Cordelia

Cast -
Cordelia: Wang Xue
King Lear: Yonaguni Hikari
Edmund: Ramona Wolf
Goneril: Senju Koyomi
Regan: Lilja Kurtbay

Act 1 -
King Lear of Britain had three daughters named Goneril, Regan and Cordelia. As he grew old, King Lear considered stepping down from his throne, and held a ceremony to test the love of his daughters.

"I will give more land to the daughter who loves me the most."

The cunning eldest daughter Goneril and the second daughter Regan used sweet, false words and flattered King Lear. The third daughter, Cordelia, watched this scene in silence.

(I love you more than anyone else, and I don't need words to show that.)

Cordelia was skilled with a sword, but she was too honest, and her silence caused King Lear to turn against her.

"No, Father, it is because I love you that I don't want anything and don't speak," Cordelia tried to explain, but King Lear called her ungrateful and banished her from the country.

The French king, who was attending the ceremony, was attracted by Cordelia's clumsy appearance and welcomed her as his queen.

Act 2 -
Cordelia was forced to leave Britain and became Queen of France. Although she became a queen, she was not like Goneril and Regan, who wanted to live a life of luxury. She was only interested in honing her martial arts skills, and spent her days teaching her subjects how to use swords.

"I had always wanted to use this sword to fight for my father."

Even though she was far away, Cordelia still thought of King Lear.

Meanwhile, in Britain, Goneril and Regan, who were ruling over the divided kingdom, were constantly quarrelling. They were both seeking luxurious ornaments, food, and entertainment, and the country was becoming poorer and poorer.

King Lear, who had given the kingdom to his daughters, who loved and cared for each other, was treated coldly by them, and even at the royal court he became a hated figure.

The person pulling the strings behind the scenes was a nobleman called Edmund. He was born illegitimately and wanted to seize power, and while being lovers with both Goneril and Regan, he devised various plots against King Lear.

King Lear had grown weak and no longer knew who he was. The jester laughed at him, saying that he was no longer Lear, but a shadow of him.
Driven into a corner by Edmund and blamed by his loyal subjects for driving out Cordelia, who truly loved the king, King Lear became desperate and wandered in the wilderness...

Act 3 -
Cordelia, who had left Britain but who was still worried about King Lear, heard that her father had gone missing and rushed out to search for him.
Remembering where her father liked to visit, she managed to find King Lear. He no longer had his former dignity or haughtiness, and Lear apologised for having driven Cordelia away.

"I'm sorry Cordelia, I said something terrible, that you weren't my daughter."

"It's all right, Father."

"You were a truly dutiful daughter."

The kind Cordelia smiled and forgave her father. She also headed to Britain to appeal to her sisters, who had caused their father so much grief and become tyrants.

At that time, Edmund had succeeded in driving King Lear out of the country and was building up his position further. However, one day, it was discovered that he was playing both sides with Goneril and Regan. Edmund, who had already prepared to take control of the royal court and had decided that the princesses were a hindrance, carried out a plan to kill them.

Act 4 -
Cordelia set off for Britain with King Lear in order to appeal directly to her sisters. However, her hometown had already been taken over by Edmund, and as a keepsake from her two sisters, the two swords that Goneril and Regan used before they died were delivered to her.
"My God, you mean my sisters have been killed?"

She was told by someone who knew the inside story that the whole plan was orchestrated by Edmund, and she became enraged. At the behest of the King of France, she rode into the royal palace with King Lear at the head of an army, but Edmund had anticipated Cordelia's arrival and attacked first. However, Cordelia used her swordplay to fend off the assassins that attacked her and charged forward to face Edmund.

"For justice and my love for my father, I will defeat him!"

Standing at the front line herself, Cordelia made a loud declaration and advanced, and even some of the former loyal retainers turned against Edmund in an attempt to help.

The situation seemed to be in France’s favour, but when Edmund and Cordelia faced off in a one-on-one duel, Cordelia collapsed after being affected by the poison smeared on the tip of Edmund’s sword.

Although she had managed to defeat Edmund, Cordelia was already close to death.

"Father, I have avenged my sisters…"

Cordelia breathed her last, thinking of her father until the end.

King Lear had now lost everything - his wealth, his power and his beloved daughter. Holding his daughter's lifeless body, King Lear was stunned and cried loudly like a baby.

The jester, who had witnessed the end of the battle and the fate of the royal family, laughed on the battlefield, which held nothing but misery and emptiness.

"If you fall to the very bottom, all that is left is hope. This is where it begins."

Aftertalk -

Wang Xue
...…

Ramona Wolf
Xue, what's wrong?

Wang Xue
Nothing, I was just thinking about my father back home. I was wondering how he was doing.

Yonaguni Hikari
Princess Cordelia is a kind girl who thinks about her father, too. She's a perfect fit for Xue.

Wang Xue
I'm not like Princess Cordelia. I can't stand arrogant adults.

Ramona Wolf
Then, Xue's father was a good father.

Wang Xue
I don't know. My parents were always busy with work and often away from home. I was left in charge of looking after my siblings, and I don't have many memories of being spoiled.

Wang Xue
But...I'm grateful to them. There's no doubt that my parents worked hard and made sacrifices to feed me and my siblings.

Ramona Wolf
So you want to make money by becoming a successful actor for them? As I thought, you really care about your family.