Chapter 10

His eyes were making it so hard to refuse him. Yes, you are the princess’s. But not mine. I smiled faintly without answering his question.

“That woman...” I said. “Where did she touch you?”

“W-well...”

I suddenly dropped down and grasped his chin to kiss him. Our lips met, then parted with a soft smack. I had acted completely on impulse.

“...”

Nadrika’s eyes widened, his mouth left partly open in shock.

“There?” I asked softly.

“Oh, um...” Nadrika swallowed. His eyes were no longer trying to search my face, but instead were gleaming with an entirely different fervor. “I’m...not sure exactly where.”

“You’re not sure?”

“If... If you touch me more, I might remember better.”

He was wanting... something... something more. I was surprised to find myself feeling angrily protective, even though he and I were not bound by any relationship whatsoever. Had I become too used to his servile attitude? Either way, I was genuinely upset at the thought that someone had violated this man. That someone had put their hands on him.

“Where?” I asked again, getting down on one knee to look him in the eye, then grabbing his hand and placing it on my shoulder. His fingertips trembled as he delicately held my shoulder in response. I cupped Nadrika’s cheek and planted a kiss on his ear, and then his neck. I could see him gulping as he clumsily moved his hand up to wind his arm around the nape of my neck. I brought my face back again to bring my eyes level with his. Our heads tilted, and just as we were close enough to feel each other’s breath...

“Your Highness.” Someone was knocking on my door. “Pardon me, Your Highness. The Duke of Levenon is suddenly—”

The door burst open before the voice could even finish. I frowned, then smiled softly at Nadrika as I wiped the corners of his eyes with my sleeve. His neck had tasted of salty tears.

“Forgive us, Your Highness! Get him out! Now!”

I slowly got to my feet. A man had stumbled and then collapsed into the chamber, his clothes in complete disarray.

“What’s going on?” I asked.

A couple of soldiers swiftly marched in and grabbed the man, forcing him to kneel.

“We tried to send him away quietly when he asked to see you, Your Highness,” one of the soldiers explained. “We were not expecting him to barge in like this. Forgive us, Your Highness. We are deserving of your punishment.”

“It’s already happened,” I answered. “Just take him away.”

“Yes, Your Highness.” They grabbed the man by the arms and hoisted him to his feet.

“How dare you!” he cried. “Do you know who I am?”

He broke free from their grip and fell before me again. Of course, he was again seized immediately.

“Your Highness! Are you really pretending not to know me? I am your beloved concubine!”

“I don’t remember ever having a concubine like you,” I said.

“But you said you would bestow the title upon me soon!”

“Sorry, but that won’t be happening. Take him away.”

“Yes, Your Highness,” the guards answered.

“Your Highness! No! Stop! You can’t do this to me! You bastards, don’t you know who I am? I’ll kill you all once I become Her Highness’s concubine! Let go! Your Highness! Your Highness!” the man shouted.

“I’d be humiliating myself if I let him go nicely,” I said. “Guards, lock him up overnight and let him out in the morning.”

“As you wish, Your Highness.” The soldiers all stepped backward out of the chamber, shutting the door as they left. I could still hear the man sobbing as he was dragged away.

“Tsk.” I clicked my tongue. Everyone seemed to burst into tears as soon as they stood in front of me. Like some strange sort of unspoken agreement. I supposed these were all indications of the princess’s thorough reign of terror.

But I didn’t want to give her any praise for an achievement like this, impressive or not. Ending someone’s life was honestly just too easy for her. In fact, it was so easy, it was actually difficult to sometimes remember to try and not hurt anyone’s feelings. It was an awfully troublesome life, having every little gesture send someone into either hysterics or tears.

I sighed, feeling a bit exhausted. When I turned around, I saw Nadrika standing quietly behind me. With a warm smile, I walked to him and wrapped my arms around his neck. He awkwardly lowered his body a little, making it easier for me to stroke the back of his head. I felt the tension leave his body as he leaned into me. Enveloped in my arms, he tentatively rubbed his cheek against me. The corners of my lips curled up, but I didn’t want to make him stop just to look in his eyes.

