June 7, 2019
I gulp. “Ye-yeah. I-I want to see him too… Hahahaha.”
You could almost see the madness in her noble face. It was fleeting, but still scary. Madam Rurin instantly came back to her gentle and elegant demeanor.
“Our Majesty is so handsome. Otherwise, so many artists wouldn’t be inspired by him.”
“Yeah.”
“That’s right. Thanks to my work, I am blessed to see beautiful works of him being made constantly.” She begins looking through her stuff to boast. What she takes out are pictures. “On my way out of the castle, I was able to find wonderful, newly made works. I was so lucky that they were willing to sell them! Look!”
Madam Rurin set down the pictures of the Emperor.
“Aha…”
The pictures are of a higher quality than the one in the book I have. They look so good that I almost fell for his beauty. He is that handsome.
I nod my head. “… Handsome…”
Although I appreciate the pictures, Madam Rurin is disappointed that I didn’t give the reaction she wants. But the pictures are just of the Emperor. That’s all. I shift my eyes away, sorry I couldn’t say anything more. Then, something caught my eyes.
“That’s…”
There is a brush protruding from her bag. In Gundal, that was something you couldn’t obtain easily.
“What? Are you looking at my brush?”
“Ah, yes. You paint, Madam Rurin?”
“Ah… I wanted to but I don’t have the talent. Setting that aside, I present this like a key to the painters in my salon.”
“Ahh…”
Salon, painter. That is the first time I heard those words in this world. I couldn’t even think that there would be such a thing.
Before I became Diana Gundal, I was an artist. I belonged to an art company that allowed me to draw to my heart’s content. Then all of a sudden I came here and couldn’t be a lean, mean painting machine that I used to be. I hated it. For almost 3 years, I couldn’t touch a canvas and my blood felt like it was boiling.
“Diana, you don’t seem interested in the subject of these pictures, but are you interested in the side of making it instead?” Madam Rurin wonders as she tries to read my gleaming eyes.
“Yeah. I want to try…” I say as desire drips from my voice.
“Oh my…” she shows a surprised and briefly troubled expression. “Oh, what should I do? I would love to give this to you but… but this is a precious item that I present to gain entry…”
“Ah…”
“I may not be able to give it to you, but I can let you borrow it during my stay here.”
I raise my head up energetically. “Really?!”
“Yes, I haven’t seen you in years after all.” Madam Rurin starts laughing like an angel. I feel like I could do anything. There is a beacon in this desolate world.
She then gives a smile befitting a palace official and adds, “But before that you should practice your duties for the ceremony.”
“…”
Thus we immediately begin practicing my hellish duties.
Spaccee
“Again.” A decisive voice rings from behind me.
My hands grip the bouquet and tremble. That is a sign that I am barely holding the urge to throw it away.
“Again?”
“Fingertips to the front.”
Getting up, my hands and feet hurt so much. The light of my desolate world, Madam Rurin, has now become the gatekeeper for Hell. She, who is the one in charge of the ceremony, is a demon. Everything must be perfect for her.
“His Majesty is the symbol of the Empire. You have to master this in order to give him a proper welcome.”
“Really?”
“Diana, I’m going to polish you until you’re perfect. From your fingertips to your eyes. Everything will be beautiful, perfect, artistic!”
“…” My shoulders droop.
“Now, again from the beginning.”
No matter how tired I am, Madam Rurin makes me recite with a clear, sing-songy voice. There is nothing to reign her in.
The sky has turned yellow. Instead of looking up at the ceiling, I close my eyes. I feel so tired that years seem to have passed by. How did my life get to this point?
Well let’s summarize what happened from the beginning.
It was easily avoidable, but I was caught in a traffic accident in my original world. When I came to, I was in the body of Gundal’s youngest daughter, Diana Gundal. Diana, the real owner of this body, was heartbroken after hearing the Emperor was in an accident. After that, she couldn’t eat and was bedridden. She was soon in a coma and it was then that I woke up in her body.
