'The Princess does not use me as such a tool.'
Michael swallowed the words he could not bear to say out loud. In this corrupt imperial palace, Eve seemed to be the only source of comfort.
Meanwhile, Stefania and Derek found Michael guilty on their own.
“It is clear that Michaelis Agnito is unqualified to be a direct knight.”
“It is a shame for the imperial family to keep the flawed homunculus it in the palace.”
According to the Homunculus Management Act, properly perform the role appropriate to your grade. If you fail to do so, you will be required to re-evaluate the grade. Giving satisfaction to the royal family at night is the greatest duty of a direct knight, isn't it? A homunculus who cannot properly perform his duties deserves to be demoted.”
“You’re right, Derek.”
Their goal from the beginning was to create a justification for Michael's expulsion.
“We’ll even add a scandalous crime and demote him to the lowest level. It would be better to seal the mana circuit and bury him in a magic gemstone mine for the rest of his life.”
“Hoo. Isn't Father's troubles deep these days due to the decrease in the amount of magic gemstones mined? It’s a good idea.”
Of course, no matter how much Stefania and Derek were royals, it was difficult to adjust Michael's grade based on the raw material alone.
So they decided to use another method that was as despicable as human nature.
“The faster you get things done, the better. Here, let’s give Michaelis Agnito a clear reason to leave the palace.”
“I guess so. Eve, she’s prone to petty things, so we should take care of her.”
Stefania's eyes, looking down at Michael, sparkled brightly.
“Well, just one place is crippled. I’ll take it.”
Michael realized that the worst thing he had ever imagined had happened.
'It's dangerous.'
Michael had already completed the oath of allegiance ceremony by Desmond II, couldn't go against the royal family.
His body was in a state where he could not fight back no matter what violent or absurd situation he was in.
“Ritver. Snorret.”
The two subordinate knights seemed to understand all of the orders just by hearing their names.
They took their hands off Michael's shoulders. Only then, Michael was free from the force pressing his knees, but there was no time for relief.
The sound of two direct knights drawing their swords reached his ears.
Michael, who immediately took a defensive stance, instinctively placed his right hand on the hilt of his sword.
He took it and stopped. That hesitation was wise.
Unless Eve, Michael's owner, is by his side, if he were to strike a sword, there was a high chance that he would be falsely accused of threatening royal life by drawing his sword first in front of the royal family.
That gave Stefania and Derek a justification to dispose of Michael.
'I guess I should aim to survive.'
He counts his tattered left knee.
Michael stood up and tensed his whole body.
At the same time, Eve was being questioned on a similar topic by the older princesses.
“I heard that the knight under your direct command has not served you at night for over a month?”
"Oh my God. Does that make sense? Homunculus is so useful at night.”
“We have come forward because we feel like you are not utilizing your direct knight properly.”
I never imagined that I would hear stories about sleep openly.
Even though it was a place where only sisters were present, it was extremely vulgar and had no class.
‘Well, this is the royal family using homunculus as legal bedroom slaves. It's the average.'
The imperial palace is the Emperor's residence, a shrine to alchemy, and the center of political and social circles.
This was the most sacred and intellectual place, but at the same time, it was also a lewd and depraved place.
I firmly pledged to abolish the royal knight system.
“Even Rose, who is younger than you, knows how to use her direct as well. Eve, do you think that’s why you can use it?”
At Roxandra's words, I glanced at Rosenit.
Rosenit looked proud after receiving the praise.
I was confused as to whether the white rose of the empire, a symbol of loveliness and innocence, could be like this.
At that time, Isell was talking as if she knew me well.
“If you think about it, Eve wasn’t interested in men at all. There is a man who, if left alone, will be engaged to her until she is twenty-five years old."
“There might not be one.”
“Oh my, ho ho ho!”
The sound of laughter echoed across the table. Even the cold-hearted Bridgette was smiling with her mouth covered.
‘Don’t laugh, Sister Betty. What is twenty-five? Even if I hadn't ruined the country, I would have lived a long, healthy life by being single to the age of 30 or 40, or even my whole life.'
