“Y-Young lady? W-why do you have that in your hand…?”

It was a certain winter night. The candle light lit up only a portion of the servant quarter.

The woman lying on the bed was horrified when she saw a young girl holding a knife above her stomach. Her belly was exposed since her shirt was halfway opened up.

The little girl tilted her head cutely. “I wanted to test something that I was curious about?”

Although her tone of voice sounded innocent and cute, her actions contradicted her innocence. She gripped the knife between her hands.

“Curious about…?”

Cold sweat dripped down the maid’s back. Her teeth clattered in fear. Her pupils shook as she gazed into the eyes of the girl.

“…I heard humans can live without their stomach. Isn’t that wonderful?”

“W-What…?”

Her confusion didn’t last because a hot burning blade was plunged into her stomach.

“!!!!!”

The roar frightened the little girl. She fell down the bed and she looked back at the woman who was screaming. The latter was trying her hardest to get the knife out of her stomach.

Her insides burned with every pull she did.

..

In the end, foam came out of her mouth and she died. The entire room was covered in black smoke and smelled like death and fecal matter.

“Yuck.” The girl pinched her nose without guilt on her face. She left the room as if she wasn’t there in the first place.

The noise alerted the guards. Everyone was horrified by the scene of a woman lying in her bed with her stomach cut open. Her organs were still being cooked by the burning knife.

All they were worried about was if the young lady was fine.

However, the young lady had already lot interest after seeing the woman die.

..

.

Diane Bentinck, 10 years old, looked down at the boy who she pushed down a cliff. The boy confessed to her on this very spot.

Her words were: “If you fall off the cliff and survive then I will be more than happy to be your wife. I will give my first time after I turn 15 as well.”

Young Diane said so with a smile to the baffled boy. Her smile was cute but her eyes were the complete opposite.

All he saw were cold, dead eyes looking at an ant.

In the end, he didn’t survive.

All she uttered was: “Pathetic. Humans are truly trash. This is why we get kicked around by the other races. Your love was meaningless because I cannot feel the same way.”

She left just like that. The boy was confirmed missing and no one knew if he was alive or dead.

However, Diane forgot about the incident the very next day. She felt nothing. Not sorrow, guilt or even sadness.

Her heart was as empty as a void.

Diane, 11 years old, who was walking down the forest path with her puppy, suddenly stopped. The little dog looked up in wonder.

All it saw was a fast approaching rock fly at its head. A heavy impact knocked it to the ground.

It whimpered. However, another strike came for its head.

‘Surely, I’ll feel something if I lose my puppy, right…?’

But she still felt nothing. No emotions.

Her heart was the same empty hole it was ever since that day she gained awareness of her surroundings.

Fast forward to her first lesson as a young lady at age 12…

“Diane, she will be your tutor. This is Shamela and she is one of the greatest scholars on the continent.” Her mother introduced a woman who was wearing glasses and a pencil skirt. Even by looking at her expression, one could tell that she was a strict and intelligent person.

The location was inside the study room of her father. Her first lesson would be held there.

The door shut after her mother left.

“I will not allow any misbehavior in this learning environment. Do you understand, Diane?”

The woman bent down and gazed into the eyes of the little girl. Cold, lifeless eyes.

She nodded wordlessly. She wasn’t angry at the woman’s disrespect to her status. This woman was a commoner so she should’ve had some respect for Diane even if the latter was younger.

But Diane didn’t mind it. Rather, it was a refreshing feeling. Everyone else was stiff whenever they interacted with her. They’d always offer her the highest praise and worship the ground she walked on.

Maybe it was fear or genuine respect.

“Good. First lesson.” The woman held up her finger. “You will memorize all the kingdom’s laws from the First age until the Third age; which is till today.”

“Yes…” That was a total of three hundred laws and each were a page long. But Diane didn’t utter a single complaint.

This satisfied the woman. For once a noble brat was being obedient.

Although that attitude began changing day by day.

“Useless! I told you to have this finished by the end of the week! Are you rebelling!?” The woman slapped Diane mercilessly until her cheek swelled up. The servants didn’t utter a word and only watched.

