After living in Gundal for a while, I considered this world to be primitive and currently in the Medieval Age. It was very difficult to live here coming from someone who came from a civilized and more technologically developed society.

But that notion gradually collapsed when I came to Relans.

The capital was definitely more developed than Gundal. I wouldn't call it a bustling city; however, the light bulb existed here, they had sewage systems and water treatment facilities were almost the same back in the modern world. When I turned on the faucet, purified hot water came out and I became insanely jealous from seeing that.

Back in Gundal, there was no such thing as electricity so we used lanterns instead. We drew water from a river several kilometers every morning and if we wanted to have a hot bath we had to boil water in a fireplace for a long time.

That was Gundal in a nutsh.e.l.l. But compared to what Gundal has to offer, Relans had no inconveniences. It was even better than my original world where you had to work as a slave to a company.

And it was there that I felt it: the differences in living standards. This caught me by surprise, it was nowhere near what I saw right in front of me. My mind was blown. "Th-This… This is…"

"How is it, beautiful? The construction period was tighter than I thought, so everything was a little rushed," Madam Rurin proudly boasted.

The ball took place on the pond itself. It wasn't floating on a boat or lifted up on a raft; instead it was on an icy, gla.s.s pane that was supported by pillars from the bottom of the pond. However, the floor wasn't only made of thick gla.s.s. There were precious gems and flowers inside it too. It was glittering in all directions.

"Aren't you coming, Dana?"

I felt uneasy walking on the glittery floor and it seemed the other n.o.bles shared the same sentiments. Because of that, the line to verify your invitation moved slowly. I stopped right before I set my foot down.

"…It won't break?"

"Oh, it won't. I've done a lot of testing before installing the gla.s.s. All the broken gla.s.s from our tests were collected in a separate building."

Everything you said was just too hard to imagine.

"So don't worry about it being unsafe." Madam Rurin was already in the middle of the ball. I followed her and found that the ground was surprisingly stable. Having rea.s.sured myself, I spent my time looking around. Not only were there pillars that supported the floor, there were gla.s.s columns that extended to the sky and connected with each other to form a cage-like dome. The columns were filled with water from the bottom of the pond. Inside the columns, fishes were swimming freely going inside the pillars, below the gla.s.s floor, or out into the pond. Seeing colorful fish swimming up into the sky was unimaginably beautiful. Looking down at the floor, I felt like I was standing on water. Looking up at the sky, I felt like I was in the water.

"How is it? It's beautiful right? I wanted to make this ballroom into a piece of art."

"Ah-ah, beautiful… But, to go so far…" It was pretty to the point of being scary. I admired its beauty, but I also felt horrified. I turned to Madam Rurin exhausted. This seemingly graceful lady was crazier than you would think. Everywhere you look, she looks like a normal person. However, not only was the project for the ballroom crazy, but the technology put into it as well. Back in my old world, I might be able to do this but I wouldn't. Why? It's useless that's why.

Madame Rurin replied to my stuttering words, "Why? Well it's to show off our money of course." Ah, yes… As expected of someone who was overwhelmingly wealthy and spent money as a hobby. But of course, it's her money, anyways. 

"Then the Empire… has a lot of money?"

"Sure, plenty too. But it's not because we have a lot of money that we wanted to spend it."

"Really?"

"We endured a long war, so now is the time to show that we eat and live well. It's also to show other countries that no matter how much they try to invade us, we will still live better than them, right? Domestically, our nation was busy with the war so us n.o.bles lived quietly; however, it wasn't because we didn't have money but that we had our own pride as n.o.bles."

"Ah…" I nodded in understanding. Somehow, I was no longer surprised in any of this anymore. In my previous life, I was a small citizen who lived earnestly. It wasn't that easy trying to adapt to this rich lifestyle.

'I'm so crazy to even think of becoming a maid here.' To try and jump into this unknown world, I was bravely ignorant. 

"His Majesty arrives!" A servant shouted loudly.

“!” I turned my head toward the entrance.

'Oh what to do!' I covered my mouth with both hands. I didn't expect to see him again so soon. Of course, the days felt like years, but I soon forgot all of that when I saw his face.

The Emperor entered with a young woman and his guards followed behind. Whenever the Emperor enters the room, it was protocol to bow down to the waist. However, the Emperor's face was so beautiful that many people stole glances up at him. I was one of them.

His Majesty has even become more beautiful, wonderful and perfect. Everytime the sunlight hit him, his cool-toned hair shone blue, his cold eyes blazed with life, and there was so much more that it was hard to list them all.

There was just one flaw and that was the cursed outfit he was wearing. It was colorful and pretty, but it was totally garbage that it wouldn't even be considered as a beggar's scarf. Yet His Majesty was wearing it. Other than that, everything about His Majesty was still perfect. I may not agree with his outfit choice, but everything from the throat up was as beautiful as ever. I had always wanted to see his handsome face one more time. As I watched him, I remembered the meaning of life.

