When Ulyanna Braginskaya was young, she often comforted herself: I am happy.
The glory of the Braginskaya family will remain standing, and the manor of the Braginskaya family will always be majestic. The current person in power is fatuous and incompetent, and the gift of flattery to him is the family's good fortune for hundreds of years, a steady stream of gold, silver and fiefdom, and the grand duke's proud talk at every banquet.
Everyone seems to think that this is a never-ending carnival, extravagant and gorgeous, beautiful and morbid: the banquet lasts day and night, the music fills the dance floor all night long, and the skirts of ladies turn into beautiful arcs; business negotiations are held together in this zodiac, and "happy marriages" are facilitated.
But what about the serfs who grow sweet and precious fruits, the grooms who command the horses dressed in gold and silver, and the slaves who do menial and backbreaking work that even mice hate? Their skin is rough and dry, a symbol of years of hard work; they are shriveled and thin, their eyes are numb and dull, and they die early after being drained of their value.
The extravagance of the manor has nothing to do with them. Year after year of natural disasters and exorbitant taxes have made them unable to stand upright. How many slaves died from being whipped, and how many died of starvation and illness; Ulyana watched them all.
Of course Ulyanna knew that compared with them, she was born into a good child. Her status as the youngest daughter of the Braginskaya family put her above all others. Even though she was not favored, she still did not need to experience these hardships in her life.
She felt sad and angry for these slaves.
But she also felt sad for herself.
The daughters of nobles cannot escape the fate of marriage - this has been a doctrine for generations, and it is also one of the means for nobles to maintain their prosperity forever. What's more, a daughter who is not favored may not even be able to freely choose her marriage partner.
These are the truths that Ulyana has understood since she was twelve years old, and they are the source of deep fear for her.
I fought, hesitated, and compromised.
Ulyanna did not know what her future fate would be.
But she wanted to return this land for one spring.
*The essence is a story written for oc. Just letting myself feel refreshed><
The essential background is Tsarist Russia in the eighteenth century, but it can be treated as a parallel world.
There is a reference to Catherine the Great.
Intention: Destiny can be in your hands and mine