“Do you think nobody else should touch you because you’re mine?” I asked.

“...”

I took his silence as a confirmation.

“You belong to yourself,” I told him. Who knew I had found myself in a place, in a world that defied all common sense such that it brought me to say cringeworthy lines like that. But I meant what I said.

“You can do what you want, as you please,” I continued.

“But...” Nadrika buried himself deeper into my embrace.

“I hate what you hate, Your Highness,” he mumbled.

He was so impossibly adorable, I had to stop myself from squeezing him harder.

“I see,” I said. I kissed the top of his head, then pushed him back out of my arms. Nadrika stared at me, his eyes confused and a little fearful. “Me ordering, you obeying. That’s not the kind of relationship I want.”

“...”

“I want you to be freer and happier.”

“...”

I couldn’t help but chuckle at his bewildered expression.

“What I’m trying to say is, I hate what you hate too,” I explained.

Slowly, a smile spread across his face. A beautiful, wide, radiant smile.

* * *

I sent Nadrika away. Another day had passed, and now it was time to exercise some power as the princess. I decided I didn’t want to play it safe anymore. I ordered a cup of tea to be brought to me, and I was impressed at how good it was. So much so that I even considered taking up a new hobby in tea. As I slowly put my teacup down, the lady-in-waiting standing next to me moved to refill it. I looked up at her.

“How long has it been since you came to the palace?” I asked. She looked taken aback at my sudden question, and a little afraid.

“Four years this year, Your Highness.”

“Quite some time, then.”

“...”

“Is that why you underestimate me?” I asked.

“I beg your pardon?”

I leaned back to sit straight and tall in my chair and began clicking my nails on the armrest. As the silence stretched on, the lady-in-waiting’s face turned pale.

“Your... Your Highness!” she stammered. “I was, I mean, I—”

“Guards,” I called.

The door burst open and a dozen or so heavily armed soldiers barged in, forming a semicircle around me and the lady-in-waiting. Full helmets covered their faces, making their expressions impossible to read. The lady-in-waiting’s hands trembled as she gripped the pot. Tea spilled out the spout and stained the carpet. I stared at the stains without much thought, then raised my eyes to meet her gaze.

“I have a favor to ask,” I said. “Will you grant it to me?”

“Y-Your Highness! Please spare my life!” The lady-in-waiting dropped to the floor in a deep bow.

* * *

In this world, or at least, in this empire, there weren’t any prisons big enough to accommodate a large number of criminals. Serious felons were typically executed on the spot, while others were instead imprisoned briefly before undergoing flogging or torture. In other words, the imperial palace had no reason to keep any criminals long term. That would be too costly.

What would it have been like if I had woken up as a peasant, not the princess? Everyone else here lived each day on the brink of death. It was a society in which people were killed over not just wars and battles, but also trivial things like the social pecking order. I was lucky to be one of the very few at the top of the food chain, but I didn’t intend to stick to traditions, not when I knew it was wrong.

I only needed to say the word, and those who had molested my concubine would be beheaded before seeing the next sunrise. Was that really what I wanted? I was up all night, deciding on how I would punish them.

“Here they are,” announced a voice.

I was seated on a podium at the far end of a hall. In the wide space stretched out in front of me, a group of ladies-in-waiting, servants, and court ladies were kneeling in a line. The last one to enter was Arielle.

At my offer to let her live, the lady-in-waiting had told me everything she knew. There were about 30 or so names mentioned in total. It seemed there was a long-standing tradition in the palace of harassing those who were weak and disrespected by the more powerful. Their crimes were plain as day. But one couldn’t say they were solely at fault.

Truthfully, it was the princess, the one in power, who had set the precedent. All of this began because of her actions, taking people for granted and ordering her subjects into her bed each night to sexually harass them, regardless of title or rank. And as these deeds were condoned and aided, such evils had become common practice.