What's more, I wrote a poem to an old King in a distant country because I found it annoying.
Wasn’t Bridgette the one who tried to send me home? I even felt a little sad.
The next person to speak was Hesia, Brigitte's younger half-sister and the fourth Princess.
She began asking off-topic questions under the guise of friendly interest between the sisters.
“Is there anything wrong with your homunculus in that regard?”
"No."
“Hoo, did you check that it wasn’t the case? Can you see it? As expected, the ‘inspection’ has been completed.”
"Ah, yes."
If I answered the truth, it was obvious that there would be an uproar, asking how an important selection process could be omitted. I let it be a misunderstanding.
“But why didn’t he serve you after that? You don’t like it?”
“I like it very much. You don’t have to worry about the relationship between me and my direct knight.”
“Hey, if you liked it, you wouldn’t have sent it back every night.”
It seemed like she was determined to keep asking until she got the answer she wanted.
“Shall I give you some training first?”
In an instant, the expression disappeared from my face.
The person who said those words was Brigitte, who is famous for her ability to side with men.
I looked straight at Brigitte, wondering if I knew what she meant.
“Don’t look at me like that, Eve. With some experience.”
"Is it so?"
I immediately cast my eyes on the two princesses who were Brigitte's entourage.
“But why don’t Hesia and Isell smile? Are you kidding?”
"Oh... !”
After being pointed out, they quickly looked at Brigitte's notice and pulled the corners of their mouths into laughter.
"Ho, ho ho ho! It's a joke."
“Okay, then. Don't take it seriously. It was just meant to be fun.”
It was sad to see them match the rhythm to a frivolous joke.
I watched them with cold eyes and opened my mouth.
“Sisters.”
It was a remark addressed to everyone at the table. I was planning on driving a nail in their head so that they couldn't mention any more base topics.
“I am grateful for my sisters’ loving attention, but I am no longer an immature child. I can handle my direct reports on my own. And Sir Agnito gave me a knight as a knight. As long as he doesn't do anything damaging, the issue of his education will never come up. Even more so when it comes from someone else’s mouth, not even my own. Please understand.”
It was a flawless statement, so no one could refute it. Bridgette also nodded and accepted. She expressed her intention.
“Now that I think about it, I don’t think it’s an appropriate topic.”
“That’s what I heard after listening to Betty. Let’s find another topic.”
"Then... Let’s discuss ways to increase magic stone mining.”
There was a sudden change in temperature because it was a political issue, but the response was good because the comment came from Brigitte's mouth.
Her close associates, Hesia and Isell, loudly voted in favor.
“Oh my, that’s nice. If we all exchange opinions together, we might come up with a good solution.”
“It’s a problem that’s giving Father a lot of headaches these days. I’m sure he’ll be very happy if we find a solution.”
I wasn't happy about it. It wasn't just that the topic was a turning point in his past life.
I thought it was the most unanswerable topic.
Anywhere labor or combat power is needed. Fourteen members of the royal family gathered together, thinking that all they had to do was squeeze the Homunculus.
It was obvious that it would be a boring discussion, with the same words, the same words, the same words going around like a song.
'There's no way Betty doesn't know that it's a waste of time, right? Why? There is a need to show off oneself by discussing in a place where no one is present. Is there one?'
It was a time when I felt something was out of the ordinary. I could hear birdsong from the north-facing balcony.
A strange sound that seems to be a mixture of the cries of a sparrow and a lark.
That was the sound of the horn given to Hugh, the servant.
It was also a signal to send in case something happened to Kael.
'I couldn't believe it, but you were really targeting Michael!'
I was momentarily agitated and almost put down my teacup loudly.
Although not as good as Michael, I also had a lot of indirect experience with the indignities suffered by homunculus caught in power struggles.
Just imagining the kind of cruel bullying Michael was going through made me feel terrible.
'It's driving me crazy.'
Who is Michael?
He was destined to rule over all homunculus and lead the strongest army in the near future.
Even if you treat him well, you will lose money. If things continue like this, it will hasten the fall of the empire, not just the imperial family.
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