Chapter 12

Chapter 12

“Thank you, Rosie. I will certainly do my best to meet Father’s expectations,” Eve said.

“I’m sure you will do well. Especially since I’ve wished you luck! Now, I’d better be going,” Rosenitte said, making it sound as though well-wishes from her were guarantees for success. Then, with flagrant disregard for imperial custom, she turned around and left without waiting for permission. Even Rosenitte’s maids held their heads up high as they walked past Eve.

After such a frustrating conversation with her past murderer, Eve felt mentally drained. She gave an inward sigh. Then she realized that one of Rosenitte’s party hadn’t left yet.

“Do you truly intend to... take a personal knight?”

“Oh, Sir Millard? I thought you would have left already.”

Sylvestian seemed rooted to the floor, unable to leave despite his duty to escort Rosenitte. His face didn’t show any clear emotion, but his eyes seemed troubled.

Eve replied simply, “Yes, I do.”

“...”

The silence felt heavy. For some reason, Sylvestian looked shocked.

“Sir Millard?”

“Pardon me. If I may ask, it seems you have someone in mind...?”

“Do you know a man by the name of Mikaelis Agnito?” Eve replied.

“Agnito...? Do you mean—the one known as the Monster of the Floating Prison?”

“That’s right.”

Sylvestian’s mask of nonchalance seemed to crack slightly. He was frowning slightly as he said, “If you are looking for a knight, there are plenty—”

That was when Rosenitte called to him from farther ahead.

“Sylvestian, what are you doing?”

“My apologies, Eighth Princess. I am coming.”

Sylvestian shook himself slightly and his face became composed again. Back to looking like a sculpture of the perfect homunculus knight, he bowed politely to Eve and left.

I wonder what that was all about?

Eve didn’t linger on the subject for very long, however. She knew very little about him, and had much more important business to focus on anyway.

Eve and Sedella headed to the Chamberlain's Office, which was located to the northwest of the main palace. The Chamberlain's Office was in charge of all affairs that concerned the imperial family, and also managed personal knight selection ceremonies. Since the imperial missive had been sent earlier, the office had dispatched someone for her already.

An old male official came out to greet Eve.

“Allow me to be your guide, Seventh Princess.”

“Yes, please. Thank you.”

Eve and Sedella stepped onto an exclusive warp portal that was used only by the imperial family. White light spewed from the floor and surrounded them both. Their destination was the homunculus training center.

❇

The Homunculus Management Act, a great blight on the empire in Eve’s opinion, largely consisted of two things. The first was that the alchemy used to create homunculi was forbidden to all except the emperor himself. The second was that these homunculi were given roles according to their skill ratings. In the Hadelamid Empire, around one hundred homunculus infants were created every year, and these were all sent to the training center—one might also call it a prison.

The homunculus training center was located within a valley of a polar region, unmarked even on maps of the empire. The only way to access the place was through an ultra-long-distance warp portal. The region itself had perpetual blizzards and could not support human life. Only by maintaining more than 10 distinct magical barriers around the camp was the facility able to be inhabitable. Here, homunculi were trained and educated for decades to become suitable slaves for the imperial family. Only those who passed a screening process and attained a high rating were allowed to go to the palace and become personal knights or knights of the Imperial Guard.

While even the homunculi with high ratings were treated as nothing more than expendable playthings by the imperial family, those with lower ratings had truly tragic fates. Those with middling ratings were sent to outposts for battling monsters and demonic dragons that threatened the empire. They would be placed on the front lines of any life-threatening encounter. Homunculi with low ratings had their mana pathways disabled and were used for extreme physical labor such as construction or mining—essentially slave labor.

It is really strange that no rebellion has occurred before this point, Eve thought.

Muted howls suddenly whipped all around them. Even with 13 separate barriers, the squalls of the harsh winds were audible. The barriers, forming a translucent hemisphere, showed completely white surroundings on the outside. Eve got the feeling that if she ventured out, she’d be met with a blank, white void—like a world before the creation of anything.

“Oh, it’s so cold.”

“Take my hand, Sedella,” said Eve, warming Sedella’s body with her magic.

