Chapter 2 — Sparks of Revolution
The moon hung over Windsor Palace like a pale coin, silver light spilling across the courtyard.
Deep beneath the castle's west wing, in a forgotten storeroom once used for storing broken armor and old muskets, faint clanking sounds echoed.
"Pressure valve… check. Cylinder alignment… good enough."
Prince Edward Windsor wiped his forehead, smudged with soot. His sleeves were rolled up, revealing hands far too calloused for royalty.
[System Log: Prototype Assembly — 64% Complete]
Warning: Efficiency reduced. Missing optimal components.
"Yeah, well, it's not like I can order precision parts on Amazon," he muttered.
A wisp of smoke rose from the crude boiler before him. The contraption looked like something between a cannon and a cauldron — rough, ugly, but real.
He twisted a valve, and with a sharp hiss, steam bled out.
The pistons jerked once.
Then again.
Then… clunk.
The machine stopped.
Edward stared at it, chest heaving. "Damn it. Still too much pressure loss."
[System Analysis: Steam leakage detected. Suggest material upgrade — Steel Alloy Tier I]
He sighed. "Steel, huh? Easier said than done in a world where people think iron is the peak of metallurgy."
Footsteps echoed down the corridor. Edward froze.
He quickly covered the prototype with a tarp and dimmed the lanterns.
"Your Highness?"
The voice was soft, cultured, and unmistakably noble.
Edward turned. "Lady Charlotte Pembroke. You shouldn't be here."
She stepped into the dim light, her emerald gown brushing the floor, her eyes sharp and curious.
"I could say the same to you, Your Highness. What are you doing down here?"
"Personal study," he said dryly. "Royal science."
Charlotte's gaze swept across the tools, blueprints, and a suspiciously mechanical-looking "barrel."
"Science doesn't usually involve… explosions, does it?"
Edward smirked. "Depends on the scientist."
She crossed her arms. "You've been skipping royal briefings, ignoring invitations, and now you're hiding under the palace with a pile of pipes. If I didn't know better, I'd think you were planning treason."
"Treason?" Edward laughed softly. "No, Lady Charlotte. I'm planning progress."
Her eyes narrowed. "Progress?"
He uncovered part of the machine. Steam hissed faintly from a joint.
"This," he said, "is the heart of the future. It runs not on magic, but on heat and pressure — on the laws of nature themselves."
Charlotte's lips parted slightly as she approached. "You… built this?"
"Not yet," Edward admitted. "It's still incomplete. I need someone who understands materials, precision — craftsmanship beyond the court's alchemists."
Charlotte was silent for a moment. "And why tell me?"
"Because," he said quietly, "you're the only noble in this kingdom who asks how things work instead of just why they matter."
[System Alert: Potential Ally Detected — Lady Charlotte Pembroke]
Trait: 'Administrative Genius' | Compatibility: 92%
Recruit? [Y/N]
Edward smiled. "I could use your mind, Charlotte. Help me build something greater than any noble house — an empire that runs on steam and steel."
Charlotte studied him for a long moment. Then she smiled faintly.
"Then you'll need more than politics and curiosity, Your Highness. You'll need an engineer."
The next day, in the bustling city of London, Charlotte's carriage stopped before a small workshop tucked between a bakery and a blacksmith.
A sign read: HAYES & CO. — CLOCKWORKS AND AUTOMATA.
Inside, gears ticked, and the smell of oil filled the air.
A girl about Edward's age was hunched over a table, her brown hair tied back, goggles perched on her head. Sparks flew as she soldered something delicate — a small mechanical bird that flapped its wings.
"Miss Annabelle Hayes?" Charlotte said.
The girl looked up, startled. "Lady Pembroke? What are you doing here?"
"I'm here on behalf of the Crown."
Annabelle froze. "The… the Crown?"
Charlotte smiled gently. "Specifically, the Crown Prince."
That evening, Edward stood waiting in the underground workshop. The door creaked open, and Charlotte entered — followed by a nervous, grease-stained girl clutching a toolbox.
"Your Highness," Charlotte said, "this is Miss Annabelle Hayes. Her father was an inventor before… well, before the Guild shut his workshop down."
Edward's gaze softened. "A fellow victim of progress."
Annabelle hesitated. "I don't know what this is about, sir, but if this is another noble's experiment—"
Edward stepped closer. "No, Miss Hayes. This is humanity's experiment."
He pulled the tarp off the prototype. The boiler gleamed faintly under the lantern light.
"I need your help to make this work," he said simply. "Not for the Crown. For the future."
Annabelle blinked at the machine, awe and fear mixing in her eyes. "It's… magnificent. But if it explodes—"
"Then we'll build another," Edward said firmly. "That's how progress works."
A pause.
Then she smiled — just a little. "You're either a genius or a madman, Your Highness."
"Both," Charlotte said with a sigh. "Trust me, I've seen him work."
They laughed softly, the tension easing.
[System Notification]
New Ally Recruited — Annabelle Hayes (Engineer Class)
Trait: Inventive Prodigy (+15% Technological Development Speed)
Team 'Workshop of Progress' Formed!
Hours later, as the three of them worked under the glow of flickering lamps, the air filled with the rhythm of hammering, the hiss of steam, and the murmur of ideas.
Edward tightened a bolt, and the prototype gave a shudder.
"Valve pressure stable…" Annabelle murmured.
"Heat input holding…" Charlotte noted.
Edward took a breath. "Now—ignite!"
A deep whoosh echoed through the chamber. The pistons moved — once, twice, three times — before stabilizing into a steady, rhythmic chug-chug-chug.
Steam hissed upward. Metal groaned. The air trembled with energy.
[System Notification: Prototype Engine — SUCCESSFULLY ACTIVATED]
Reward: Industrial Tree (Tier I) Unlocked!
Edward's face lit up in the glow of the firebox. "It works… it actually works!"
Annabelle cheered, grease smeared on her cheek. "It's alive!"
Charlotte crossed her arms but smiled. "Congratulations, Your Highness. You've just changed the world."
Edward looked at them — the noble and the inventor — his first allies in a dream no one else dared believe in.
"The world doesn't know it yet," he said quietly, "but tonight… the Age of Steam has begun."
End of Chapter 2.