At the heart of the Royal Capital of Eliya stood the Royal Castle.Within its grand halls, a knight investiture ceremony was underway, attended by countless nobles.Amidst the distinguished assembly, a small, black-haired girl clad in armor captivated the gaze of every noble present.
The discovery of an ancient relic, an event unprecedented in the entire history of the kingdom, necessitated an immense amount of legal consultation regarding the kingdom’s laws to determine its proper commendation.
“…Therefore, in accordance with Article 1 of the Kingdom’s Constitution, comparison can be made to similar precedents…”
“…and to ensure no contradiction with Article 3, Paragraph 15, and Article 15, Paragraph 19, which previously existed…”
“…and without distinguishing between tangible and intangible contributions, as was conducted 17 years ago during the Battle of Areya…”
Unsurprisingly, Lily found the knight investiture ceremony utterly tedious.
Consequently, her gaze naturally drifted from the King to the woman seated beside him—Queen Erda, a figure of breathtaking beauty and magnificent physique.
‘I’d seen her a few times in the game, but seeing her in person, she’s even more spectacular.’
Queen Erda’s appearance was, quite simply, as if she had been drawn in an entirely different art style from everyone else.
Yet, her exceptionally voluptuous figure stirred a profound dilemma within Lily.
Though Lily had observed countless ‘lilies’ (TL Note: A slang term for attractive women, often used in Yuri/Girls’ Love contexts) across her past and present lives, Queen Erda’s unimaginable allure was something entirely new, beyond anything she had ever encountered.
‘Queen Erda is too lewd! But being too lewd isn’t allowed!’
Unable to cease her internal debate, dozens of Lilies began to gather and commence a fervent discussion within her mind.
A mature Lily, clad in a business suit, projected a presentation onto a screen and initiated the proceedings.
“I hereby call the 398,423rd meeting to order.”
“What is today’s agenda?”
“Regarding whether Queen Erda can truly be considered a suitable ‘lily’ (TL Note: Referring to a target of attraction in a Yuri/Girls’ Love context)—”
Among them, a Lily wearing a child’s hat, with tears welling in her eyes, interrupted the speaker.
“She’s a chicken coop (TL Note: A Korean slang term, ‘dakjang,’ used to imply an older woman is ‘past her prime’ or ‘too old’ for their preference)…”
Queen Erda was, in many respects, as magnificent as Lily had always perceived her to be, even in her past life.
However, this magnificence was deeply displeasing to the faction that pursued ‘youthful’ preferences.
These Lilies, who championed the motto ‘There’s no such thing as too young,’ were a nefarious group known as the Dark Nongnongdan (TL Note: A playful, derogatory term for a faction that prefers extremely young characters, often implying a ‘lolicon’ preference), and to them, Queen Erda was merely a ‘chicken coop’ (TL Note: A Korean slang term, ‘dakjang,’ used to imply an older woman is ‘past her prime’ or ‘too old’ for their preference).
Yet, there were also Lilies who vehemently opposed this view.
One of them, a mature Lily in a grand dress, cried out, her face flushed crimson.
“She’s not a chicken coop!”
As a member of the Dark Ppangppangdan (TL Note: A playful, often self-deprecating term for a faction that prefers characters with large breasts), she found this deplorable situation intolerable.
The members of the Dark Ppangppangdan, who proudly bore the motto ‘Breasts must be larger than heads,’ were itching to spring into action.
While they had always been fractured by debates over the importance of breasts, buttocks, or thighs, this unprecedented incident compelled them to unite.
Feeling the tide turn against them as the Dark Ppangppangdan rapidly gained influence, the Nongnongdan Lilies sensed their disadvantage.
Thus, they began to join forces with those whose preferences typically aligned with their own: the Dark Jjukjjukdan (TL Note: A playful, often self-deprecating term for a faction that prefers characters with long, slender legs, ‘jjukjjuk’ implying ‘stretching’ or ‘long and straight’).
“She *is* rotten (TL Note: ‘Sseogeun geot,’ meaning ‘rotten thing,’ is slang used to imply someone is too old or past their prime, often in a derogatory sense)!”
Though they had engaged in fierce, recurring debates over the ideal ‘youthful’ aesthetic, it was hardly surprising that they would join hands when faced with a colossal common enemy like Queen Erda.
But could Queen Erda truly be called ‘rotten’?
No, she could not.
They simply could not tolerate anyone daring to label Queen Erda as a ‘chicken coop’ or ‘rotten’ (TL Note: ‘Sseogeun geot,’ meaning ‘rotten thing,’ is slang used to imply someone is too old or past their prime, often in a derogatory sense, similar to ‘dakjang’).
“She’s perfectly ripe (TL Note: A counter-argument to ‘rotten,’ implying ‘mature’ and ‘perfect’ in a positive sense)!”
“…!”
“…!!”
Perhaps a headache had begun to throb from the endlessly real-time conference raging within her mind, for Lily naturally lowered her head, averted her gaze from Queen Erda, and began to nod off.
****
“Do you, Lily von Asgard, swear to be a faithful knight?”
The small, black-haired girl in armor silently bowed her head.