What could they do anyway. That said, they were actually pleased that the creepy young miss was being treated that way. It wasn’t once or twice that she harassed each of them in the past.

The woman suddenly stopped slapping Diane.

“…Y-You!” Her eyes raged as she saw the gaze that Diane was giving her.

It was the gaze given to an inferior being. Although her face was that of a child’s, her eyes were that of a person who had experienced all the hardships of life.

What kind of life had this child lived? Maybe she was being forced to do too much as a child. Maybe that was why she couldn’t finish the work her tutor gave her.

The woman slapped Diane again. This time with a bit more power. The latter fell down unconscious.

…

Diane didn’t tell her parents of the tutor’s behavior. Not even the servants did anything. It was like they didn’t care. As long as she was obedient, the woman wouldn’t get violent again.

Since Diane’s performance had improved, the woman decided to reward Diane.

“I heard that beautiful roses bloom for one day near the forest. Would you like to go there and have a picnic?” The woman was a completely different person if the subject didn’t involve education.

“Mm.” Although Diane didn’t want it, she thought that it wasn’t bad to take some time off. All she did was read books anyway.

The woman arranged the date when they should head there. Her parents were happy with her results so they didn’t stop the woman.

“We will take a walk to the town first. I need to go pick something up.” That was what the woman said when they came out of the front door.

“Mm.”

The two walked for a little while to the town near Harz village. The road was packed with carriages so they weren’t able to travel by carriage.

“…” Little Diane saw a carriage that was speeding faster than what was allowed on the kingdom’s roads. The coachman looked like he was drunk as he kept flicking the reins. The horses bumped into each other and that caused a rippling effect to throw the road into chaos.

“Barbarian scum.” Shamela muttered in disgust.

Diane looked up at her as the carriage came closer.

The two of them had to cross the road but couldn’t because of the chaos. Shamela was busy looking the other way since the right side of the road only had the speeding drunken coachman driving on it.

Five seconds. Diane lifted her hands.

Four seconds. She moved closer to Shamela.

Three seconds. She hesitated.

‘Do I…hate her?’

The woman had been the thorn in her side for a while that she had been there. Each and every day was filled with even more work than she did in the past.

She understood that her parents wanted her to become a successful noble in the future, however, the pressure they put on her as a child was too much.

Diane would sometimes cut herself unknowingly. She didn‘t understand why she was born like this.

Why didn’t she hate her parents for giving her such a life? Why couldn’t she feel emotions like happiness? Why didn’t she feel sad when she killed her own puppy?

Why…

“…Huh?”

One second.

The woman felt herself being pushed forward. She didn’t understand why she was falling.

!!!

The horses neighed when they saw the woman fall on the ground. However, the velocity they were going at was too much so they couldn’t stop.

“!!!” Shamela’s head and upper body was crushed under the hooves of the horses and the wheels of the carriage.

The people didn’t notice the woman being crushed since the chaos in the roads was too much. The carriages on the other side of the road only sped on.

Only Diane saw what happened.

“….”

The woman’s brain matter and bits of her skull was lying on the ground at Diane’s feet.

The little girl walked away wordlessly.

That day, she sat by herself and watched the flowers that bloomed once annually.

◇

“What a weird time to remember all of that…” I stood in front of the mirror and looked at my reflection.

Dark brown hair, blue eyes and a gorgeous face. I could say that I was one of the most beautiful women in the kingdom since my genes were from famous families. My mother was from a foreign family known for their sugar trade and my father was a famous general that stopped countless wars.

My family had a lot of influence in this kingdom. We had many connections as well.

To be honest, I wasn’t particularly satisfied with my life. I had to work day in and day out each and every day. Even as a child. I had no time to play or rest. My mother wanted me to grow up to be a competent person to ensure that this household stayed where it was.

With those at the top of the aristocracy.

If I had been born into a family of commoners, would my life had been different?

Would I have smiled truthfully and laughed because I could feel happiness? Would I have cried when the pressure was too much?

I wondered each and every time I see the lives of the villagers.

“It’s pointless to think about this. I have been wondering about it for my whole life and yet I haven’t found an answer.” I muttered and touched my face.

