The Princess is Going on Strike - Chapter 1
Chapter 1
Aerylle Frey Brixia.
She was the youngest child of the Ducal family of Brixia, one of the founding families of the Auslante Empire, and a woman of great wisdom and knowledge.
Since childhood, she received much acclaim for her knowledge in numerous fields, but her talent was particularly exceptional in her military expertise. It was natural that she possessed such wisdom and aptitude as a member of the Brixia family, which had amassed enormous wealth through its commercial monopoly of the entire Imperial Army’s supply of heavy and light equipment.
However, people called her – called me – by something else, rather than my name.
{Monster, the masked princess, and the illegitimate child.}
Since the day I was born to Duke Oledin Brixia as an illegitimate child, I had been forced to wear a mask my entire life in order to hide the black discolored spot on my face. I struggled to be recognized by the family and to not be abandoned, but all that was rewarded to me were cold gazes and ridicule.
“Aerylle Frey Brixia. You have been convicted of selling naval equipment to our enemies for personal gain and profit. Do you acknowledge your crimes?”
I bowed my head in front of countless people. My mask felt stifling, it was filled with hot puffs of air; my breathing was rough and erratic and I knew that my physical condition was bad.
When he received no answer, Emperor Trival of the Auslante Empire looked down at me sternly, and struck his chair in anger. He may be senile, but his eyes burned with great intensity.
“Have you fallen asleep? Answer me!”
At his words, the crowd rose up and hurled insults at me, but no one mentioned my supposed crime. They were only screaming about how I was an abomination.
I silently bit my lip as I was pelted with verbal attacks.
Is this… the price I pay?
I entered the Duke’s family as an illegitimate child and endured twenty-four years of abuse and neglect. I had made a mockery of my father, Oledin Brixia, by proving how incompetent and greedy he was and am now about to face my death at the guillotine.
{A lion cub born crippled will be abandoned by its mother. Nature is harsh and being abandoned means death. And the world we live in is just as brutal. Aerylle Frey. You should’ve known that you lived in such a world. You should have been prepared to be thrown away at any time.}
Rubbing my fingers together, I recalled words that my only friend, Sebeth Ludin, had said to me when I was a child. The gold ring on my index finger slipped off gently.
Sebeth Ludin. You were wrong. You’re no sage – you’re just a worldly fool deluded by optimism. If what you say is true, prove it to me. Show me the light. Show it to me, someone who has been called a monster since birth, so I can learn what happiness is in this life.
I raised my head and took a deep breath. The Emperor’s hand rose and the voices in the crowd died down.
“My esteemed Emperor”
I then turned to my father, Oledin Brixia, who was sitting on a platform stationed next to me. His gaze, aimed directly at me, held a smirk.
“And my father whom I had once loved.”
He looked at me as I stood up, straightening my legs. I was chained, so there was no way that I could escape.
I looked around at the crowd and raised my voice.
“You are all wrong.”
“What?”
“I am not guilty of any kind of crime.”
Emperor Trival frowned; I could hear Oledin’s voice, flush with anger, as he tried to stay calm. Normally, I would have thrown pride to the winds and begged him for forgiveness, but now, I questioned whether forgiveness was even necessary.
I chuckled.
“So I have no reason to be punished. However, many of you are claiming that I have committed a sin that wasn’t mine to commit.”
Every time I went out with my face concealed with this mask; people shuddered to look at me. For them, Aerylle was a symbol of evil, a cradle of sin.
I took a short breath and lifted my hand towards the mask that I’ve never taken off in front of other people.
{Never show your face in front of other people and live your entire life wearing that mask. Don’t even think for a second that you are a part of our family. You’re nothing but a monster.}
I had believed Oledin’s words, which long caused me to suffer, and did what he said. Because I believed that I would, one day, be acknowledged as a part of the family. But I was wrong.
I breathed a heavy sigh and it filled the inside of my mask. So I untied the straps and took it off.
Is this how it feels to have the fresh air and cool breeze touch your face? Does it always feel this good?
I closed my eyes and enjoyed this feeling before opening my eyes again and saw Oledin frowning in front of me. He always regarded me as the black sheep of the family. According to the religious belief of this age, people believed that red eyes were the symbol of the devil. So Oledin always disdained and persecuted me, believing that he gave birth to a devil….. ‘So, thank you.’ I gave him a smile.
“Are you all satisfied now? Isn’t this what you desired? This unsightly and dirty appearance, this hideous face and….. These eyes that you all call to be the devil’s… You’re not really interested in the fact that I supposedly sold goods to our enemies.”
I threw the mask that was in my hand and watched as it fell helplessly to the ground. It was the only shield I had and without it, I was naked. But I was more confident than I ever was.
“How can you judge me to be a sinner only for being born with a face like this?! If one were to list all the people that were wronged in this world, then my name would be the first one on it. To think that the conclusion is set from birth, despite not wanting to be born like this. And well, that’s alright. Since you’ve all already labeled me as a sinner.”
The Emperor raised his hand and a knight unsheathed his sword while walking forward. I showed a smile which I normally had always hidden beneath my mask.
“What do you fear, Your Majesty? Does sin cover the entire world merely by me opening my mouth? Or are you afraid that I may speak of something else?”
I closed my eyes and recalled the memories of my past when I had to live as if I were dead, in the darkness. The words I just spoke were sad, but refreshing as I had lived my entire life in persecution, criticism, and forced to do things I did not want.
Right. Let’s just end it like this.
I no longer wanted to say anything else and it’s not as if anything would change if I did. It would most likely cause even more malicious rumors to be spread about me. Even so, I couldn’t afford to just die without saying something.
The knight halted as I looked up at Oledin and smiled. I saw him flinch and was satisfied I spoke my last piece.
“I truly hope that your incompetence causes you to strangle yourself.”
The Emperor gave the final order as I gave a low chuckle. That was my, Aerylle Frey Brixia’s, last moment.
With the sword stuck in my heart, I collapsed while rubbing my ring one last time.
…..Sebeth Ludin.
He once taught me how to live harmoniously in this world…. The only person who approached me without prejudice. I closed my eyes thinking of him.
You’re too late.
And that’s when I stopped breathing.
Regalius Tome: Hi, this is the two-man team of Jewlz and Eclise. We do all the translations and proofreading ourselves, and will do our best to stick to our schedule. Any amount of donations or words of encouragement are welcome! It also helps to motivate us!