The Inner Palace Tale of a Villainess Noble Girl

The bright morning light brightens the grasslands brightly and beautifully.

"Princess, this is the most beautiful reputation in Stanza, the Healy Meadow."

With Deanna and her horses lined up, looking out into the beautiful landscape of her own territory, Exiga couldn't stop feeling exhilarated.

After returning to the Stanza Empire, Exiga had probably had the busiest days of her life. I get up early in the morning and go to college to clean up the accumulated work while completing the reporting and post-processing of the national mission. In the evening, there were calls from everywhere, and when I visited the residence of the eminent person in Stanza, I spoke of the "martial arts" of the National Embassy. Apparently, Exiga's report to the Stanza Empire was overwritten and exaggerated in large part after he read it. The Stanza mission in the Kingdom of Elland was honestly quite narrow-minded, which would mean that it was dissipating its anger with a false report. The kings and nobles of the Kingdom of Elland are impressed by the power of the Stanza Empire, but the momentum that has just begun to descend into their country is imminent. If they show us such a report, it is not strange that the delegation of the State of Elland, which is full of women, is widely regarded as a hostage to the name of a friendship envoy... In fact, it would be the same crime as Exiga because they were informed about them in such a misleading way.

Believing in the report and deviating from when to attack Elgrand, Exiga corrected the exaggeration, explaining that the Kingdom of Elgrand is an undisciplined country and that it is wiser to maintain friendship than to attack badly, and that the Kingdom of Elgrand also sent envoys for this purpose. There were many reactions with those who were convinced, unfortunate, and angry by Exhiga's explanation, but there was nothing further ahead in his position.

For Exiga, who was supposed to spend an unprecedented morning and evening, her lunch time with Diana was unpredictable, fun, stimulating, and learning - in short, irreplaceable. Since Diana stepped into the ghetto without hesitation on the first day she was supposed to lead the emperor to the capital, Exhiga's common sense has just been destroyed.

"You can take guests anywhere in the Imperial Capital under the authority of the Imperial family" and "you can guide them anywhere in the Imperial Capital without any problems" are quite different. Naturally, Exiga could not have imagined until Diana wanted to go to the ghetto. If the royal family had power, they would not refuse him, regardless of where he was responsible. However, if Exiga does not know the location herself, she will not be able to provide satisfactory guidance to guests.

The Imperial Capital of Ifthane, which Exiga actually knows, is only a fraction of the Imperial Palace and the university. Then there is the south ward, where there is a separate residence outside the Imperial Palace. Of course, I know the whole picture of the Imperial City, but it's just a paper story on a map. The traffic between buildings is by carriage, and it is rare to get off on the way. While saying "I can show you anywhere," Exiga was as if she didn't know about Ifthane.... not to mention how the people live every day in this vast "Emperor Iphtane", what they mourn for and what they think they live in.

--Diana's eyes... were already looking at the "people" from the moment she got off the ship. Exiga knows that now. For her, "country" is not an emperor or a palace, but people who live in the ground.

On the day she returned to Stanza, Diana, sheltering a poor child who was about to be slashed and abandoned in front of a carriage, glimpsed the absolute zero anger of Exiga, who tried not to stop the soldiers. To be honest, I couldn't understand what Diana was so angry about at that time, and all I could think was that she was kind to me... but as I went out with Diana in Ifthane and touched the people, I could see what I hadn't seen before, as if the fog was clearing up.

All the people who met Diana and spoke with her were "alive". On paper, he lived not as a "one" of the population expressed in numbers, but as a human being with no end in sight. Exiga looked down and looked at them as a landscape, and they were in the same world as the same human beings, without being separated from each other. Different identities make them different, rich and poor, but in their essence they are nothing different from Exiga.

Such people come together, become a group, and eventually become one society. ― ― Become a "country". The ruler determines the way the country is, and it is the existence that governs the people, but the ruler himself is not the "country". Without the ruler and the people, the nation cannot be a nation.

So, that day. Diana was seriously angry at Exiga, who was supposed to abandon her own people. Not because of kindness - as a person who fulfills his duty to protect and keep his people alive.

Once I saw the people as the same "people," I couldn't help but notice the cold gaze that the slum-dwellers, in particular, were turning to Exhiga. Most of the poor inhabitants of Ifthane are descendants of the people who once lived in the country destroyed by the Stanza Empire. Those who, if taxed and unable to pay higher taxes than the people of this country, were immediately destined to fall into slavery as sinners - those who were only aware of their status as necessary for the stable rule of a mighty country - were also human beings with hearts and minds. There is deep resentment against the Empire from the poor who have been forced to be unreasonable for generations simply because they are defeated countries and citizens of their own countries.