Waking up as Diana I couldn’t understand their language or anything about this world! I was basically a fool who hit rock bottom. I had to learn everything from the beginning just like a baby. It was when I was reteaching myself that I realized that I was born as the youngest daughter of a lord but there was no silver spoon for me.
Gundal has poor farmers and the crops didn’t produce enough. The situation is so bad that men and women were farming, hunting, or resorting to banditry. In Gundal, by the time you could walk, you could wield a sword. It was a setting with that kind of background.
The original Diana had a job of filing and writing letters, but my grasp of the language wasn’t good enough to do that. I tried using my previous life skills to find jobs related to painting. However, in a town where it’s hard to find something to eat, painting was a luxury.
Eventually, I was given tasks like porcelain making, sewing, and shepherding. There was no preference for the lord’s youngest daughter. I may be a noble lady, but I had a hard life like a common maid. Doing manual labor and studying the language. I had no time to think about anything. It has been three years since then.
And now.
Why must I endlessly have trials come my way? While not knowing my troubled heart, Madam Rurin speaks in a cheery voice, “Now again! You must be perfect so you can face his Majesty without any worries!”
Who can restrain this fangirl for me? I couldn’t even shout and am forced to hold the bouquet.
I look up at the painting tools in the corner and came back to life. I can finally draw for the first time in a long time. When this is over, I will hold that brush.
But reality is cruel. We practiced everyday nonstop. Despite being busy with practice, I still had to let the sheep out to graze. I also had to repair or replace broken ceramics. I was so busy and whenever I had a break I’m off practicing for the ceremony.
My already difficult daily life was interrupted in order to welcome the Emperor. I was not able to pick up a brush even once.
As days and days passed, it became the day of the Emperor’s visit.
It’s been a frenzy since the early morning. Madam Rurin’s maid wakes me up from my sleep, washes, dresses, and decorates me. I couldn’t even relax in my tub. I was tired before the day even started.
The maid looks at the polished me and claps her hands. “Ah! I almost forgot. Miss, the Madam suggested to give you a supplemental drink for your heart.”
“Oh? What is it?” It is the first time I heard the word, but I didn’t know what it means. The maid laughs.
“Miss, this will be your first time seeing His Majesty. If you don’t mind, it’s better to take the heart supplement in case you faint.”
“…What?” I frown. That’s a bit of an exaggeration.
The maid shrugs and put a small vial of medicine on the table. “If you don’t take it, you might regret it later. The medicine’s effects are long.”
“Is that so…”
I glance at the vial and look up. It looks like some ancient medicine. Even if I meet the Emperor, isn’t this too much? The people of this world are bad for my liver.
I laugh at the vial, but in the future I regretted not taking it.
Spaceee
One step toward the emperor.
That is one of the most important steps of my life. It’s the first step to end the drought that is my desolate life.
The moment I meet eyes with the Emperor, my whole world reestablishes itself. Life now has meaning.
My life is divided into before and after the Emperor. Now is the beginning of a new life.
My heart isn’t ready to see this overwhelmingly handsome man. I feel like I’m going insane.
After the ceremony, I return to my room dazed. The Emperor’s face is still fresh in my mind.
“Miss, please shut up.”
“Whaa, haaa~”
“Miss, you’re drooling.”
“Guuu.”
“Miss, the cup is on your nose…”
“Kuh!”
I wake up after that. Well, for a short while. After the crisis of getting water up my nose ended, it is bye-bye my soul.
“Miss, you are putting bread in your ear… I can’t do this anymore. Let’s just take care of this and leave.”
“Yea I don’t mind.”
“Alright Miss, please eat.”
The two maids next to me viciously pounce me. My soul returns back in my body, never to be seen out again. For the first time the image of Emperor’s good looks are replaced with fear. Now I have very normal reactions.
