ดาวน์โหลดแอป
0.26% Eve's Gambit / Chapter 1: Death of Evil Mistress
Eve's Gambit Eve's Gambit original

Eve's Gambit

นักเขียน: B_Mitchylle

© WebNovel

บท 1: Death of Evil Mistress

Evelynn Rosetta never saw it coming.

One moment, she was having a drink with her lover, the Emperor of Valtara Emperor Ronald de Regulus, enjoying a conversation about his exploits, the next she was on the floor, her magic gone, a dagger in her stomach.

She lay there surrounded by seven people she thought were her friends.

Evelynn blinked, she expected them to look shaken. Perhaps display a little guilt on their faces as they watched the woman who helped them achieve everything that they wanted bleeding to death.

They did not.

The smiles on their faces spoke volumes.

They were smirking at her as if her death was something that they had anticipated all these years.

On the other hand, the man she had eventually learned to love over the years, looked at her as if she was an inconvenience.

"W— Why?" she stuttered. The poison in her system was slowly taking her ability to move her limbs.

"Evelynn… my dearest Evelynn…" a woman with white hair and black lipstick lowered herself to the floor and closer to Evelynn. She touched Evelynn's cheek, her cold fingers sending shivers down Evelynn's spine. "Dying without knowing is better."

"Michaela, leave her. She will soon succumb to the poison," a man wearing a black long coat said. He was someone that Evelynn had saved more than a hundred years ago. The Undead, the vampire Lucious. At one point in time, Evelynn thought of him as her younger brother.

For years, Evelynn thought that these people had her back. She considered them the solace to her chaotic world. Her anchors, the ones keeping her human.

The betrayal was unexpected.

The betrayal hurt.

"Heed my words!" Ronaldo said. He was still standing not far away from her, drinking a glass of wine as if the woman that he had been sleeping with for years, the woman who helped him secure the crown was not bleeding to her death in front of him.

The wooden floor of her small house had been heated by her sorcery but tonight, it felt cold. Everything around her was turning colder as she stared at his nonchalant expression.

"Evelynn, the Evil Mistress, is dead. She was caught trying to kill the Emperor. Evelynn betrayed her Emperor." He made a deliberate pause.

"W— Why?" she mustered the strength she had left to speak. She wanted to know why he would dare betray her. Why her?

"Leave us," the Emperor spoke.

"Are you going to be alright?" Amara, another one of Evelynn's friends, asked the Emperor, concern written all over her beautiful face. She touched Ronaldo's arm.

"She cannot touch me," Ronaldo said. "Not with that body."

The others nodded and left, their footsteps echoed inside the small cabin where Evelynn had been living for the past few decades.

Her gaze found Ronaldo's eyes. The lack of emotion on his face stung her.

All these years, the only one who was with her was this man.

Ronaldo kneeled.

"I'm sorry," he said. How could he say those words right after he stabbed her?

"An emperor never— apologizes," she said, her voice trembling.

"You are no longer a friend."

She blinked her eyes, confused. If she was not a friend then… what was she?

"Evelynn…. You are a threat." His gaze turned complicated. For the first time, she thought she spotted guilt in his brown eyes.

Yet, it vanished as quickly as it came.

"The war has ended. I won— we won. However, I cannot let someone like you live, I cannot let someone that could destroy my empire in a blink of an eye, survive." he added.

"I would never—"

"Shhh—" he placed his index on his lips. "You have become a monster Eve…"

A monster, he said?

"Power has corrupted you," Ronaldo sighed.

"I did it for you." Why would someone like her, who did not have a family, who was an orphan, who grew up on the streets, seek power? Wasn't it because she wanted to help the forgotten prince of the Empire, who had once given her a piece of bread? She started coughing, blood trickled from her lips.

Her heart broke as she slowly reached out to her neck, and touched the key necklace that he once gave her when they won their first war together.

"You—" She started coughing once again. It was as if someone had pierced her chest with a sword and ruthlessly twisted it. She blinked, and a tear fell down her cheeks.