--- Don't leave it like this. If we do not change the system of the Empire itself, this country will soon collapse from the inside.

Over time, Exiga embraced such a sense of crisis and felt more respect and affection than ever before to Deanna, who made her realize it.

"Princess, why don't you step off the horse for a minute? It's nice to look down from the top of the hill, but walking through the rainbow-colored grasslands in the sun feels like you're lost in the world of heaven."

"... that's right. Let's have these kids wait here."

Deanna answers Exiga's words and gets off the horse without danger. At first glance, it looks as usual... but I still have no sense of dominance in my eyes.

Today is just ten days since Diana got down to the Stanza Empire.... it's about time you missed the Elgrand Kingdom and were able to observe your feelings objectively.

― ― If you meet someone at about the same time every day, the change can be noticeable. Not to mention that Diana is an unbearable woman who misses and loves Exiga. Even a slight discomfort is impossible.

Anyway, when she first arrived, Diana had lost her energy in the last few days. When communicating with the people, I don't feel depressed by the switching of words, but the reaction of a little conversation with Exiga in the carriage on the way back and forth is getting worse every day.

For some time since I came to the Stanza Empire, I've been watching as an emissary, and I guess I didn't have time to feel lonely. After interacting with the people and getting accustomed to the Stanza Empire little by little, I was able to spare my feelings... Remembering the Kingdom of Elgrand and King Juke, I felt more blocked time.

I don't think it's cowardly to dictate that a depressed woman is so fortunate, but it's a precious gap that Diana has finally shown me, who has always been persistent and has no gap. I really want Diana with Exiga. I can't pretend to care.

Exhiga negotiated directly with His Majesty the Emperor and obtained permission to remove Diana from the rear palace (Halem) and from Ifthane. I knew that she would be avoided if she followed proper procedures, so I stopped visiting early in the morning and blocked the escape route by taking her out. As an angel of state, I couldn't refuse all the maids, but I could keep it down to one. --If the number of maids attending Diana is small, you will have more opportunities to spend time alone with Diana.

Invite Diana to the Crown Prince's Landing and welcome her to the palace of pride. Guiding the palace to every corner, eating together, drinking after-dinner tea and engaging in unrestrained chats... Except for the bedroom, when Diana was always by her side except when she slept, it gave Exiga something she had never felt before. For the first time, Exiga knows how comfortable it is to share the same time with a woman she loves in her territory.

However, the heart of Diana's mood did not seem to have improved very much… So Exiga invited Diana to an early breakfast after which she came to the most beautiful and reputable Healy Grasslands in the Stanza Empire. Samba had paperwork and had to send a pile of supplies and maids to Diana's room to prepare the room, so she couldn't accompany the maid, so she could reserve the time for the two of us to remember each other. I've always had time to talk almost one-on-one with Diana, but this is the first time for the two of us to really have no servants or maids around.

"What do you think? It will be beautiful."

"Yeah, really. I wonder if the angle of the land and the way the sun plugs in are exquisite... I've never seen plants shine like this."

The Healy Grasslands are surrounded by small hills. Because of this, the sunlight changes slightly, or this time of the year, this morning alone, the grasslands shine rainbow.

Walking slowly through the sea of grass shining in all colors, Diana was filled with mysterious beauty, as if a decorative horseback riding robe were unnoticeable. Diana, who didn't bring a set of clothes, is wearing a traditional Stanza women's costume under her robe, and she feels as if she's close to her again.

"- Princess."

In the middle of the rainbow meadow, Exiga quietly stopped Diana. Looking back, she pointed her eyes towards us, quiet and embarrassed, aware of everything.

Slowly and carefully. Exiga spins her words.

"Ten days have passed since the princess came to the Stanza Empire.... how about our country?"

"... I see."

Asked Diana, she looked away from the sky for a moment.

"The climate, the terroir, the characteristics of the earth - and the culture and history that people have interwoven with them. Naturally, all of them are very different from the Kingdom of Elgrand... but for me, that difference seemed favorable. That would be proof that the people of the Stanza Empire lived sincerely in the face of the world they were given."

"Princess...."

"Even if the place of life is different, even if each" natural "is different, I cherish someone close to me, I hope for the happiness of an important person, I hope that it will be a better day than yesterday, today, tomorrow, and I will spare no effort to do so. --If I could empathize with such a" human being, "I could surely understand each other by doing everything I could say... yes, I could believe it."

Diana's words were quiet and calm. With deep understanding and conviction, not anger or pity, she now speaks.