“I changed her clothes and loosened her hair.” The maids finish their work and relax back into position.
“Hrrmm…” I grab my cheeks with both hands as they leave the room. I feel like I died twice. My escaping spirit feels like a soldier after a world war.
Even though my mind is barely there, I can easily imagine the Emperor’s handsome face. “No, no how can someone be so godly.”
He is so handsome, it’s bad for my heart. I imagine his face over and over again.
How is he so handsome? Oh my gosh how can I live my life now. The aftermath of basking in his Majesty’s beautiful aura still lingers. Most people who’ve seen the Emperor’s face up close had their souls leave their bodies like me. The Emperor was so handsome that for us fellow sheep, we felt full without eating.
Resuming my daily life is hard as I did my tasks mechanically. My mind is in another world and I keep on making mistakes as I let out the sheep to graze…
After the sunset, I realize that I’m missing a sheep.
“Ah shoot…” I clutch my head in a panic. I’m going to get it tomorrow! Even if it’s one night, the beasts will find and eat the poor thing. Welp, it’s better to suffer today than lose a sheep tomorrow.
I sigh and left the house with a machete. The mountain that the sheep ran off to has a lot of wild animals and barbarians also go there to plunder. Because of this, I learned how to fight with a sword. At first I was afraid to even touch one, but after 3 years of living here it’s almost a part of me now.
I hurriedly run after the sheep.
The Emperor’s face pops up in my mind. I need to hurry this up so I can draw his face before I forget any details.
“Somewhere around here…”
I wander around the mountain and start looking for the sheep. The moon is bright tonight. I didn’t need to bring a torch with me because I’m used to the dark. It’s even more annoying carrying one around.
Just then, I hear a rustling behind a tree.
‘Is that her?’
If I approach the sheep suddenly, it will flee. I tiptoe and slowly start to approach.
Suddenly the atmosphere feels tense and the mountain becomes silent. It’s at that moment that I realize something is strange and I take a step back.
June 7, 2019
I gulp. “Ye-yeah. I-I want to see him too… Hahahaha.”
You could almost see the madness in her noble face. It was fleeting, but still scary. Madam Rurin instantly came back to her gentle and elegant demeanor.
“Our Majesty is so handsome. Otherwise, so many artists wouldn’t be inspired by him.”
“Yeah.”
“That’s right. Thanks to my work, I am blessed to see beautiful works of him being made constantly.” She begins looking through her stuff to boast. What she takes out are pictures. “On my way out of the castle, I was able to find wonderful, newly made works. I was so lucky that they were willing to sell them! Look!”
Madam Rurin set down the pictures of the Emperor.
“Aha…”
The pictures are of a higher quality than the one in the book I have. They look so good that I almost fell for his beauty. He is that handsome.
I nod my head. “… Handsome…”
Although I appreciate the pictures, Madam Rurin is disappointed that I didn’t give the reaction she wants. But the pictures are just of the Emperor. That’s all. I shift my eyes away, sorry I couldn’t say anything more. Then, something caught my eyes.
“That’s…”
There is a brush protruding from her bag. In Gundal, that was something you couldn’t obtain easily.
“What? Are you looking at my brush?”
“Ah, yes. You paint, Madam Rurin?”
“Ah… I wanted to but I don’t have the talent. Setting that aside, I present this like a key to the painters in my salon.”
“Ahh…”
Salon, painter. That is the first time I heard those words in this world. I couldn’t even think that there would be such a thing.
Before I became Diana Gundal, I was an artist. I belonged to an art company that allowed me to draw to my heart’s content. Then all of a sudden I came here and couldn’t be a lean, mean painting machine that I used to be. I hated it. For almost 3 years, I couldn’t touch a canvas and my blood felt like it was boiling.
“Diana, you don’t seem interested in the subject of these pictures, but are you interested in the side of making it instead?” Madam Rurin wonders as she tries to read my gleaming eyes.
