The Soldier had thought it was all true love, but in reality, it had merely been desire at work.
He did like the princess, but it had absolutely never reached the level of love.
After all, at the time, he had simply been idling in the darkness, and so he had thought of the princess.
He did not understand her past, her beliefs, or her dreams.
After meeting her, he had merely lusted after her body.
All of it made him realize just how vile he was.
Of course, such vileness only mattered to those with high moral standards.
The Soldier was brave and generous, though he lacked the additional moral qualities needed to make him into the sort of person one would call a hero.
But comparatively speaking, he truly counted as a good man of high moral character.
Yet it was that very moral character that made him feel pain at this moment.
His moral dilemma formed layers of self-reproach that bound him, making his conscience resonate with the Moral Law.
That resonance turned his self-reproach into a small knife, carving away his handsome features.
The tall, heroic Soldier hunched over. He now looked like an ugly man with ill intentions, his entire body carrying some horrifying aura. To a certain extent, he looked even more like a beast.
"You really don't need to bear such a heavy burden," the Shepherd said at that moment.
Looking at the princess lying there, the Shepherd could only offer a little comfort.
"You and she can only be considered to have had intimate contact."
"The person who truly caused her to fall into a complete coma was the witch who cursed her," the Shepherd offered a reasonable explanation.
The Soldier's date with the princess could only be considered a case of