"I've had a lot of things going on... but I'm glad to be able to get back to the Stanza Empire. Just learning from books, maps, or listening from the outside doesn't really make you aware of the country. After all, if you don't actually look, listen, feel - there's a lot you don't understand without getting involved. I've been thinking about that for a long time, but this time, I was able to feel it again."

It was a warm word like Diana that was sincere in learning and deeply affectionate to all of the confronting worlds. Deena was honestly delighted to learn about the Stanza Empire... but at the top of her mind, Elgrand King is still in trouble.

"... the princess is really kind. And a calm person who doesn't lose his or her fair point of view at all times."

Diana looks silently back at Exiga.

With a little bitter smile, Exiga continued.

"In the light of the values of the Kingdom of Elland, neither the identity system of the Stanza Empire nor the treatment of the lower classes of our privileged will ever be recognized. But the princess never said 'that's never allowed' after she went to the Stanza Empire."

"... Certainly, some of the systems of the Stanza Empire are consistent with the values of Elgrand and my beliefs. But when things change, so do values. Believing that the values of the Kingdom of Elland are absolute and imposing them on the Stanza Empire would be a foolish act leading to the denial of your country's accumulated history."

"Is that so?

"As an envoy of the Kingdom of Elland, I have acted in accordance with the values and beliefs of the Kingdom, but I do not intend to impose them on the people of the Stanza Empire. The Kingdom of Elland will only be able to share its values with other countries when your country is under its umbrella and placed under the control of the Kingdom. ― ― Traditionally, we have used the customs and cultures unique to other countries and respected the values.

"How can I...."

"Because we ourselves, for thousands of years, have honored our values and are reluctant to be exported easily from the outside. Doesn't it make sense to cherish our values and despise them in other countries?

Talking about the Kingdom of Elgrand, Diana was as clean and beautiful as ever and above all proud. While talking about the country, her words have somehow changed to words that refer to "us" and "humans", including ourselves. --Very naturally in the unconscious realm, she believes and prides herself on being part of the Kingdom of Elland.

(I want...)

That pride, that look on the people - if every single one of her could get into the Stanza Empire.

I'm sure this country... can be revived beautifully.

― ― Before the "end (end)" felt by Exiga.

"... I understand the princess' heart. But it's too late."

Exiga prepares and takes a step.

"Even if the princess is not forced. And the inhabitants of Iphtane knew that there was a kingdom in which the rulers were merciful unto the people, and offered themselves to protect them.... I realized that Stanza's values are not absolute."

"... yes"

"The inhabitants of Ifthane, especially in the favelas, have a deep hatred of the privileged class in Stanza.... to be honest, I didn't think I'd get burned up by so much hate when I walked out in front of the people without the walls of soldiers."

"... eh"

"Even if it had been informal, they wouldn't have even thanked me, the royal family, for their form, but if they realized that the values of the Stanza Empire were not absolute and that if the King changed, the way the kingdom would change... this country would not last long anymore."

Diana simply returns her silent, emotionally unreadable eyes to the prepared words of Exiga.

That is no other proof that Diana reached this conclusion sooner than Exiga would have noticed.

Take a big breath and Exiga approaches Diana.

"Thank you, Princess. If the princess hadn't asked me to walk directly through the city of Ifthane, I wouldn't have noticed the true face of this country.... to defy the people who support the country, to deviate from dissatisfaction by creating a lower threshold, to a fat, ugly and distorted form of brutality in which only some ruling classes grow fat."

"Your Highness....."

"... I was born into the ruling class of this country, into the royal family, without any effort. No one can choose to be born, and I have no such talent or strength personally, but I have a duty to protect and support this country beyond being the eighteenth prince of stanza."

"... yeah, I understand."

"I didn't know what it meant to protect my country. --But now I know. Protecting all the people who live in this country, regardless of their identity, is protecting the" country ". Fighting and territorial expansion are only means, and if we acquire territory in this way, we must also bear the lives of those who have newly become our people. Otherwise... eventually, your hands and feet will rot away from the" country ", and your fallen hands and feet will turn into fangs of resentment, eating your head out."

... seriously, I'm sure I have a weak self whispering that it might be better. The Royal Palace of Stanza was deeply corrupted, and even the national embassies who were supposed to have made relatively good choices were lurking among the non-Roku. Perhaps it would be quicker to rebuild it from scratch if it were rotten so far.

--But...

"At the end of a long time, the Stanza Empire was ruled by arrogant people who could not see the people.... but it started differently. The continent has been struggling to secure water and has long struggled to find a better place to live. The first emperor of the Stanza Empire was sworn to unite such bloodthirsty people and make the country strong with the intention of building a world free of strife by unifying the continent."

