Chapter 1-The Birth Of The Most Feared Empress!

It was past midnight.

The Eastern Empire's palace was silent.

Then—

A baby cried.

And her mother stopped breathing.

The room erupted into panic.

"The Empress!"

"Find the Emperor! Quickly!"

"Her Highness isn't breathing!"

And somewhere in the middle of all this, the newborn princess opened her eyes.

Vannyessa Nyaru Fuwa Von Sens had just entered the world.

And she had already claimed her first victim.

However, she did not know that yet.

She was busy being born.

At the age of six, Vanny's father, the Emperor, took her to an archery lesson.

As the most "obedient" daughter of the imperial family, Vanny had decided to take the task seriously.

Unfortunately, the target was not the only thing standing within her line of fire.

One afternoon, while practicing her marksmanship, Vanny released an arrow.

The arrow flew.

It passed the target.

It passed the practice dummy.

It passed the decorative vase beside the Emperor.

And then—

"Your Majesty!"

Vanny blinked.

Her father was on the ground.

The arrow had struck him directly in the forehead.

She looked at the target.

She looked at her father.

"...The target was moving."

And she looked away.

At the age of nine, her older brother, Takamasa, was coronated as the Crown Prince, while her second older brother, Tadayoshi, became the Prime Minister.

Her older brothers had always been busy—they always had been. But now that their parents were gone, the brothers barely had time to meet with her.

So Vanny, as considerate as she was, decided to cook a little something special for her brothers!

They're busy, after all. Might as well get them something to eat.

Better to die of overwork than die of starvation!

And so, she went to the kitchen.

It was her first time going in, and many of the servants were just as shocked as she was.

Some offered to help.

Some even wanted to teach her how to cook.

But Vanny shook her head.

"No! I can do this all alone!"

Then she pushed every servant out of the kitchen.

Vanny looked at the utensils and ingredients before nodding her head up and down.

"I know exactly what my brothers would love!"

She had read in a book about a dish from the Middle-Eastern Continent called curry. You could essentially put anything in it and it would taste absolutely delicious.

Best of all, it could last for a long time if you kept it on the stove.

At least, that was what Vanny had understood from the book.

And so, naturally, she decided to make curry.

Vanny searched for anything she could find.

She grabbed some meat.

She wasn't sure where it was from or whether it was safe.

Meat was meat.

That was what she decided.

After putting the meat into a large pot on the stove, she began heating it up.

She then grabbed some condiments.

Whichever brown or dark-colored ones she could find, she grabbed them and poured them into the pot without hesitation.

A little bit of this.

A lot of that.

Then, as for vegetables, Vanny looked behind her.

She saw the usual vegetables she ate and nodded her head.

No, royalty should eat something more fitting nano ja!

Vanny grabbed some small herbs and smelled them.

She immediately jolted away from the strong smell.

But still, she decided to put them into the pot.

After putting all sorts of random things into the pot, the contents had turned a beautiful brown.

Pleased, Vanny nodded her head and smiled.

This is how a princess cooks!

Vanny walked out of the kitchen with the utmost confidence, strutting down the hallway like a commander ready to bring good news to their king!

"Where are you headed, Princess?"

Vanny came to a halt and looked at the girl her age who had approached her.

It was Yumiko, her court lady.

"I've come to give my brothers some food nano ja!"

Vanny's lips curled into a cute smile, making Yumiko take a step back.

They were the same age, after all.

So Yumiko knew Vanny better than anyone.

"Guh... okay, fine. Go."

Seeing Yumiko wave her hand, Vanny didn't need a more obvious signal.

She continued walking and finally reached her two brothers' office.

knock knock

"Come in."

Hearing her eldest brother's voice, Vanny entered.

"Brother! Brother! I cooked something for you and big brother Tadayoshi!"

Takamasa, the Crown Prince, looked at Vanny and sighed.

"Fine. Let me taste it."

It was his little sister, after all.

Seeing her so gloomy just didn't sit right with him.

And with their parents gone, Takamasa had taken responsibility as her older brother to make sure the princess remained in good shape, both physically and mentally.

"Let me taste it too!"

Tadayoshi stood up from his desk.

Piles upon piles of papers sat on top of it, like a mighty mountain.

And so, the two brothers sat down, looked at the...

"unique"

dish, and then looked at Vanny.

"Sister, what is this? What did you cook for us?"

Vanny tilted her head.

"It's curry! I read from a book how delicious it is and how great its longevity is!"

The two brothers clapped.

"Amazing! Just from a book?"