She only wanted the power to help him, to help them.

"You, the evil mistress?" he shook his head, his lips twisted into a ridiculed smile. "You killed those people because you wanted to Eve. It was unnecessary to involve me in your actions."

"No—"

"There is no point in speaking." He got up and looked at the door of her wooden cabin. "They are here…"

As if on cue, the door burst open, and knights that Evelynn did not recognize barged into her house.

"The witch is here!" Ronaldo's voice boomed. "Drag her outside…"

"No," Evelynn tried to move but she could not do anything. A poison that sucked out all magic inside her body was something that could easily kill any sorceress.

Except her.

The Evil Mistress Evelynn Rosetta was not just a simple sorceress.

While the poison would easily kill anyone else, it only rendered her unable to use her magic, unable to use sorcery to defend herself.

Two strong arms picked her up and she felt her body leave the cold hard floor. Then the light assaulted her senses.

She heard screams, cheers, and people calling her name.

"Kill the Evil Mistress!"

"Kill the Evil Mistress!"

Evelynn frowned. The sun seared her eyes yet she could perfectly hear everything. The curses and cheers of her soon demise.

What was wrong? She wondered.

She, the one who helped the Emperor unite this Empire was now treated like the enemy. She stood by his side when he had nothing.

When they conquered the Empire eight years ago, he promised to let her leave after the war, he promised to give her a life away from the palace, away from the schemes and blood.

He did give it to her.

For eight years, she had been living next to the forest. Alone.

*BANG*

Evelynn felt a solid object hit her head.

"You witch! You killed my child!"

"You drink my child's blood to maintain your youth!"

"Die! Vain witch!"

She had done none of those things, Evelynn wanted to say.

"Die, witch!"

"Cut off her head!"

"Kill her!"

"Feed her to the dogs!"

The cheers continued, and the mockery intensified.

While she did not know what was happening, she understood one thing. These people hated her for something that she did not do.

The once respected sorceress was now nothing but a hated villain.

When did it all change?

She opened her eyes, and for the last time, she met the eyes of the man whom she respected and treated as a friend all her life.

Ronaldo de Regulus.

For a moment, he looked regretful. Then he smiled.

"The Evil Mistress had not only kidnapped the children of the Empire! She has been working with the dark forces, betrayed her emperor, and used dark magic to maintain her youth!" Ronaldo said. "I, the first Emperor of the Human Empire, will now give a judgment!"

He raised his hand before he continued. "Death!"

The cheers of everyone around them echoed.

"Death to the Evil Mistress!"

Everyone started chanting.

Evelynn closed her eyes as she thought of the key that was hanging around her neck. She could feel its temperature rising, burning her skin.

A life for a life, she uttered inwardly.

Soon, the chants of everyone around her grew quieter. Her consciousness drifted away.

The spell was working, she thought. She was going to the past to change everything.

She was going to the past to make all those who betrayed her pay.

She expected to find herself in the past to rewrite the wrongs.

Instead, she found herself in a strange carriage… inside a body that was not her own.

....


บท 2: Eve Lucrecia

Evelynn felt her body sway as the carriage continued moving along over the uneven terrain, its rhythmic sensation was enough to remind her that the sorcery that she did before she died… did not go as intended.

The spell did not transport her into the past. Instead, it moved her soul inside the body of another woman. Eve Lucrecia.

"Raise your chin," the woman in front of her spoke, her voice holding the authority that Evelynn once had. She gritted her teeth but complied nonetheless.

She was not about to take some careless actions just because of magic gone awry.

If anything, she had to be very careful of her actions. She could not risk being recognized by anyone around her.

"Good. Keep in mind, do not meet their eyes, do not stare at them for too long, and do not speak when you are not asked any questions. They could kill you anytime they want to."

The woman nodded and smiled in satisfaction. Until now, Evelynn could not remember the woman's name. She hoped she would be able to remember a piece of this body's memory, yet she could not.

"I heard you had an injury when you fell?" the woman asked. She nodded in response.

