episode_0283

Eve has no siblings. Growing up with her biological parents, she received all the love. She never interacted with anyone of a similar age within her family.

This didn’t change after she was adopted into the Imperial family. Her suddenly acquired older brothers and sisters felt distant, and she had no desire to become close to them.

To begin with, the princes and princesses weren’t particularly close. They were fundamentally political rivals competing for the right of succession, and many were not of pure blood, being adopted.

There was no reason, no hope, and no opportunity to get close; their interactions were infrequent. To Eve, they were merely fellow competitors in a race.

At least… she recognized them as people.

“Khrk—”

Common sense crumbled. Was this something you could do to a person? The Fourth Prince before her clearly hadn’t followed the Duke Darius’s “guidance.” He was a shameless man who often spoke obscenely to Eve.

But… did that mean his limbs could be chopped to pieces? Mana, rotted beyond recognition, dripped from him. His body was slowly disintegrating due to the Duke’s dark magic.

“Hmm… I was going to use him for an experiment, considering him waste, but he’s completely hopeless.”

“…”

“Third Princess?”

“…Yes?”

From the depths of her fading consciousness, Eve managed a response. Her mouth felt parched, her breath caught in her throat, making it difficult to speak.

“What are you doing? Weren’t you going to leave the disposal to you?”

“Ah… yes, yes. That’s right.”

“Now, as you said, bestow your final mercy upon them.”

Krrrduk- Buluk-

A formless mass of flesh writhed irregularly. Whether the prince was conscious was secondary; his life signs remained. He was probably feeling all the pain.

The best mercy Eve could offer him was death.

Gathering mana in her palm, she summoned a blazing magic sword and cleaved the tentacled monstrosity in two. Blazing mana charred the severed surface. Regeneration was slow enough to inflict a fatal wound.

A searing heat wave painted the air, and the monster’s body began to fragment. Eve met the prince’s eyes within.

Kmpm-

A gaze that stared straight at Eve. While no sound escaped him, his meaning was clear. She swung the sword wide, decisively severing the prince’s neck.

S-Whack-!

‘I’m sorry.’

The flames vanished, and the prince’s remains turned to ash.

…

…

…

When she regained consciousness, Eve sat alone before an empty prison cell. After Duke Darius departed, she rested briefly to regain her composure.

But the rest felt insufficient. She slightly turned her head to look at the iron bars. The remaining charred scraps of flesh were slowly melting away.

Gul-p-

The deaths of the other princes and princesses intertwined with Eve’s future. If she failed to achieve her objective, she too would die a gruesome death like them.

‘Soon… it’s magic class time.’

Eve shook off her thoughts and struggled to her feet. She climbed the seemingly endless spiral staircase and went outside.

Two small boys greeted her.

“Are you alright, Princess?”

“The Duke sent us because you were late returning.”

They were the young attendants who consistently helped Eve since she became a princess. Originally there were many maids, but Eve herself refused most of them. She didn’t want assistance with bathing or changing clothes.

“I felt a little dizzy… but I’m fine now. Thank you, Felt, Lloyd.”

These two, despite their age, possessed considerable skill and often served as Eve’s sparring partners. Duke Darius also acknowledged their abilities. While not geniuses, they were prodigies.

“If you’re really tired, I’ll carry you, Princess.”

“Stay still, Lloyd. You’re only strong, you’re too slow. Princess, I’ll carry you.”

“You’re only fast but not strong.”

“Now, now. Don’t fight. I’m fine walking.”

She’d heard that brothers usually argued like this. Eve smiled faintly, crouching down.

She placed her hands on their heads, getting down to their level. Their small eyes looked up at her.

“Family… especially siblings, should work together. Don’t fight over things like this.”

“Yes… understood, Princess.”

“Understood…”

“Right.”

Eve lightly stroked Felt and Lloyd’s hair. Then she suddenly realized she was unconsciously imitating that man. It was a rather pleasant gesture when she received it.

Slightly covering her flushed face, she stood up.

“Now, let’s go.”

“Yes! I want to train hard like you, Princess, and someday receive Duke Darius’s guidance.”

“Me too…! The Duke’s guidance—”

Eve’s relaxed expression froze again.

