Chapter 23

Chapter 23

Now that she had set her mind to becoming the crown princess, there was a lot to be done. She rubbed her eyes—which were very dry—and looked out the window. A fiery sunset had lit up the horizon. It was much later than she’d realized.

Maybe I should get some air.

She invisibly marked the pages of the books she’d been reading with a spell and then waved. Dozens of books closed at once. She meticulously hid her notes back up in the canopy of her bed. Bringing her new maids Lianne and Peony with her, Eve set out on a short walk.

“Where would you like to go, Your Highness?”

“Why don’t we visit the Colosso Arena?” Eve said, thinking of the homunculus training grounds on an impulse.

Since the sun was setting, she wasn’t sure if Mikael would still be training. She walked on, thinking that would be fine either way. On a pleasant coincidence, they met Mikael as he was leaving the arena.

“Princess?”

Finding Eve outside the arena, he quickly came over and greeted her politely. As if to prove how hard he had been training, his hair was damp with sweat and his cheeks and neck were still glowing with heat. Eve found his sweaty appearance oddly alluring.

“What brings you here? I would have come to you if you’d summoned me.”

With little thought behind it, Eve dismissed Lianne and Peony, and soon she and Mikael were left alone on the path. They could finally talk comfortably.

“It’s just the two of us, so you can speak informally. I’m not here for any particular reason. I was just out on a walk.”

“I see. Do you plan on continuing your walk?”

“Yes.”

“Where can I... I mean, where do you go?” Mikael asked, faltering mid-question.

Because Eve had commanded him to focus on training, he’d ended up spending the last five days only in the arena, and had not familiarized himself with anything else in the palace. The palace was the size of an average village, and navigating the grounds was still a mystery to him. Understanding his plight, Eve chuckled and took the lead.

“Come with me, Mikael. I’ll show you a beautiful place.”

The two walked side-by-side along the solitary path as the sun burned low on the horizon. The dark orange light-colored one side of Mikael’s handsome face. The harmony of the light and shadow on his features made him look like a relief carving. Mikael turned, noticing that she was looking at him. Eve found a quick topic to jump to.

“Tomorrow is the celebration.”

“I have heard you are very busy with the preparations.”

“Oh. I was just organizing a list of the important guests. I’m finished with that now.”

“Is there anything else I should be doing?” Mikael asked. “You’ll be reentering high society in only two days. I feel odd doing nothing but train.”

“You got your etiquette briefing. That’s more than enough. Sedella was surprised at how perfect your manners were.”

“Unnecessary praise.”

To Mikael, his etiquette had been nothing out of the ordinary. Seeing how little he responded to this, Eve changed the subject.

“How is life in the imperial palace so far?”

“It’s all right. Peaceful, almost.”

“No run-ins with any of my family members?”

“Not once. I’ve always been at the training grounds.”

This was satisfying to hear. Though her fears were probably a little ungrounded, she did not want Mikael to be noticed until Rosenitte’s birthday.

I don’t want Rosie to see Mikael until she has appointed her own personal knight.

If Rosenitte were to fall in love with Mikael at first sight, for example, she might go so far as to commit the ultimate discourtesy of attempting to steal Eve’s personal knight.

“We’ve arrived. This is the place, Mikael.”

Eve had brought Mikael to the palace greenhouse, famous for its beauty.

“Let’s go inside.”

Eve and Mikael climbed the marble stairs and passed under a triumphal glass arch. The glass greenhouse was the size of a small banquet hall, and the scent of flowers and grass filled their nostrils as they walked inside. The interior held a full array of colorful flowers, all showing off their sun-grown beauty. Gorgeous blooms filled a wooden cart to form a giant bouquet, and low-hanging vine plants ornamented the ceiling like beaded streamers. A huge basin holding white water lilies stood as a grand centerpiece, bringing together the elegant atmosphere. There was a melodic sound of trickling of water, though the source wasn’t visible, and a huge ornamental tree stood to one side, offering shade for people to rest in. It was so beautiful that it made one wonder if forest fairies might have decorated the place.

“What do you think?”