Just then, at a perfectly opportune moment, sunlight streamed through the stained-glass windows, illuminating her figure.
Her wavy black hair caught and reflected the rays, naturally brightening only the space around her, creating an image as if she were blessed by the God of War.
A gasp of admiration rippled through the nobles present at the sight of such a majestic and sublime spectacle.
“She is like a paladin straight out of legend!”
“Indeed. A legendary knight. What a blessing for our Kingdom of Eliya.”
“Is she not like a single black lily, her head gracefully bowed?”
“Blessings upon the birth of the Knight of the Lily—no, the Lily Knight!”
If Lily had heard them, she would have immediately protested, wondering what kind of humiliating play this was, but alas, she was currently skipping rope between the ambiguous boundaries of dream and reality.
‘Li…lily…lilies are a good culture… *mumble, mumble*…’
Moreover, in the Kingdom of Eliya, the lily was primarily a flower used to praise women, making it an expression the nobles could naturally accept.
Thus, Lily’s epithet became the ‘Lily Knight’.
****
One day, less than a week after returning from the Royal Palace, Lily witnessed Adelia retrieving a letter from her locker.
“Princess, you didn’t, by any chance, receive a love letter, did you?”
“Just because it came from a locker doesn’t mean it’s a love letter, does it?”
Adelia examined the seal on the letter, then frowned, clearly displeased.
‘It looks like the seal of an ordinary rural baronet, but this is the method used by the kingdom’s covert intelligence unit.’
Even as royalty, she had only known of it through knowledge; this was her first time seeing it in person.
It was the preferred method for issuing highly confidential directives or communicating within the Royal Palace.
‘This must certainly be related to the ancient artifact Lily discovered.’
When Lily, after casually mentioning she was going to pick flowers, suddenly returned with an ancient artifact, Adelia couldn’t help but be astonished, yet she hadn’t fully grasped the ripple effects it would unleash.
It was only after entering the Royal Castle and, for the first time in her life, experiencing a deluge of ‘love calls’ (TL Note: A Korean idiom referring to invitations or requests, often implying romantic interest or eager recruitment) from various nobles, that she truly understood Lily’s significance.
Lily’s discovery had finally even captured the attention of her father, who had until now treated Adelia as if she didn’t exist, and the King’s clandestine act of sending a hidden letter, rather than conveying a direct or official command, filled Adelia with shame.
“Such a foolish method…”
Rage surged within her at her father for attempting to use her in such a manner, and she couldn’t help but also feel furious at her own pathetic inability to even properly protect Lily.
“That trash!”
Lily, oblivious to the underlying reasons, was bewildered by Adelia’s sudden shift in mood.
“H-huh? You… you disliked the man who sent that letter *that* much?”
“Ah, ahaha, it’s nothing, Lily. By the way, what kind of sweets would you like to have at today’s tea party?”
Adelia gritted her teeth, forcing a desperate smile.
She didn’t want to show an angry face in front of Lily, nor did she wish to reveal her unsightly weakness to her.
As her right hand clenched instinctively, her fingernails dug into her palm, drawing blood.
****
Lily’s curiosity about the contents of the love letter was overwhelming.
On her way out from the tea party, she secretly detoured back to the classroom and retrieved the crumpled letter Adelia had discarded.
“Was sending a love letter between nobles considered quite rude?”
Pondering the reason behind Adelia’s sudden anger, Lily slowly unfolded the letter.
‘We are currently investigating the ancient artifact recently discovered in the Eliya Underground Dungeon.’
“The first topic isn’t the weather or anything like that, but an ancient artifact? This noble must be quite trendy.”
‘We have confirmed that Lily von Asgard is close to you.’
“Huh? This letter wasn’t sent for the Princess, was it?”
‘Regularly send us information about her.’
“Why are they trying to get my information from the Princess?”
Lily wondered if she was reading a secret directive rather than a love letter, but decided to continue reading nonetheless.
‘Many nobles have benefited from her discovery, but some have also suffered losses.’
She speculated that the sender, lacking the courage to send her a love letter directly, was instead threatening the Princess, leading her to a conclusion entirely divorced from reality.
“Now I understand! The person who sent this letter is my terrifying stalker!”
Lily couldn’t quite grasp what about her appealed enough to warrant stalking, but having been a man in her past life, she knew there were certain types of people who would ‘poke’ at any woman, simply because they liked women in general.
“But I’m only interested in ‘lilies’ (TL Note: Referring to Yuri/Girls’ Love)! Oh, wait, is it possible the person who wrote this letter is a female student?”
She flipped the envelope over and over, trying to find a name, but discovered nothing.
From the outset, there was nothing on the envelope that could identify the sender, save for the seal itself.
Lily reluctantly decided to keep reading.
‘If you fail, a useless person like you will never be forgiven.’
“As expected, the Princess has it tough. This is a big problem. But to speak of the main heroine like this is a bit ignorant of the game, isn’t it?”
Beneath that, in an entirely different handwriting, the final sentence was inscribed.
‘So, if you fail,
I will kill ‘Lily von Asgard’.’
“Hieeeek! Why?!”
Lily, reeling from the sudden threat in what she thought was a love letter, promptly lost consciousness.
