Evangeline
The First Imperial Princess, Evangeline de Babel.
In the years to come she would purge every rival—her own brothers and sisters among them—and seize the imperial throne. A monster among monsters. To the nobility she was a bloodless tyrant who could wipe out an entire house over the pettiest slight; to the common people she was hailed as a sage ruler. A woman of two faces.
Evangeline was a ruthless meritocrat who loathed incompetence as if it were a sin. After she became emperor, she enacted radical laws that would raise even a slave to office, so long as they had ability, and under her the empire became the richest and most powerful nation in its history.
…Of course, it went without saying how many nobles and officials were ground to dust along the way.
And yet…
She's younger than I expected.
A girl sat by the window, reading. Sunlight caught her golden hair and sent it spilling past her shoulders, smooth as silk. A youthful face, large eyes, cheeks that still held a trace of baby fat—even being generous, she looked no older than a middle schooler.
In the original, the princess was seventeen.
The girl before me looked thirteen at most. Which meant I had fallen several years further into the past than the novel's starting point… Had I come back too far? The thought crossed my mind, but it hardly mattered. I wasn't going to get tangled up in events that wouldn't happen for years. Why should I care?
I immediately performed the bow I had practiced for a full month in the Imperial Palace, dropping to one knee and lowering my head.
"It is an infinite honor to be granted an audience with Your Highness the First Imperial Princess, august sun of the Empire."
"Raise your head."
The voice was cold, and yet still unbroken—a child's, not yet past the change.
"Yes, Your Highness."
When I looked up, I could see Evangeline's face more clearly.
…And she seemed to be avoiding my eyes. She couldn't meet my gaze; her eyes drifted uneasily past my shoulder, and a faint blush colored her cheeks.
Hm. Have I already made a bad impression?
Uneasy, I glanced aside at the knight standing guard beside her. A blonde woman stood motionless next to Evangeline's chair, watching me. She looked three or four years older than the princess.
…Christina.
I swallowed dryly.
In time she would be called the Golden Knight and rise into the ranks of the Empire's Ten Strongest—a genius of the sword, the youngest Swordmaster ever. The First Princess's most trusted retainer, and the butcher who served as her hands and feet, cutting down countless people.
…One wrong word, and that blade takes my head.
Careful. I was walking on thin ice.
"You… where do you come from?"
At last, Evangeline's mouth opened.
"I am from the Jarvan Barony, Your Highness."
At my words she turned to the maid standing in attendance beside her.
"Where is the Jarvan territory?"
"A small domain two days from the capital, Your Highness. Hardly a place worthy of your attention."
At the maid's answer Evangeline gave a slight nod, then looked back at me.
"Then you are of common birth?"
"Yes. That is correct."
At my answer she tilted her head a little. Her lips parted as if she meant to ask something more, then pressed shut again.
Silence fell. A suffocating silence.
Shit. Did I do something wrong?
Cold sweat ran down my back. Did she dislike that I was a commoner? Or had the way I answered offended her?
Then Evangeline spoke again.
"A commoner… how did you come to be a palace attendant?"
Her voice was cold as ice, but if I listened closely, it trembled—just barely.
Is she so offended she's holding her anger in?
A horrible thought flashed through my mind. I held my posture as humble and servile as I could and answered.
"Far beyond my station, His Excellency the Chancellor and Count Garen granted me an opportunity. I have no special talent, but I will carry out whatever duty I am given, even at the cost of my life."
I pressed the plea—please just let me live—down as deep as it would go.
Hearing me, Evangeline said nothing. She only gave a small nod.
Silence again.
I'm going insane. Say something. Anything!
If she would just get angry, I could deal with it. This… this was a talent for draining a man's blood dry.
After leaving me standing there a long while, lost in thought, Evangeline finally spoke again.
"Is life in the palace… manageable?"
This time her voice shook even worse than before. She even stammered. Her fist was clenched tight upon her knee, the veins standing out clearly on the back of her pale hand.
It's over. My life ends here.
I knew it by instinct. That was the signal just before rage exploded. She must have been disgusted that a mere commoner would dare speak of palace life at all.
I answered on the verge of tears.
"I am unworthy of such grace, Your Highness! Every morning when I open my eyes, I weep with gratitude for the greatness of the Empire and the mercy of the imperial house!"
At my exaggerated reply, Evangeline's shoulders flinched and trembled. As if she could bear it no longer, she dropped her head. The tips of her ears, flushed scarlet, showed for an instant through her golden hair.
I'm dead. My head's coming off.
I squeezed my eyes shut. I could almost hear the sword leaving the scabbard at Christina's hip.
…And yet nothing happened.
A long moment passed. Evangeline, head still bowed, seemed at last to reach a decision and drew in a deep breath. Then she slowly raised her head. For the first time—only for an instant—she met my eyes directly. A blush still lingered on her cheeks, but her blue eyes held a firm resolve.
"From now on… serve me well."
Her voice still trembled a little, but there was no mistaking the weight of command in it.
I dropped to one knee again, almost by reflex.
"Yes, Your Highness."
Only after the words left me did I realize I had been holding my breath. I let the air out of my lungs slowly, very slowly, and felt the cold sweat along my spine cool against my skin.
Whew. I was alive. I had very nearly died for real.