"... yes"

"The ideal world depicted by the first emperor will be different from our country today.... but at least the Stanza Empire's efforts to unify the continent have eliminated major strife. It's just an unshakeable fact."

……

"If the Stanza Empire collapses now, Once again, the continent is in turmoil, with countries large and small, returning to the world of war. If the country is not destroyed, the lives that could have been protected will also be taken. Considering that… as a person who has the responsibility to protect and support the country, I can't overlook the country in this state without thinking."

Hearing Exiga's voice in a small, unreadable expression, Diana... the moment she finished spinning her words full of readiness and determination, she broke her lips without a sound.

"... Your Majesty's heart will be an undisputed hope for the people living in this country."

"Well... after all, I'm just one of their hated ruling classes. In fact, the other day, I tried to kill an innocent child."

"There are far fewer people who realize that the act is a 'homicide' from the side of the people than His Highness thinks. If you are born noble, it is even more difficult to have eyes to stand by the people and see the country.... Your Majesty was humiliated earlier by the lack of talent to defend and support the country, but I am fully aware of his arrogance and his desire to know the perspectives of the people."

"... you're still smart and fair. Give me a warm word for such a fool."

Stay close and stare at Diana.

― ― Exiga releases the last word she had prepared.

"- Princess Diana. I wonder if you will take that heart of yours not only to the people of the Kingdom of Elland, but also to the people of my Stanza Empire. I intend to dedicate myself as a royal family to the peace of all the people who live in the Empire. Over the course of his life, he aims to abolish the empire's identity system and transform it from a military state to a peaceful state."

"... Your Highness"

"... at first, I just liked you. I still feel the same way I love you. The more I know you, the more I fall in love with you."

"... that's..."

"But at the same time as I think of you as a woman, I now want to respect myself as you and live my life together. It is you who opened my eyes, so please take a look at the next steps.... I hope to give the people of Stanza their lofty hearts."

……

"Princess Diana Crester. --Please take my hand and become the eighteenth princess of the Stanza Empire."

I told him everything I had to say. I showed Exiga as it is, without any lies or deception.

I bet that's what she told Diana when she stared at Exiga. After receiving Exhiga's confession, Diana lay her eyes down quietly.

"Thank you very much, Your Highness. It is a great honor to be here."

Without making any footsteps, I stepped away from Exiga.

"... but as I said before, I am in the Red Rose, the head of King Elgrand's side room. Your Highness's heart is more thankful than ever for buying such a lackluster woman as me - I am not the one who can respond to your feelings."

"─ ─ Why are you so manipulative for a man who doesn't love you, and who will never love you again?"

"Who loves who, who loves who, that's something before the peace of the people."

"What happens to your own happiness!

"I told you this before. --I am as happy as I am."

"... I can show you even greater happiness. I can love you for as long as I live, stay close to your philosophy of loving the people, and aim together for the ideal world you want!

"No, Your Highness will never realize the future I truly want."

Deanna's immediate answer, without a doubt. In Diana's thoughts, which never wavered, no matter how many words were exhausted, Exiga's leeway, which was not so much from the beginning, finally collapsed and vanished.

"Why... why, I don't know!

As Diana fills her distance, she grabs her arm, and Exiga pulls her narrow limb into her arm with impulse. I hugged her so strongly and deeply that she couldn't escape.

"The king may be good as a king, but he is a terrible man. I don't know if it's for politics or something, but I keep tying you up as a" red rose ". Using your love, I'm just using it conveniently, including the taka that you can't leave yourself. You can never be happy with a man like that!

"... please let me go, Your Highness"

"I can't bear to think that if I return you to the Kingdom of Elgrand and your love is exploited by that king again... If that's all you have to say..."

"--Your Highness!"

"As it is, I'll make you mine!"

Put your finger in her arm and keep her face up. Do you realize that a woman is powerless before the power of a man? Even if she resists in words, her body does not show resistance.

Exiga leans her neck to get her red lips.

"... you're suffering from an understanding."

The moment my lips touched. What I heard close enough to feel my breath was a cold voice and terribly sharp signs. When she woke up unexpectedly, her pale eyes glowed with sharp anger, and Diana ejected Exiga from the front.

"You say that you love me, but you do not listen to my words.... don't cherish my heart, my thoughts, my wishes. I can't really understand that such self-centered behavior is" love. "

"... don't you understand?"

"It is love that puts the other person's heart and happiness first. --Isn 't it like a toddler who doesn't even go to the end is squeezing waste just by hitting on selfish thoughts?"

