fates as payment for their sinful crimes, it was still hard to maintain her composure.

Rosenitte smiled to herself as she watched her sister shake.

Our poor, innocent Eve. You were likely imagining a quick, clean death, like from a guillotine.

“My poor sister, this must be quite a shock. Are you all right?”

“...”

Her words were hardly consoling—not that they were meant to be.

Eve took a deep breath and made an effort to speak without faltering.

“But I... I’ve never had a personal knight.”

“Still, you can’t be so naive as to imagine there won’t be at least one homunculus knight who harbors resentment toward you?”

“No... of course not.”

“Yes, that’s right. Actually, the homunculus who will accompany you to your execution has already been decided.”

Eve couldn’t help herself.

“Who is it?”

“Mikael.”

“...”

Eve felt her stomach plummet at his name.

“He’ll... be the one to kill me?”

Of all the homunculi, Mikael was the one? He hated her so much that he wanted to deal with her personally?

After taking a second to absorb the shock, Eve brought herself to believe it. Mikael hated the entire imperial family with a passion. Surely Eve was no exception. Perhaps he hated her more than the others because of her refusal to have a personal knight of her own—after all, wasn’t it hypocritical that she hadn’t actually done anything to improve the system? Hypocrisy could cultivate a much greater hatred than mere ill will.

“Well... I guess I can understand why he would hate me so much.”

“...Exactly. Mikael truly hated you. He hated you so, so much.”

Rosenitte’s eyes darkened as her fingers tightened around the little ceramic bottle hidden under her clothing.

“Would you like to know how you’ll be executed?”

“Please stop, Rosie. I don’t want to hear anymore.”

“No. You must hear this. Your method of execution will be decapitation.”

“...!”

Decapitations in the Hadelamid empire were a barbaric and brutal way to die. The axe used for the task was intentionally left with a dull blade. In fact, it was really closer to a blunt weapon. No executioner could kill the person with a single blow. It usually took at least five to six blows, and sometimes even ten swings still wasn’t enough to fully kill the victim. No sane person could endure even the thought of such pain.

“No... No...”

Eve’s body trembled violently with fear. Rosenitte could not hide how pleased she felt at this. With an angelic guise, she whispered in a sickly-sweet tone, “Don’t you worry. That’s why I’m here to help. Take this.”

“What... is this?”

Rosenitte had handed her a ceramic bottle like it was some precious perfume. Her voice sounded beyond soothing, filling Eve’s head.

“This is poison from the belladonna plant. It will bring you a swift, painless death.”

“...!”

“Isn’t this preferable to such a painful execution by decapitation?”

“...”

Eve’s heart beat wildly at what seemed to be such a generous gesture on Rosenitte’s part. It took several deep breaths for her to be able to speak.

“Th... thank you, Rosie.”

“It was the least I could do.”

“Handling this poison when you’re with child... I can’t believe that you would take such a risk for me. I’ll... handle the rest. Taking this poison is by my own choice, so please don’t feel guilty about it.”

“But of course... Why would I?”

Rosenitte’s final remark had a malicious edge, but Eve failed to notice. All her time locked in the Birdcage and the terror of a brutal death filled her mind, leaving room for nothing else.

“Well... farewell, Rosie.”

“Yes, so long, sister.”

But despite her goodbye, Rosenitte didn’t leave. She continued to stand, watching Eve.

“Oh, um... You won’t be heading back now, Rosie?”

“What do you mean? How could I leave when you haven’t drunk the poison yet?”

Rosenitte was growing impatient.

“You need someone to be here to see you off, dear sister.”

She even reached through the bars and uncorked the bottle herself.

“Now, there you go. Drink up.”

“...”

“Go on.”

Rosenitte pressed her as if she was in a hurry, or perhaps as if she had a goal just within reach.

Under normal circumstances, Eve would have detected something amiss at this point. But not now, however. She was not herself.

“Oh...”

A sticky sweet, pleasant scent wafted up from the open bottle, drawing Eve in to drink it. The smell was enticing, magically irresistible. Overwhelmed by the enticement spell woven into the bottle, Eve brought the poison to her lips without a second thought.

She gulped down the brown liquid.

Clunk!

“Urgh!”

The distilled belladonna poison took effect instantly.

At least... it’s fast...

Her amber eyes began to glaze over and her vision darkened. Her breathing slowed and she sunk to the floor, unable to move.

Rosenitte leaned down toward her sister, peering at her corpse-like body, though she was not completely dead yet.

“My dear sister, do you know what belladonna symbolizes?”

“...”

Eve knew the answer. In the language of flowers, the vile belladonna plant conveyed the message, “I curse you.”

But why tell me this now?

Eve wondered as her life ebbed away. And then she got her answer.

“Have you died yet?”

“...”

“Are you dead now?”

“...”

“You’re finally dead, aren’t you?”

“...”

There was unmistakable joy in Rosenitte’s voice.

“Ha, haha...”

“...”

“Hahaha! I’ve done it! With you dead, nothing stands in my way. I’m the only one left! Mikael is all mine, and I’ll be the undisputed empress! It’s all mine! Ahahaha!”

Her manic laugh echoed through the cell.

Rosie... what...?!

Eve finally understood that something was very, very wrong. But the poison didn’t allow her enough time to complete her thoughts.

“Thank you so much for dying, my stupid, naive sister.”

“...”

That cruel, vindictive goodbye was the last thing Eve heard before taking her last breath. She’d been tricked and poisoned by her half-sister.

Such was the fate of Evienrose Chloelle Hadelamid, aged 27.