Vanny puffed out her chest at Takamasa's words.

"Mhm! Feel free to praise me more nano ja!"

"Brother, ask later. Eat first!"

Tadayoshi slapped Takamasa on the shoulder, grabbed a spoon, and began eating from the pot.

Takamasa didn't linger for long either.

He also grabbed a spoon and began eating.

The brothers didn't say a single word.

Vanny simply watched from the side, her small head resting on her hands as she leaned against the table.

When the dish was finally finished, the brothers sat in silence.

Tadayoshi burped.

"Sister, what did you put in this? It tastes weird, but it's bearable."

Tadayoshi smiled.

"Really? I put some meat, some... uh, herbs..."

Vanny began listing everything she had poured into the pot.

And the more she explained, the wider her two brothers' eyes became.

"Vanny, wait, wait."

Vanny tilted her head.

"Hueh?"

"You used those brown condiments? And a black one?"

Hearing Takamasa's words, Vanny's face scrunched up.

"Mhm, why? Did I do something wrong?"

"The kitchen doesn't have any black condiments!"

Tadayoshi laughed.

"So that's why I feel dizzy."

thunk

Tadayoshi's head hit the table.

Vanny blinked.

"Brother?"

Takamasa held Vanny's shoulders and smiled.

"It's not your fault. It's gonna be okay. You are a very cunning little sister. Keep that trait. You will be okay."

And soon, the strong grip from her older brother faltered.

Until he, too, had his face hit the table.

Vanny poked Takamasa's shoulder.

"Brother?"

Nothing.

She looked toward Tadayoshi.

"...Big brother?"

Nothing.

Vanny frowned.

They must be very tired.

Vanny sat in one corner of the office.

It's not your fault.

Those words stayed with her.

Then the servants opened the door.

Screams echoed throughout the palace.

The doctors examined the remains of the dish.

Poisonous herbs.

Inedible meat.

Condiments that could become lethal when combined in sufficient quantities.

Not one ingredient was safe.

Somehow, Vanny had managed to put all of them into the same pot.

The physicians exchanged grim looks.

"This was deliberate."

"Impossible."

"No sane person could accidentally combine this many poisonous ingredients."

They looked toward the nine-year-old princess.

Vanny was sitting quietly in the corner.

Her eyes were looking outside the window.

She was still holding the wooden spoon.

"A calculated assassination," one physician finally declared.

And thus, the legend began.

From that day onward, Vanny hired the finest scholars in the Eastern Continent.

Politics.

Economics.

Diplomacy.

Military strategy.

Etiquette.

Anything an empress needed to know, Vanny learned.

And she learned quickly.

Very quickly.

At ten years old, Vannyessa Nyaru Fuwa Von Sens was crowned Empress of the Eastern Empire.

Three years passed.

Under her rule, the empire stabilized.

Its treasury recovered.

Its borders remained secure.

The nobles learned to stop questioning her decisions.

The people learned to fear her.

And Vanny herself?

She was bored.

Until one day, a servant entered the throne room.

Vanny sat there with her legs crossed, her face resting on one hand.

"What is it?"

Vanny asked, though she didn't even bother looking the servant in the eye.

"Our Highness, it seems the West has opened a new project."

Vanny's eyes immediately lit up.

She looked at the servant.

"Hoh, a new project nano ja?"

A terrifying smile curled across her face.

Yumiko, her court lady, sighed.

The servant, however, gulped.

"Y-Yes. It seems to be a place or building called... a shkool?"

Vanny's eyebrow twitched.

"It's called a SCHOOL, nitwit!"

"Y-Yes!! A school!"

The servant's voice went up in pitch.

There was truly nothing more frightening than being screamed at by a higher authority!

"Wrong! It's called an academy!"

Vanny took out a dagger hidden beneath her sleeve and threw it with lethal precision.

Right at the servant's head.

Bullseye!

"Guards, throw this nitwit out of here nano ja!"

Vanny stood up and gestured forth.

The guards outside the throne room quickly complied and dragged the servant's body outside.

"You... You could have just corrected them, Your Majesty."

Yumiko sighed as she stepped forward and stood beside Vanny.

"Hmph! That won't do. Fear is a ruler's best friend."

"But at this rate, you will run out of servants if you keep throwing daggers at them."

"..."

Vanny looked away.

"It's not like I throw daggers all the time."

"You do."

"..."

Crossing her arms, the Empress looked away.

Before her lips curled back into a smile.

"In any case, an academy, huh?"

Her eyes sparkled.

"That's interesting. I will personally go there nano ja!"