This face that could control its emotions so effectively that no one knew what I was thinking of.

A knock came from the door.

-Young miss, are you ready? I have changed the sheets in your decided room so you can go whenever. Lord Clyde is already in the room.

“…” I looked outside. It was dark and quiet. “Let’s get this over with…” I muttered to myself.

“Tell him I’m on my way.”

-Yes.

The maid’s footsteps echoed down the quiet hallway. My parents, along with my little brother was staying over at another noble’s house tonight. Most of the servants were told to go home as well.

This was so that we could have private time together.

‘This residence is already so huge so why was it necessary to leave me alone with him?’

It made me a little uncomfortable but I could do nothing about the matter.

I took off my robe and looked at the body in the mirror. It wasn’t plump or meaty by any means. I didn’t have the hour glass figure that Artoria had.

‘That shouldn’t matter. Men are hungry beasts anyway. Does it matter what my body looks like?’

“Okay…Let’s go.”

◇

“Diane?”

When I opened the door, I saw Clyde rest by the chair next to the candle. In his hand was a book. He stood up and put the book in his storage bag on the table.

‘Rolath diary?’

I managed to see the name.

‘I think I read something about him once. What was it…?’

I read so many books that I sometimes forget about a lot of things.

“Yes, dear husband.” I kneeled and took off the band that held my hair together. “From tonight forth, my body, soul and mind is yours.”

I took off my robe which caused his eyes to widen.

I put my hands on the buckle of his belt.

“Woah!” He retreated backwards. “First you take off your clothes so suddenly and now you want to take mine off as well!?”

“What’s wrong?”

‘Is he secretly a wimp?’

“We need to take it slowly!” Clyde exclaimed. “This is your first time so we shouldn’t rush.”

“Why does it matter if it is? All we need to do it finish the ritual of a man and wife.” I closed the distance but he held out his arms.

“First thing we need to do is foreplay!”

“Ah? Four play?”

“No. Not four play. Foreplay. It’s one word.” He grabbed my hand and took me towards the bed.

I fell onto the bed and looked up at him. “What should I do?” I asked.

“Just lie still.” He climbed on top of me and put his hands on my chest.

“What are you doing?”

“…Why do you ask so many questions?” He took off his shirt and undershirt.

“!”

I saw a big wound on his upper body. It was a closed wound but one could tell that it was a serious injury before.

“…” I put my hand on the wound. “Was this the wound from the day you lost your core?”

He nodded. “…Yeah…”

“Who did it?” I had heard that he lost his core but I didn’t hear who did it. Information regarding the invasion of the border was kept secret.

Clyde looked downcast. “Zelda Minerva.”

“Eh?” My eyes widened as I looked at the wound.

‘How did he survive an attack from such a person?’

The Minervas were known for their strength and career which was assassination of high profile targets. Those targets are oftentimes protected by powerful bodyguards. To counter this, the Minervas trained vigorously throughout their entire lives.

It all started from childhood.

The most recent high profile assassination was the leader of the evil cult that worshipped the immortals.

The current head was the one that carried it out.

“Wait…If she was the one that did it…” I looked at Clyde. “Then the reason you were late…”

“Yeah. I beat her.”

“….”

My mouth hung open.

“That’s not important tonight.” Clyde threw his shirt to the floor and lowered his head.

He put his lips on mine.

‘Is this a kiss…?’

He parted my teeth with his tongue and pushed through. His saliva poured into my mouth.

I tapped on his shoulder because I couldn’t breathe. Clyde let go and looked at me with a weird expression.

“Don’t tell me…this is your first time kissing too?”

I wiped my mouth and nodded.

“Is this sex?” I asked as I looked down at the thing poking my thigh.

‘Is there something in his pants?’

“Wait.” He lowered my underwear and opened my legs.

“Um…What are you-!”

An electric shock went up my spine and I couldn’t help but gasp.

The slimy feeling spread in my privates. My mind blanked and I didn’t know if I was dreaming or not.

‘Wha…’

Something big spread apart my insides. It was so hard and thick that the pain it sent through my body made me scream. It went in and out.

“This is sex!”