“Yeah. I want to try…” I say as desire drips from my voice.
“Oh my…” she shows a surprised and briefly troubled expression. “Oh, what should I do? I would love to give this to you but… but this is a precious item that I present to gain entry…”
“Ah…”
“I may not be able to give it to you, but I can let you borrow it during my stay here.”
I raise my head up energetically. “Really?!”
“Yes, I haven’t seen you in years after all.” Madam Rurin starts laughing like an angel. I feel like I could do anything. There is a beacon in this desolate world.
She then gives a smile befitting a palace official and adds, “But before that you should practice your duties for the ceremony.”
“…”
Thus we immediately begin practicing my hellish duties.
Spaccee
“Again.” A decisive voice rings from behind me.
My hands grip the bouquet and tremble. That is a sign that I am barely holding the urge to throw it away.
“Again?”
“Fingertips to the front.”
Getting up, my hands and feet hurt so much. The light of my desolate world, Madam Rurin, has now become the gatekeeper for Hell. She, who is the one in charge of the ceremony, is a demon. Everything must be perfect for her.
“His Majesty is the symbol of the Empire. You have to master this in order to give him a proper welcome.”
“Really?”
“Diana, I’m going to polish you until you’re perfect. From your fingertips to your eyes. Everything will be beautiful, perfect, artistic!”
“…” My shoulders droop.
“Now, again from the beginning.”
No matter how tired I am, Madam Rurin makes me recite with a clear, sing-songy voice. There is nothing to reign her in.
The sky has turned yellow. Instead of looking up at the ceiling, I close my eyes. I feel so tired that years seem to have passed by. How did my life get to this point?
Well let’s summarize what happened from the beginning.
It was easily avoidable, but I was caught in a traffic accident in my original world. When I came to, I was in the body of Gundal’s youngest daughter, Diana Gundal. Diana, the real owner of this body, was heartbroken after hearing the Emperor was in an accident. After that, she couldn’t eat and was bedridden. She was soon in a coma and it was then that I woke up in her body.
Waking up as Diana I couldn’t understand their language or anything about this world! I was basically a fool who hit rock bottom. I had to learn everything from the beginning just like a baby. It was when I was reteaching myself that I realized that I was born as the youngest daughter of a lord but there was no silver spoon for me.
Gundal has poor farmers and the crops didn’t produce enough. The situation is so bad that men and women were farming, hunting, or resorting to banditry. In Gundal, by the time you could walk, you could wield a sword. It was a setting with that kind of background.
The original Diana had a job of filing and writing letters, but my grasp of the language wasn’t good enough to do that. I tried using my previous life skills to find jobs related to painting. However, in a town where it’s hard to find something to eat, painting was a luxury.
Eventually, I was given tasks like porcelain making, sewing, and shepherding. There was no preference for the lord’s youngest daughter. I may be a noble lady, but I had a hard life like a common maid. Doing manual labor and studying the language. I had no time to think about anything. It has been three years since then.
And now.
Why must I endlessly have trials come my way? While not knowing my troubled heart, Madam Rurin speaks in a cheery voice, “Now again! You must be perfect so you can face his Majesty without any worries!”
Who can restrain this fangirl for me? I couldn’t even shout and am forced to hold the bouquet.
I look up at the painting tools in the corner and came back to life. I can finally draw for the first time in a long time. When this is over, I will hold that brush.
But reality is cruel. We practiced everyday nonstop. Despite being busy with practice, I still had to let the sheep out to graze. I also had to repair or replace broken ceramics. I was so busy and whenever I had a break I’m off practicing for the ceremony.
My already difficult daily life was interrupted in order to welcome the Emperor. I was not able to pick up a brush even once.
As days and days passed, it became the day of the Emperor’s visit.
It’s been a frenzy since the early morning. Madam Rurin’s maid wakes me up from my sleep, washes, dresses, and decorates me. I couldn’t even relax in my tub. I was tired before the day even started.