Psssh-

She immediately spun around and grabbed the two attendants by their shoulders. Felt and Lloyd winced slightly; Eve’s grip was too strong.

“No… absolutely, absolutely not…!!”

“P-Princess…?”

“Absolutely, do not receive Duke Darius’s guidance—”

Kruk- Kullak-

The faces of the two boys before her writhed abnormally. Their skin tore, revealing grotesque tentacles. Their bodies swelled wildly, growing to the size of a house, looking down at Eve.

A blackened sky. Red raindrops stained the imperial palace lawn.

“You— you are— now like this fol— fol—low my guid— guid—ance well—”

The voice devolved into unintelligible speech, and excruciating pain engulfed Eve’s body.

… … …

“Huk—!!”

Eve thrust herself up, like she’d been thrown against the wall. The scene before her was terribly distorted. She quickly looked around.

“What… are you alright? Why are you sweating so much?”

“…You.”

“Oh, why? Did you have a nightmare?”

That man sat beside her. The atmosphere around them was bustling. This was the Liibris Adventurer’s Guild in Naifrantz.

The vision… it must have been a terribly warped nightmare of her memories from her recent trip to the empire. Eve reached out her trembling hand before dropping it.

Thud-

The man’s hand gently overlapped hers.

“If you want to hold something, hold it. My hand is fine if you want.”

“…Yes.”

Kwaak-

Eve tightly grasped the man’s hand. Overwhelming regret washed over her. Why did she lose her composure whenever she was in front of Duke Darius? She thought she’d become used to horrible sights.

‘What… am I doing?’

Why did she kill all the thieves that day? For what purpose had this power settled in her? What did she vow as she watched her blood-soaked parents die?

She had vowed never to form a relationship with anyone again. The sorrow of loss was far greater than the happiness of intimacy. Eve believed that a person becomes stronger when alone. She did her best to survive.

Running incessantly through the darkness, she found a ray of light.

She looked at the man. His cheeks were slightly flushed from alcohol. A man whose daily routine was composed of hunting and requests so she’d never understood his true nature. A man she’d thought was callous and foul-mouthed, yet unexpectedly kind-hearted.

Why did he receive Duke Darius’s guidance? To become Emperor? To take revenge on the world?

‘…No.’

Eve decided to be honest with herself. Revenge was precarious. Death was terrifying. That wasn’t why she’d run through the darkness. It was a process.

What she had desperately longed for. It was someone to be by her side, love to possess, and happiness to protect.

Ph-ook-

Eve leaned against the man’s shoulder. Since she didn’t raise her head, he wouldn’t see her expression.

A firm resolve to remove her mask. And simultaneously, the anxiety and shame of revealing her true feelings.

The man, whom she glanced at, turned his head away, pretending not to notice. His cheeks remained flushed.

Eve smiled. Fear naturally accompanied the decision to run away. But with this man, she felt she could overcome that fear.

She’d set a direction. Now, she would only move forward, never looking back.

Even Duke Darius wouldn’t come this far to dispose of defective products. Even Eve, who was quite strong, if she concealed her appearance, it might be difficult to easily kill the remaining princes and princesses.

She had no regrets. Since the day she became alone, she had lived only for today.

Holding the man’s hand tightly, Eve softly whispered.

“…There’s a place I want to go.”

“Huh? Where?”

“It’s quite far from here, and it’s said to be dangerous, and I don’t know if we can return quickly… and also—”

“Let’s do it.”

Eve looked up at the man, blinking. Was he sure he heard correctly?

She’d made a rather unreasonable request. The man always stuck to the same route for hunting efficiency, and he would get angry if anything deviated.

But she never expected this easy consent.

“You said it, and you wouldn’t have said it so casually, would you? Actually, I wanted to try that kind of adventure too.”

“…Yes. Thank you.”

Eve drank the cup of alcohol on the table in one gulp and clung to the man’s shoulder. Even if he winced in pain, she refused to let go.

“Really… really thank you.”

“Well, for something like this… Let’s rest early tonight and start preparing properly tomorrow.”

“Yes… you’re the best…!”

“Are you drunk?”

Night deepened, and the two went to their respective lodgings to sleep. In preparation for the new day.

To break the monotonous routine and embark on an adventure.