
Kind of reminds me of a 12 Kingdoms arc... the one with Princess Sonshou (Shoukei).
The emperor was corrupt, there was a revolution by the ministers, and almost the entire lineage was executed save for Princess Sonshou, who was raised as pure as jade, and two of her siblings. She was spared in secret, and then sent far away to a remote village to earn her penance. Her other siblings became farmers to reclaim the barren lands as their penance.
Because I remember this arc, my thoughts towards this manga are...that things really could have gone differently. Shirley though is very different from Shoukei, in that she accepted her ignorance immediately...but she was so hurt that she didn't think of other uses for her life or a third perspective, where as Shoukei was indignant of her situation but eventually understood and became more proactive in trying to repay the country for her sins.
The contrast is interesting...but it also makes me feel deeply sad for Shirley. She was ignorant, but she wasn't evil. She could have, with all her intellect and empathy, done some good for the world; but she was too broken for that...is what I think.
just open in a new tab individually...