The maid looks at the polished me and claps her hands. “Ah! I almost forgot. Miss, the Madam suggested to give you a supplemental drink for your heart.”
“Oh? What is it?” It is the first time I heard the word, but I didn’t know what it means. The maid laughs.
“Miss, this will be your first time seeing His Majesty. If you don’t mind, it’s better to take the heart supplement in case you faint.”
“…What?” I frown. That’s a bit of an exaggeration.
The maid shrugs and put a small vial of medicine on the table. “If you don’t take it, you might regret it later. The medicine’s effects are long.”
“Is that so…”
I glance at the vial and look up. It looks like some ancient medicine. Even if I meet the Emperor, isn’t this too much? The people of this world are bad for my liver.
I laugh at the vial, but in the future I regretted not taking it.
Spaceee
One step toward the emperor.
That is one of the most important steps of my life. It’s the first step to end the drought that is my desolate life.
The moment I meet eyes with the Emperor, my whole world reestablishes itself. Life now has meaning.
My life is divided into before and after the Emperor. Now is the beginning of a new life.
My heart isn’t ready to see this overwhelmingly handsome man. I feel like I’m going insane.
After the ceremony, I return to my room dazed. The Emperor’s face is still fresh in my mind.
“Miss, please shut up.”
“Whaa, haaa~”
“Miss, you’re drooling.”
“Guuu.”
“Miss, the cup is on your nose…”
“Kuh!”
I wake up after that. Well, for a short while. After the crisis of getting water up my nose ended, it is bye-bye my soul.
“Miss, you are putting bread in your ear… I can’t do this anymore. Let’s just take care of this and leave.”
“Yea I don’t mind.”
“Alright Miss, please eat.”
The two maids next to me viciously pounce me. My soul returns back in my body, never to be seen out again. For the first time the image of Emperor’s good looks are replaced with fear. Now I have very normal reactions.
“I changed her clothes and loosened her hair.” The maids finish their work and relax back into position.
“Hrrmm…” I grab my cheeks with both hands as they leave the room. I feel like I died twice. My escaping spirit feels like a soldier after a world war.
Even though my mind is barely there, I can easily imagine the Emperor’s handsome face. “No, no how can someone be so godly.”
He is so handsome, it’s bad for my heart. I imagine his face over and over again.
How is he so handsome? Oh my gosh how can I live my life now. The aftermath of basking in his Majesty’s beautiful aura still lingers. Most people who’ve seen the Emperor’s face up close had their souls leave their bodies like me. The Emperor was so handsome that for us fellow sheep, we felt full without eating.
Resuming my daily life is hard as I did my tasks mechanically. My mind is in another world and I keep on making mistakes as I let out the sheep to graze…
After the sunset, I realize that I’m missing a sheep.
“Ah shoot…” I clutch my head in a panic. I’m going to get it tomorrow! Even if it’s one night, the beasts will find and eat the poor thing. Welp, it’s better to suffer today than lose a sheep tomorrow.
I sigh and left the house with a machete. The mountain that the sheep ran off to has a lot of wild animals and barbarians also go there to plunder. Because of this, I learned how to fight with a sword. At first I was afraid to even touch one, but after 3 years of living here it’s almost a part of me now.
I hurriedly run after the sheep.
The Emperor’s face pops up in my mind. I need to hurry this up so I can draw his face before I forget any details.
“Somewhere around here…”
I wander around the mountain and start looking for the sheep. The moon is bright tonight. I didn’t need to bring a torch with me because I’m used to the dark. It’s even more annoying carrying one around.
Just then, I hear a rustling behind a tree.
‘Is that her?’
If I approach the sheep suddenly, it will flee. I tiptoe and slowly start to approach.
Suddenly the atmosphere feels tense and the mountain becomes silent. It’s at that moment that I realize something is strange and I take a step back.