"It was in your head?"

Again, Evelynn nodded. At least, she could remember the incident and some bits or pieces of information about herself. The fact that she was a daughter of a fallen count was one of the things that she could remember.

"We are approaching the borders. Once we cross that forest, the vampires will welcome us and will formally add you as a candidate for the Night's Courtship. Your life and future will be in your own hands. Once you win, you will become the Duke's bride. Losing means death."

Evelynn nodded without saying another word.

Night's Courtship was something that she was very familiar with and it was all for the wrong reasons.

It is a deadly game between women who were vying for the affection and the attention of a powerful vampire. This involved a combination of physical prowess, mental acuity, and some other abilities.

Vampires had always been one of the darkest creatures that occupied the continent of Aranthia. Their relationship with the humans was quite complicated as well. Vampires were sly creatures. They do not exactly ally themselves with the humans, but they could not be called an enemy either.

While Evelynn was still not sure how this body became a part of the game, she was certain of one thing. If she wanted to survive, she needed to get her sorcery back. She needed magic.

She narrowed her as the thought of her death crossed her mind.

Eight people.

Eight allies.

All of them betrayed her, all of them smirked as she lay there dying. Did they really think she would let them get away with it?

"Do not smile like that," the woman scolded.

"P— Pardon?" Evelynn spoke. This was the first time that she heard her very own voice— a stranger's voice. Now that she thought of it, hearing this body's voice seemed too strange.

"They would think you are not the innocent woman that your family wants them to think. Not many women have lived to tell the tale of that place." The woman's expression turned strange. "They told me you are ignorant and that you knew nothing about vampires. Is that true?"

"I— I have read books."

"The books that the humans wrote are not accurate, you see?" the woman smiled. "The Evil Mistress and the Emperor hated the vampires so they created those books to fool everyone else. This created the hate between humans and vampires."

"The— The Evil Mistress?" Evelynn could not help but frown. Those people called her the Evil Mistress too.

"If you read a lot then you should have heard about the Evil Mistress, Evelynn Rosetta. Her death prompted a lot of changes in the human empire. This — sending women from the Noble families to join the Night Courtship is just one of them."

"The Evil Mistress died?" Evelynn's brow furrowed even more. She ignored the fact that this body was from a noble family and that she is now going to join the Night's Courtship. All she could think of was the Evil Mistress's death. She balled her hands into tight fists as she thought of her very own death.

"She was burned a few days ago. They said they fed the rest of her body to the dogs, but even the dogs would not eat her flesh. It was cruel," the woman shivered, her wide eyes full of disgust and fear.

"But she is the Evil Mistress. Her evil deeds know no bounds. The Empire has been celebrating since…" the woman added. "Since the Evil Mistress died, other races had been visiting the empire for some negotiations. Or at least that is what the rumors said."

Negotiations? Eve wanted to ask more questions but she heard the sound of horses outside.

Almost immediately, the woman started fixing her brown hair which had been arranged elegantly into an updo.

She beamed at Evelynn. "Ah! It seems that we are finally here! Do not forget, call me Madam. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Madam." Evelynn nodded cordially just as the carriage stopped moving. The woman's words left her reeling and disoriented. Her thoughts were in disarray.

Evelynn Rosetta was the one who united the human race.

She had created a reputation for humans, freeing them from becoming slaves of other races, making the other race respect them, and fear them.

Why does it seem like people rejoice in her death? To actually burn her physical body and feed her to the dogs?

The thought itself made her want to puke. Slowly, the disorientation was replaced with anger then pure rage.

"Stay here, I will call you once the ambassador is ready." The woman left her in the carriage alone. Almost immediately, the innocent facade that she had plastered on her face vanished. Her gaze turned cold.

She looked at her appearance that was reflected in the window of the carriage. An unfamiliar face stared back at her. The woman in the reflection looked beautiful with her lustrous blond hair and undeniably innocent face. Yet deep within that innocent appearance lurks someone ruthless, someone who was once the most powerful sorcerer that the humans had.