I kept my head lowered and studied the two of them from the corner of my eye. For now, the princess didn't seem intent on killing me on the spot. I had thought she was suppressing her anger, but maybe that wasn't it. No—I couldn't let my guard down. There was no reading a tyrant's heart. Christina, standing beside her, still wore an expression like ice, but I sensed no hostility directed at me.
Good. The first impression, at least, hadn't been the worst. If I kept my head down and lived here quiet as a dead mouse, doing exactly as I was told, I might survive somehow.
Except—
…Damn it. I won't be able to quit for a while.
The contract with the words right to resign freely flashed through my mind. That had been my only insurance, and in the present situation it was a scrap of paper worth nothing. What would happen if I stormed off to the Chancellor in a fit of temper and shouted that I quit? That child tyrant would probably throw a fit. She would take it as an insult that a mere commoner had dared refuse her favor. In the worst case, she might form a pursuit party under Christina and chase me to the ends of the empire to take my head.
Endurance is the only play.
A few months at minimum. A year, if it came to that. I would have to humor that child tyrant and play the perfect attendant until she grew used to my existence and let her guard down. Then I would take every coin I had saved and flee in the night. That was the only way I would survive.
My dream of a peaceful life as a café owner would have to wait a little longer.
When I was told that a new attendant, recommended by Chancellor Cassian, would be arriving, I did not react. He would be one face among the many that passed through. Not worth my attention.
I heard him enter at the Chief Chamberlain's guidance and drop to one knee.
"It is an infinite honor to be granted an audience with Your Highness the First Imperial Princess, august sun of the Empire."
The voice. Strangely, it was a voice that caught at the ear. Before I knew it, my eyes had left the book and turned to him.
And for the first time, I saw him.
In that moment, every thought in my head stopped. My mind went blank.
Was that… truly a human face?
No. I had to keep my composure. I was an imperial princess. I could not be shaken before a single attendant.
"Raise your head."
The voice I forced out, straining for dignity, seemed to tremble like a fool's.
He raised his head completely.
I… forgot how to breathe. The instant my eyes met his blue ones, my heart thudded hard. I felt an unfamiliar heat rushing to my cheeks and hastily looked away. He must not see my face as it was now. I must never let him see me this flustered.
"You… where do you come from?"
To break the silence, I barely managed the question. I couldn't tell whether my voice was coming out properly.
"I am from the Jarvan Barony, Your Highness."
Hearing his answer, I turned to the maid beside me and asked where that was. I needed time to think. Time to calm this ridiculous pounding of my heart.
"Then you are of common birth?"
"Yes. That is correct."
A commoner. With a face that noble, and he was a commoner.
"A commoner… how did you come to be a palace attendant?"
The question slipped out before I could restrain my curiosity. And sure enough, my voice trembled again, ever so slightly. I clenched the fist on my knee so I would not be found out.
"Far beyond my station, His Excellency the Chancellor and Count Garen granted me an opportunity. I have no special talent, but I will carry out whatever duty I am given, even at the cost of my life."
"Is life in the palace… manageable?"
Why was I even asking such a thing? It wasn't like me.
"I am unworthy of such grace, Your Highness! Every morning when I open my eyes, I weep with gratitude for the greatness of the Empire and the mercy of the imperial house!"
At his exaggerated flattery, I nearly burst out laughing before I could stop myself.
Laughter? Me? In front of a mere attendant?
The heat in my face grew so fierce I thought it might burst, and in the end I lowered my head, hiding my scarlet ears behind my golden hair.
I must not show this. I am an imperial princess. I must set an example.
I had to put an end to this confusion. I drew a deep breath, gathered every shred of a princess's dignity, and raised my head. And for the first time—only for an instant—I met his eyes directly. My heart seemed to drop all the way to my feet.
"From now on… serve me well."
This was my command. Under my control, everything had to be set right.
"Yes, Your Highness."
With his answer, I could no longer bring myself to look at him.
"You may withdraw. The Chief Chamberlain will instruct you in your next duties."
The moment the words left me, he turned with perfect etiquette and quietly left the room. Only after I heard the door close did I let the posture I had been forcing collapse, and sink back against the chair.
"Haa…"
The breath I had been holding burst out as a sigh. My cheeks still had not cooled, and my heart was trembling faintly.
I looked up and spoke to Christina, who still stood guard at my side. This feeling I could not understand myself—perhaps she could explain it, even a little.
"Christina. What do you make of him?"
"…I do not believe he approached Your Highness with any hidden design."
Christina's voice, as she answered. In that voice, always hard as steel and never shaken, there was the faintest tremor.
In that instant, something unpleasant surged up inside me.
Just now… what did she say?
I frowned before I knew it, then caught myself.
…What is this feeling?
Displeasure. A petty, mean feeling, as if I did not wish to share something precious of mine.
Christina and I had been together since childhood. She was my only friend, and my most trusted knight. Not once had I felt anything like this toward her. And yet why did her assessment of a mere attendant sour my mood so badly?
I floundered in a feeling I could not understand, then let out a short laugh.
Yes. So that was it.
To this tedious palace…
I looked at the closed door and murmured inwardly.
It seems a rather amusing toy has arrived.
For now, I decided to think of it that way.