The entrance to the facility lay at the center of a crater, and magical flight was required to get in and out. This was an additional measure to prevent homunculi from escaping. Homunculi in the facility were forced to constantly wear mana suppressors, making it impossible for them to escape over the crater walls.

A middle-aged noble and two adult homunculi were waiting at the entrance.

“It is an honor to meet you, Seventh Princess. I am Baronet Pete Ercah, managing director of the homunculus training center. I was notified earlier of your arrival.”

“These are very harsh conditions you work in, Sir Ercah.”

“Ah, one gets used to it after some time. Please allow me to take you to the floating prison.”

The pathway that led to the floating prison was a bare tunnel bored through solid rock and lined with a few magical lanterns.

Actually, it felt closer to a cave than a tunnel.

It’s like I’m in some kind of mine.

Baronet Ercah was concerned Eve might be bored, so he brought up a subject that he thought would be of interest to her.

“Your Highness, allow me to share an interesting fact with you that you may not be aware of. All of the homunculi who are seen in the outside world have dark hair, usually brown or black.”

“Yes.”

“The homunculi here actually all have light-colored hair. The mana suppressors they wear block huge amounts of mana over an extended period, which causes their hair to lose color. Only after removing their suppressors does their darker hair color return.”

“Ah, I am aware of that. That is why a homunculi like Sylvestian Millard, who retains his silver hair, is seen as special, right?”

Sylvestian had been chosen by Rosenitte purely for his unique hair color, rather than his abilities. It was a testament to how little variation there was to homunculus hair color. Mikaelis Agnito—King of the Homunculi in Eve’s previous life—had also had plain black hair.

“Ah. I guess this has become well known in the palace thanks to Sir Millard. I myself only learned of it after being assigned to manage this training center. I found it fascinating—like how newborn insects are often translucent before their exoskeletons oxidize and harden after being exposed to air.”

“...”

This was the level they were at—comparing homunculi to insects. Baronet Ercah finally reached the point of this drawn-out topic.

“The Monster of the Floating Prison that you are going to meet is still wearing his mana suppressor, so you can see his unique hair color for yourself, Your Highness.”

“Is that so?”

Would she see a Mikael with silver or even golden hair?

Eve couldn’t imagine him with anything other than his dark, black as midnight hair. That was all she’d seen him with for many years.

“We have arrived, Your Highness.”

They had reached a huge recess in the rock. The cavern was enormous, evocative of some dragon’s lair, and a contraption that looked like a giant birdcage hung from a chain that stretched all the way up to the ceiling.

So this was the “floating prison.”

He is in that cage.

Eve swallowed nervously, her throat like sandpaper. The prison was so high up that she had to crane her neck to see it. They rode a floating platform to the door of the suspended cell, and Eve could finally see inside.

A homunculus stood there. Despite the extreme location of his confinement, he also wore cuffs on his hands, feet, and neck, which were all connected to mana suppressors. He leaned against the bars with his eyes closed, looking like a bird robbed of its ability to fly. This was Mikael as he was eight years prior to Eve’s death. Seeing him now, Eve realized something.

Ah, so that’s why you were named Mikael.

His hair resembled that of the legendary prince of archangels, containing a gold that shone with the brilliance of pink azaleas. Such vibrantly pink hair was not something Eve had ever expected, though she thought it actually looked pretty good on him. Of course, with his attractive face, anything would have suited him.

Even still, despite his sad state and the squalid conditions, he looked extremely handsome. Because Mikael had been in this cell for three years, his unkempt hair resembled a mane that fell past his shoulders. It made him look vaguely like some kind of mystical beast as he stood, trapped in the cage. A member of the imperial family with a perverse collector’s penchant might have wished to keep him just for the looks alone.

While Eve was lost in a confusing jumble of thoughts, Baronet Ercah spoke excitedly,

“Look at that— Bright pink! Isn’t that unique? I don’t think I’ve ever seen a homunculus with that hair color. Maybe this is why homunculi are often compared to dolls.”

“...”

Eve did not respond to this derogatory remark. Someone else did, however. Mikael, who’d appeared to be asleep up till now, suddenly opened his eyes and looked directly at Eve.