... oh, it's beautiful. This one's heart really, really,

--Beautiful and cruel enough to want to get dirty.

"... I see. It seems that you have no desire. It would be impossible for you to understand such filthy emotions."

"... desire?

"Once you fall in love, I just can't stand wanting to talk to someone else. I can't afford to think about the other person's mind, drowning in their body and mind, smiling and tearing at the same time... it's like I don't see anything else, but I just want one."

……

Diana's expression moved a lot for the first time. He looked up at his sliced eyes to the extreme and looked up at Exige in a daze.

"You can't think about the other person's mind...?

"That's right. You said earlier, 'The toddler is squeezing waste'... but in a way, it's more out of hand than that. Because good adults can't control their emotions."

"Are you saying that such selfish and greedy thoughts... are" in love "?

"You don't understand, neither body nor mind is dirty. I don't care who you love or what you want... whatever it is, I just want you. From the moment I fell in love with you."

"Such... it's too selfish."

"Love is a selfish feeling in the first place. Because the other person's thoughts, circumstances, etc. are not enough, and the mind even asks for one."

As Exiga begged, Diana's expression became stronger and stronger, and she finally turned away and leaned down. Unlike before, there was a clear "gap" in Diana's looseness to her fingertips.

If we miss this plane, we'll never make it again. So intuitively, Exiga reaches out to Diana once again.

"... go ahead."

Just before I touched her, Diana's eyes were straight and she stabbed Exiga. Just like before, everything in those eyes is different.

"You said you wanted me.... I'll give it to you. Everything but the mind."

Words that should have wanted EXIGA above all, spinning with an uncontrolled sound, as if all emotions had fallen out.

... no, no. She has not lost her emotions.

The one who controls her now. That's...

"From my position and body, you can do whatever you like. But the mind alone is impossible.... a long time ago, my heart was dedicated to only one person."

Fainting, deep despair.

"Hi, me...."

"What did you do? Does my heart matter?

"That's..."

"Above all, I have a future that I will never stop wanting. I have a beloved vow with a loved one. --If all of those hopes are lost, and I lose sight of the meaning of living... just my body, which has become the loose shell of my soul, I'll give you as much as I want."

From his feet, a cold "something" crawled up, and Exiga reflexively released Diana's body. Just a few steps back.

Diana's eyes were strong. Strong but faint.

Someone with such glorious hope in his eyes is now sinking into deep despair. As if I had encountered a sudden storm, my beautiful pale eyes looked gray.

(... so long ago)

Is it so desperate for her to belong to EXIGA?... the more convinced you are of the death of your heart, the harder it is to endure.

"... instead of taking my hand in love with you, will you choose to continue loving other women and men who do not look at you? Is that what you want?"

"Didn't His Majesty just say that? Regardless of the other person's mind, love is the only thing you want.... what he wants and who he loves has nothing to do with my thoughts."

"So... are you happy?

"... I don't know. However, it is clear that discarding this thought and choosing a path loved by His Highness will never make you happy. --If the day comes when that person leaves me, I want to stay with him until then. You can't be happy by choosing a path where you know how to get your hands off yourself."

The second half of the words seemed more like an unexpected sincerity than an excitement. That's why there's a deep mood there.

--Truly, in a true sense, her heart is unshaken. With the momentum to think deeply about only one person and throw a throw at their own happiness, they dedicate all of their love.

Whoever Diana loves, Exiga's heart for her remains unchanged.

But... when I forcibly took her body, deprived her of her liberty and stuck her in the Stanza Empire, her heart would die, and Diana would only get a blurry reflection of the world in her grey eyes. "Deanna" will be lost forever, as Exiga persists in burning, confronting the world straight and merciful.

(Does that mean you don't want...?)

I said it had nothing to do with Diana's mind.

But it doesn't matter. --It doesn't matter.

Because she's the first woman to fall in love... I want Diana to be happier than anyone else.

If getting her is equal to losing her eternal happiness... there's nothing more you can hope for.

― ― Close your eyes and accept the imminent reality. Turning his back toward Diana, Exiga took a big breath.

"... thank you for your reply. I will visit this area for a while, but what will the princess do?

"I... thought I'd go back to my room once."

Is it the left side? The princess seems to be good at horseback riding, so there's no need to guide her. "

Diana understood correctly the far-fetched declaration that she would not go any further. After a few beats, there are signs that she will correct her posture.

"... thank you for your concern."

Appreciating her little words, her signs fade away.

Eventually, I can't hear my footsteps anymore.

"I wonder if this is... a heartbreak."

In the middle of a beautiful meadow, Exiga looked up at the sky alone.