I'm jealous of people who can see their favorite person through a picture or can actually see them in the flesh. Since I don't know the next time I could see him I can't miss even the tip of his hair or the features of his face. The floodgates of my eyes were on the verge of opening.

'If you cry now you won't be able to see!' I could not afford to cry at this moment. I gave focused all my energy into my eyes. As long as I was with Madam Rurin, I could see His Majesty more than the average person, but who knows when the next time would be. I need to watch him as much as I could. I focused to the extent that I could see all his joints moving.

In a single motion, the Emperor beckoned his servant.

"His Majesty has commanded you all to stand up!" The servant shouted again. I stood up fully with renewed vigor. Then I held my breath as I looked to the side of him.

The woman next to him looked so similar to the Emperor that she had to be his sister. She was like the female version of the Emperor. The resemblance was stunning and she was incredibly pretty. The Emperor's beauty and impact was multiplied by two. The world was a beautiful place to live in.

After a short ceremony, the Emperor stepped forward to perform the first dance. His partner was the Imperial Princess and they danced in circles with all the n.o.bles surrounding them. Their dance was dull and it felt like they wanted to get it over with. but the Emperor's beautiful silhouette still stood out from the rest. Even if his dancing was dull and basic, he was still exceedingly s.e.xy. Absolutely beautiful.

The Imperial Princess' POV (aka His Majesty's sister)

The Emperor's dance pattern was always the same. No deviations and everything was as I remember it. Thanks to my training, I was able to close my eyes and follow by memory. Well, that meant moving as stiff and sharp as a knife.

"…Are your ears not working today, Your Majesty?" I looked up at him strangely and asked since he just missed a beat.

He was puzzled by my question and couldn't hide it because of how close we were.

'Huh?' I raised my eyebrow and gave him a questioning look.

He didn't answer me and continued on dancing. After a little while, I broke my concentration and looked to the side. "Do you have any plans for today? Looking at your demeanor, did you perhaps find a lady in your heart?"

"…No, it's… It feels like I have seen a lot of… a certain frog egg."

My eyes widened at what he said. "Your Majesty, are you able to recognize a frog egg from the others now?"

"No."

"Then perhaps now you are able to perceive female faces?"

"My eyes still see the same indistinguishable frog eggs."

"Well if you cannot tell them apart, then how are you able to tell one apart from the others?"

He frowned at me. "I agree."

"Well which frog egg is it? Where is she?"

"Over there, next to Madam Rurin. That frog egg… it looks like it's burning doesn't it?" When the Emperor twirled me around, I was able to see the person he mentioned. Right next to Madam Rurin was a woman staring at the Emperor with fire burning in her eyes.

"Ah, I know her. I believe she is the painter Madam Rurin is supposed to introduce today. She does not seem angry, the shape of her eyes are just framed that way."

"Painter?"

"Yes, they happened to meet in the province of Gundal and I believe she was invited to Madam Rurin's salon."

"Gundal… ah?"

"Oh, did you remember something?"

He looked away at my question.

Back to Diana Gundal's POV

I didn't know what the Emperor and his dance partner was saying, but it looked like a conversation between siblings. Even from here it was beautiful. But there was something that caught my eye hidden near the Emperor.

"Who is he?" There was a man standing toward the edge and holding a sketchbook. He seemed to alternate from looking at the Emperor to drawing diligently. 

"Oh, him? He's currently the court painter and is the only one who has the legal right to draw His Majesty."

"The right to draw His Majesty." The word court painter sank down in my chest. Rather than being a maid, isn't this the path I should take? My heart started racing. I was willing to have this as my permanent job even if my salary got cut to once a month.

The Emperor finished his dance while I was off daydreaming. His dance wasn't appraised nor did anyone applaud or cheer. It ended quietly. However, there was a fiery atmosphere burning amongst the quietness.

'Huh, what?' I looked around at this p.r.i.c.kling atmosphere. Every young woman was fluttering their eyelids and trembling with antic.i.p.ation that I could almost hear it. There was one place where their fluttering eyes and their hopes were directed and it was at the Emperor.

"Wh-what are they all doing?"

"Now that the official ceremony is over, everyone can dance freely… His Majesty will take a couple of songs with those who aren't married yet."

"Aha…" Dancing with the Emperor… So their fighting spirits and silent pleas were for the Emperor. I shrugged my shoulders and took a step back. It wasn't like I know the Emperor enough or my family was powerful enough to dance with him. If I had known what I knew in the future, I wouldn't have taken a step back because the Emperor chose people at random.

But I didn't know. My own virtue loved to fight against me. 

The Emperor didn't even look around nor hesitate when he turned around to a girl and asked for a dance.

Translator: Cenetta

Proofreader: Arie Bee

Like what I'm doing?

The Lady is a Stalker

Your Majesty is so Handsome

The Priness is Going on Strike

For my Hero