“I apologize if my words made you feel uncomfortable. I just spoke what arose in my
heart,” Kraison said.

“No, Lord Kraison. It’s not that I’m offended by your words… but I’m trying to organize
my thoughts on how to speak to you. I know well that what I’m about to say might be
inappropriate in your feelings, especially towards His Majesty whom you and I respect.
Listen to me carefully. I will tell you the truth of what is happening, and all of this is a
plan we must work together on.”

“A plan for what…?” Kraison asked.

“You know that Minister Luem is my father, right?” she asked.

“I know,” he replied.

“My father offered me as a concubine to His Majesty when I was only sixteen years old.
At that time, His Majesty was almost eighty years old. On the first day of sending me to
the bridal chamber, His Majesty was very kind to me. He never touched me even once,
and he will never do anything to me because he has known me since I was a baby. He
cherishes me more like a daughter or granddaughter. But because it was my father’s
wish, His Majesty didn’t want to refuse. My parents always taught me that I must
diligently serve His Majesty and hope that I would have a child with him. Both His
Majesty and I know well what my father wants. His Majesty talks to me every time it’s
my turn to serve him,” she began to explain the background.

“Is that so?” Kraison said.

“Besides His Majesty not wanting to possess me, he even supports me if I love or like
someone. Once, he asked me if I had a lover,” she said.

“And what did you tell him?” Kraison asked.

“I replied, ‘Yes.’ There is someone I fancy,” she replied.

“You already have someone you fancy?” he asked.

“I told His Majesty that the person I fancy is you,” she replied.

“Are you speaking from the heart…?” Kraison looked at her, almost disbelieving his
ears.

“If you decided to speak from the heart, I also decided to speak from the heart. If you
believe that at this moment there is something sacred inspiring you to decide to speak
or do something, I also have the same feeling, and I am speaking as it tells me,” she
replied.

“Lord Phoche, it seems that Koharu is also sending thoughts to herself at this moment,
right?” I asked Lord Phoche.

“This is clear, especially in the case of Koharu, who is said to have reached the edge of
the football field. And now she is up in the stands, looking down at the field. She can
see every moment of her life that has ever happened because her mind is in a state of
timelessness,” Lord Phoche replied.

“I think I almost understand. But I’m still confused about how Koharu can inspire
herself in the past,” I asked.

“It’s because she is still thinking based on space and time,” he replied.

“That’s right. How will you explain this?” I asked.

“You can imagine it like this. Beyond the edge of the football field, which is her life, is
the edge of the stands. But the distance from the lowest edge of the stands to the
highest edge of the stands is very long, so long that even light, which travels the fastest,
would take millions of trillions of years to travel. Images of every event that has ever
happened in her life are traveling through that long distance. But her mind travels
much faster than light, so fast that it has no speed at all. This means her mind can
travel from one point to the destination that light would take millions of trillions of
years to reach without any time at all. Just by thinking about being at the top edge of
the stands, she is already there. This is how her mind, in a state of timelessness, exists
in every period of her time,” Lord Phoche explained.

“Oh… it’s even more confusing now,” I said.

“Just focus on the feelings that arise from within, because those feelings come from
your own self that is beyond all time,” he advised.

“Lord Kraison, I think that our relationship isn’t the important thing. The important
thing is that I am currently like a hostage,” she said.

“A hostage? I don’t understand,” Kraison asked.

“One day, I followed my father to pay respects to the Supreme Patriarch. I overheard
the conversation between my father and His Holiness and felt uneasy. The first issue is
that my father doesn’t like you very much. This is because His Majesty currently gives
you a lot of special attention. Since His Majesty met you, he has changed. Instead of
relying on my father’s advice or the advice of the ministers for decisions, His Majesty
listens to your words, even though you don’t know the royal customs and traditions, or
the administration of the country. The latest issue is that His Majesty ordered the
establishment of a royal rice field to grow rice to feed the people in the palace, instead
of collecting taxes from the farmers. I know this well because I am always close to my
father. My father said that this must be your doing, making His Majesty care about the well-being of the common people and adding work for the people in the palace, having
the royal attendants manage this part,” she began to elaborate.

“That’s right. I was the one who advised His Majesty about this because I used to be a
farmer’s son. I know well that in some years, when there is a drought, the rice harvest
is small, barely enough to eat, and they still have to set aside some to send to the
palace. Sometimes the soldiers don’t listen to any reason and use coercion. His Majesty
doesn’t know about these things, so behind the scenes, there are only curses against
him. So, I advised that His Majesty should reduce or stop such practices. With just rice,
His Majesty doesn’t need to exploit them at all. He has plenty of land and abundant
servants. Some of them do nothing all day, idle and quarreling. Life in the palace is
never peaceful. Doing this, even though there is more work in the palace managing the
rice farming, the common people will praise and love His Majesty,” Kraison said.

“It’s really from you, as my father said… The second issue is that I also feel that the
Supreme Patriarch doesn’t like you very much either. Since you were appointed as an
advisor to His Majesty, His Majesty doesn’t pay much attention to him, especially
regarding His Majesty’s intention to build a temple to house a Buddha image that is
different from the customs and traditions. His Holiness objected, but His Majesty did
not listen,” she said.

“The third issue is that His Majesty knows all of this well. Every time I serve him
privately, he opens up and tells me that my father is ambitious. He senses that
something unusual will happen to him and to you, who are unaware but will be
affected. And this is the plan. I came to you here, which is His Majesty’s plan. He allows
me and you to have a husband-and-wife relationship, which will not be a secret to him,
but will be a secret to my father.”

“Let me put it simply. His Majesty wants your bloodline to be in the royal family, under
his royal lineage through me. If you can have a child with me in His Majesty’s name,
your child will be accepted as royal blood,” she said.

“This must be the mission I received from His Majesty and also the opportunity for me
to follow my heart. I am willing to be yours. I have never been touched by any man
before. My father intended to preserve this virginity for His Majesty alone. Even though
this mission is sudden, it is necessary because we will have few opportunities to meet
and be alone. Today, I chose only the attendants I can trust. This may be the only
opportunity and the last opportunity in my life and yours. Please don’t hesitate,” Lady
Usaa said.

As soon as she finished speaking, she reached out and placed Kraison’s hand on her
chest. The scene reminded me of the first time I was intimate with Koharu; it was so
similar, as if it were the same event.

“In that case, please follow me to my room,” Kraison said, getting up and taking her
hand to walk to the bedroom.

“I am willing,” she replied.

“Lord Phoche, can I skip the events from now on? Because it makes me feel excited and
might lose my focus,” I asked.

“As you wish. You can skip to see other events as you desire,” he replied.

“Or, could you tell me the story of what happens from now on instead? It would be less
time-consuming. I think you should know from other people’s perspectives and be able
to summarize the events for me,” I suggested.

“In this case, I can tell you because I am with you, and I see the stories of other people
related to you, in dimensions that you might not be able to see,” he said.

“Good. I won’t have to guess who did what,” I said.

“From what I see in your memory and the memories of others involved in this event,
from now on, you will only be intimate with Lady Usaawadee two more times. After
that, she will become pregnant. She will have a son, but you won’t get to see him
because you will die before he is born,” Lord Phoche narrated.