Just Enchanted by Her Strength

Chapter 9: Defying Divine Punishment

The silver-haired Imperial Princess continually told herself she needed to wake up from the night's bizarre events, seeking refuge in the second-floor library of her palace.

Here, automated constructs diligently maintained the collection. Beyond the extensive library, it held a daily selection of newspapers and magazines, even access to the magical network – though restricted to the Aurelian Oak Palace's local network. Daphne gleaned most of her knowledge of the outside world from this room.

She intended to use the abundance of knowledge to wash away the turmoil in her heart.

Her fingers brushed along a row of books, finally pausing at a particular shelf.

*"The Empire's Expansion – The Establishment of the Luminbranch Crowns"*

"As an Autocratic Duke of the Empire, I know so little about the [Luminbranch Crowns]. I need to remedy this."

Daphne reasoned, deceiving herself as she pulled down the large tome and began to peruse it.

"[Luminbranch Crowns]... During the Empire's great expansion, they were not frontier nobles granted fiefs. Rather, they were local natives, conquered by the [The Aurelian Oak] and bestowed with the title of Autocratic Duke. Their relationship with the Empire isn't one of subordination, but more akin to an alliance?"

"[Luminbranch Crowns] swore an oath to the Empire, watching over each other. Their territories are exempt from imperial taxes, and the Autocratic Duke enjoys complete autonomy in governing their lands, only required to defend the frontiers for the Empire in the face of external threats..."

"Why would the [The Aurelian Oak] make such an oath? It could have simply annexed them. Another incomprehensible decision. God..."

Daphne involuntarily glanced out the window. From the second floor of her palace, the view was remarkably unobstructed, offering a clear sight of the faint golden projection above the Aurelian Oak Palace.

In the dark night, the Aurelian Oak's shimmering form stretched skyward, obscuring the light of the stars, casting a beautiful, gentle golden glow across the Imperial Capital, a spectacle so awe-inspiring it was almost suffocating.

Although this projection was merely a simple image, unable to convey even a fraction of the true magnificence of the [The Aurelian Oak], it was still undeniably majestic.

God [The Aurelian Oak], the Empire's God Ancestor, a great being that sheltered humanity from the perils of the Dragon Calamity Era, establishing realms and fostering prosperous lands.

In this Empire named after Him, the [The Aurelian Oak] was the absolute sovereign of the heavens. Even though God rarely intervened in the mortal realm, the Empire adhered to the [The Aurelian Oak]'s will, and its laws were sacred and inviolable.

Most of the Empire's people devoutly worshipped the God Ancestor, but Daphne's feelings toward the towering Aurelian Oak were complex.

If not for the [The Aurelian Oak]'s Oracle, she would have died long ago. But to spare a mongrel like herself, leaving her to suffer, and inflicting punishment after cruel punishment upon her... Why was the great God so merciless?

As Daphne pondered, a single golden leaf detached itself from the Aurelian Oak's projection, drifting with pinpoint accuracy towards the silver-haired Imperial Princess.

"Did it have to be tonight? When I was finally feeling at peace."

Silently gazing at the hovering leaf, Daphne sighed, then a contemptuous smile spread across her face.

"What will you take this time?"

Without hesitation, the silver-haired girl grasped the golden leaf. "Take whatever you want. I have nothing left to lose anyway."

The moment she touched the golden leaf, it dissolved into streaks of light, entering Daphne's body.

"Ugh!!!"

Instantly, Daphne was overwhelmed by immense pain, losing all awareness of her surroundings, collapsing to the floor in violent convulsions.

The power of God coursed through her body.

It felt like being devoured by countless insects, her flesh melting away, her very form being incinerated.

Her soul felt whipped, and indescribable pain surged through every limb, causing Daphne to writhe on the library floor, emitting choked, guttural screams.

Her skin began to c***k, crimson blood oozing out. Her bones creaked and groaned. Horrific fissures appeared at the corners of her eyes, her joints, and her lips, filled with a faint golden light.

Each second of torment was enough to drive a normal person to insanity.

"Is... is that all? Are you just tickling me?!"

But Daphne, writhing and trembling, clenched her fists, a twisted smile forming on her face amidst the unbearable agony.

"Not enough... not nearly enough to make me beg for mercy! Don't ever think you can make me beg!"

"Is this all the God's Punishment you can muster? Don't make me think so little of God!!"

This kind of agonizing t*****e was nothing new for Daphne. Ever since she gained consciousness, the punishments from the [The Aurelian Oak] had been unrelenting.

Sometimes it was twice a year, sometimes once a month, sometimes even once a day, without any predictability. It seemed entirely dependent on the God Ancestor's mood, tormenting the dragon-blooded mongrel whenever He felt the urge.

She had prayed to the divine, hoping with all her sincerity for the God Ancestor to show mercy and spare her.

She had cursed the divine, venomously insulting the God Ancestor for the senseless t*****e.

But no matter how she tried to communicate, she received no answer.

More than once, she had wished for someone to rescue her from this living hell. More than once, she had considered ending it all herself.

After endless resentment, pain, and sorrow, Daphne finally realized something.

All the a***e, hatred, punishment, scorn, curses, and insults were nothing but utter garbage.

She chose to grit her teeth and laugh in the face of fate and injustice.

"Come on... come on... God or man, you can kill me, insult me, t*****e me! Make me writhe like a miserable worm! Make this mongrel suffer!"

The bone-melting, flesh-consuming pain seemed to fade into the background as the fire in her heart drove the delicate girl to furiously pound the floor.

"But you can't break me! You can't break me! You can't break me!!!"

"Your so-called cruelty is nothing but a joke. The means you employ are laughable!"

Daphne seemed oblivious to the pain. All she felt was a tragic sense of exhilaration. "I want to see just how many ludicrous horrors destiny has prepared... for my amusement!"

She parted her lips and erupted in genuine laughter.

The brutal torment felt like it lasted for centuries. Daphne used her iron will to suppress every whimper of pain.

Finally, the tsunami of agonizing sensations began to subside. At the very end, Daphne felt a burning sensation enveloping her left eye.

*“Thwack-”*

The final stab of pain was followed by an impact so intense that Daphne lost consciousness.

Her bitter, raging consciousness plunged into chaos.

…

When Daphne's consciousness returned to her body, the first thing she felt was the emptiness in her left eye.

Needless to say, she was incomplete again. Still, that was okay. At least she hadn’t lost all sight.

But since she’d begun to lose her left eye, her right eye likely wouldn’t last long either… she needed to get used to the lightless days that were surely coming.

But it was just blindness, after all. What was there to fear in the darkness?

This dogshit world didn’t have any scenes worthy of her nostalgia anyway.

She reached to touch the wound, but instead, she felt rough gauze.

The silver-haired Imperial Princess froze for a moment. She remembered that she hadn’t gotten any bandages.

“Good morning, Princess Daphne. I said I’d come visit you, and here I am.”

A gentle, warm voice reached her ears from the side. Daphne slightly turned her head to see something that caused her brain to seize up:

A handsome, elegant man sat on the edge of her bed. A close-fitting black formal suit emphasized his proper, upright figure. The wind blew through his soft, messy hair, and his mesmerizing violet eyes were as calm as the water of a lake in early spring, reflecting the glittering light.

The light of the morning sun shone upon him, covering him with a thin layer of golden dust.

“As you were taking a while to respond, I went ahead and entered your bedroom to give you some simple wound treatment. I hope you don’t mind—it was an emergency, so I had to take liberties.”

The black-haired and violet-eyed youth had a smile full of splendor, like a prince from a fairy tale.

The type of prince who rode a white horse to greet a princess.