“Just as you said, it’s beautiful.”

“I’m glad we came here.”

Eve found a chair woven from bamboo and sat down. Her weak body was already exhausted after the climb up the stairs. Mikael stood near her, studying the ceiling of the greenhouse. The tiles of the dome, visible through the foliage, turned the sky into a jigsaw puzzle. It was a beautiful sight—one he couldn’t have even dreamt of in the barren training center. All Mikael could do was take in the view.

“I think I did well to leave the training center.”

“I’m glad to see that you like this.”

He was comparing the sky he was used to seeing—an opaque white one with a constant, roaring blizzard—to this kaleidoscope-styled sunset when he noticed something special about the greenhouse. He closed his eyes, feeling the flow of mana around him.

“Is this environment being maintained in stasis? It feels the same as the miracle magic used to change the weather, but this is on a much smaller scale, of course. But it’s surprising that it’s constantly maintained. It’s really amazing.”

“Mikael, I’m surprised you caught on. You’ve already noticed how much this place is a result of advanced magic and alchemy.”

“I don’t know alchemy, so I can’t say much in that regard, but I can see what you mean about the magic. The magical structure and the flow of mana are very delicate.”

Hearing Mikael say that, Eve remembered something she’d entirely forgotten about.

Oh right. Homunculi can’t use alchemy at all.

Homunculi, born as they were with such great talent in magic, might be expected to excel in alchemy as well. However, it was the complete opposite. They were utterly incapable of alchemy. It was similar to how people who couldn’t form mana cores in their own bodies couldn’t use any magic even if they understood all the underlying principles.

The Imperial Alchemy Association claimed that this was the way things were meant to be. According to them, just as humans—who were creations of god—could not use the powers of their creator, homunculi could not use alchemy as they’d been created with alchemy. Some even reasoned that homunculi were not supposed to be capable of procreating in the first place, and therefore they lacked the reproductive capacity. This claim had been gaining popularity recently.

Eve knew of exceptions to this rule, however. She gazed at Mikael, deep in thought.

In my previous life, Rosie told me that she’d conceived Mikael’s baby through the power of the Philosopher's Stone, lapis philosophorum. If that was true, how was it done? Perhaps the answer lies in the forbidden knowledge accessible only to emperors or their successors?

Eve’s scholastic curiosity was piqued. She decided the first thing she would investigate as a crown princess would be the matter of homunculus reproduction. Lost in thought, Eve failed to realize she was staring directly at Mikael with an intense expression of concentration.

In the end, Mikael was unable to bear Eve’s gaze any longer and asked, “Princess, what are you thinking about?”

Eve was still deep in her thoughts.

“About making babies.”

“...”

An unfiltered answer had popped out of her mouth. The words, along with her intense gaze, were ripe for misunderstanding.

“Prin... cess?”

Mikael blinked repeatedly. His reaction was understandable—generally speaking, servicing one’s master in bed was one of the more important duties of a personal knight. Would the “inspection” that had been delayed take place today?

Mikael was tongue-tied. Finally catching on to what Mikael was confused about, Eve quickly waved her hands in denial.

“Oh! No, it’s not that at all.”

“Uh... Princess, I’m sure you’re aware of this, but... homunculi cannot reproduce... Just so we’re clear.”

“Oh, yes, I know that, of course.”

“Then why were you looking at me when... If you meant something different...”

“No, no! As I said, I didn’t mean it that way! I was just thinking that if homunculi are capable of intimacy, then perhaps it is worth investigating if they are somehow also able to produce offspring. Maybe reproduction is difficult, but not impossible.”

“But then why were you looking at me when...”

He didn’t seem at all convinced. Eve spoke with a stern tone, wanting to end this line of thinking.

“You just happened to be standing there, that’s all. Don’t get any weird ideas.”

“All right...” Mikael responded.

Eve could still sense the distrust in the air, however. Feeling discomfited, Eve quickly stood.

“We should be getting back. You lead, Mikael.”

Mikael quietly did as he was told. Eve felt a little more settled to see his broad, straight back facing her, instead of his handsome face.