Evelynn Rosetta, the Evil Mistress.

She now owns this body.

"Eve Lucrecia was it?" Evelynn touched her face and smiled. "Very well… " She shall take a gamble and stay inside this body.

The cruelty that she experienced when she was still Evelynn Rosetta shall be given back to those who had betrayed her, to those who turned their back on her.

Her journey would start in the Vampire's lair.

"Let her out," a voice sounded from the outside. Eve's face immediately transformed into a picture of innocence. Slowly, she walked down the carriage. Her gaze landed on the darkness that enveloped the land like a thick blanket.

This place was nestled deep within the heart of the forest, surrounded by a towering canopy of ancient-looking trees that covered the large moon that hung above them. Evelynn did not need to ask. She knew that this was the forest that bordered the Human Empire and the Vampire Kingdom.

The Forest of the Undead.

She spotted another carriage aside from their own. There was a coachman that looked human and two other soldiers, both were obviously humans.

The only one who looked like a vampire was the man that the woman was talking to.

Lean, yet muscular, the man towered over everyone else with his abnormally long legs. He was pale— too pale, his skin almost looked like the moon and his eyes were red, hungry.

The lazy smile on his face was irritating, yet something about it seemed magnetic.

The vampire was trying to ensnare her!

Eve immediately lowered her gaze.

"What a brave one," the man muttered.

There was a heavy silence as she lifted her gaze and looked at the woman.

"She is Eve Lucrecia, the eldest daughter of Count Lucrecia." The woman introduced herself.

"A beauty indeed," a man responded. "Lift your gaze and look at me."

Eve complied. She blinked and stared at the man whose commanding feature was enough to attract everyone's attention.

A vampire.

"Angelic countenance with a mesmerizing shade of amber eyes. I like her." A sardonic smile appeared on the man's face. His gaze then moved towards her chest which was revealed by her tight corset and into the curve in her waist. "Take her to my carriage. She will be joining the Night's Courtship tomorrow!" the man announced.

"But my lord, the courtship will start tonight."

Hearing the woman's voice, the man gave her a mocking smile. "For your own sake, do not make me repeat my words, my Lady. Do as I say and you shall be rewarded."

Almost immediately, the woman paled. Then she started nodding as if her life depended on it.


Load failed, please RETRY

ของขวัญ

ของขวัญ -- ได้รับของขวัญแล้ว

    สถานะพลังงานรายสัปดาห์

    ป้ายปลดล็อกตอน

    สารบัญ

    ตัวเลือกแสดง

    พื้นหลัง

    แบบอักษร

    ขนาด

    ความคิดเห็นต่อตอน

    เขียนรีวิว สถานะการอ่าน: C1
    ไม่สามารถโพสต์ได้ กรุณาลองใหม่อีกครั้ง
    • คุณภาพงานเขียน
    • ความเสถียรของการอัปเดต
    • การดำเนินเรื่อง
    • กาสร้างตัวละคร
    • พื้นหลังโลก

    คะแนนรวม 0.0

    รีวิวโพสต์สําเร็จ! อ่านรีวิวเพิ่มเติม
    โหวตด้วย Power Stone
    Rank 200+ การจัดอันดับพลัง
    Stone 9 หินพลัง
    รายงานเนื้อหาที่ไม่เหมาะสม
    เคล็ดลับข้อผิดพลาด

    รายงานการล่วงละเมิด

    ความคิดเห็นย่อหน้า

    เข้า สู่ ระบบ

    tip ความคิดเห็นย่อย

    คุณลักษณะความคิดเห็นย่อหน้าอยู่ในขณะนี้บนเว็บ! เลื่อนเมาส์ไปที่ย่อหน้าใดก็ได้แล้วคลิกไอคอนเพื่อเพิ่มความคิดเห็นของคุณ

    นอกจากนี้คุณสามารถปิด / เปิดได้ตลอดเวลาในการตั้งค่า

    เข้าใจแล้ว