“...”

Facing all the people lined up in front of me, all unaware of why they were there, I did not say a word. I simply looked at them. Nobody even dared to swallow. Soon, the only stone gate leading outside closed with a heavy, resolute thud, guarded by three armed soldiers. The other soldiers stood on either side of those kneeling, lined up as if to monitor them.

Stifling silence fell again. The captured people began racking their brains, trying to figure out what was happening. Then they began noticing familiar faces around them.

The palace was a large place. These people all worked in different departments and their paths hardly crossed, but they still recognized a handful of others, for it was said that bonds often became stronger over bad deeds than good. Soon, their faces began to show traces of despair, terror, and stunned denial. They had finally realized why everyone had been summoned. Including themselves.

Still, I didn’t say anything.

Just then, one of the court ladies, who barely looked of age, burst into nervous tears. A lady next to her clamped her mouth shut in a panic, looking murderous. One of the guards made a motion to check the time, then came up and whispered in my ear. Then two more guards dragged out a lady-in-waiting hidden in the drapes behind me.

Moans and gasps began sounding all around me. The silence was slowly crumbling. Hands trembled uncontrollably and sweat poured from brows like rain. I slowly lifted my right hand. At my signal, the soldiers marched forward. Instead of reaching for the swords at their waist, they picked up axes from the floor and hoisted them over their shoulders.

Screams echoed throughout the room.

“Your Highness!”

“Please spare us, Your Highness!”

I rested my left elbow on the armrest and leaned my cheek against my palm. Then I lowered my right hand. In quick, disciplined movements, the guards surged forward and each dragged forth a person from the front row. The ones behind them jumped in terror and slid backward, breaking up the line.

Screams erupted with even more hysteria. A few sprinted toward the closed stone gate, only to be overpowered by the three guards protecting the door. The hall was now in complete chaos.

The guard standing next to me called out loudly, “Place your hands on the floor in front of you!”

“Aaah! Aaaah! No! No, Your Highness! Your Highness! Please! Please! Your Highness!”

“Please spare us, Your Highness! Please...!”

With a swoosh, axes were raised into the air. I silently lifted my hand again, and all the axes swung down onto the marble floor with a deafening clang.

“Eeek!”

“Aaargh... huh?”

Their hands were unharmed. As they writhed frantically, trying to escape from the guards’ clutches, they all began to realize what had happened. In that moment, a sliver of hope dawned on their faces. The guards picked up their axes and were now looking my way. All eyes in the room were now utterly focused on me. I smiled and lowered my hand, then gestured to the drapes behind me with my chin. Without a moment’s hesitation, the guards began to drag the captives beyond the drapes, one by one.

“Your Highness! F-forgive us! Spare our lives, Your Highness! No! Aaah, no!”

“I don’t want to die! I don’t want to! Let go! Let go!”

“Your Highness! Your Highness! This isn’t fair! Please, please! No! Your Highness!”

They thrashed about wildly, desperate not to disappear behind the drapes in the back. Watching them, my heart felt heavier than I’d expected. But I didn’t let that show. Once behind the drapes, the screams continued for a little while longer until there was a sound of something heavy thudding to the floor, and all became silent as the grave.

Those left in the hall were struck dumb at the desolate silence, and for a moment looked like they had forgotten to breathe. Then a heartbeat later, they began to sob and yell and beg for mercy again. I stood up from my seat and left the hall, leaving them alone in the presence of the guards with hidden faces. I expected the fear to eat away at them.

To be honest, I was not planning to kill them. But at the same time, a lenient punishment was just as worthless as no punishment at all. And so, I had decided to take the harder route. This had all happened in my palace, so I felt it was my responsibility to fix it all with my own hands.

I couldn’t just cherry-pick what attributes I wanted from the real princess. Since I was using her authority and status, it was only fair that I pay the cost for her sins as well.

At least for now, if I was going to continue to be her.