Chapter 2: To Open One's Eyes
A middle-aged noblewoman appeared before Sienna's eyes. Sienna soon realized that the woman was a reflection in the mirror.
This was the first dream she had after realizing that she was the emperor in the dreams. The definite proof of her realization was right in front of her eyes.
—This is... the future me.
Even though she was much older, Sienna could tell right away.
Blue hair mixed with silver and golden eyes. Her cheeks were a bit more slender, and her eyelids were thinner, revealing sunken eyes. The fresh vitality of Sienna's twenty-year-old complexion was nowhere to be found.
Twenty years... or maybe more time had passed. Sienna couldn't tell what her exact age was.
The current Sienna was at the peak of her youth. Like every young person, Sienna never imagined what her older self would look like. She suddenly began to realize the universal truth that every person was marching towards their deaths.
Sienna felt strange to see her future self like this, but there was one thing that Sienna liked about what she saw.
Her eyes.
Within those eyes, she could see the many years of experience she had gained. It was something that the current Sienna could never obtain no matter how hard she tried. The wisdom of the years was reflected in her eyes.
Sienna could see the ladies-in-waiting walking back and forth behind her through the reflection in the mirror. They were helping the emperor with her wardrobe. Two ladies-in-waiting fastened a cape onto her shoulders. The elaborate embroidery on her coat was beautiful but intimidating.
The bustling ladies-in-waiting stood back and lowered their heads.
"Is it finished?"
"Yes, Your Majesty."
"Let's go."
The emperor turned around. The sturdy door opened as the emperor approached it. She walked along a long corridor. There were circular, engraved columns along the passageway. The path went along the courtyard and stretched out to the side.
Sienna knew where this path led to. She had gone this way before.
—Are we going to the throne room?
The fragmented sunlight cast a shadow on the emperor. Sienna estimated the time of day by the length of the shadow.
—The midday break has ended, and now it's afternoon.
She felt like she knew where the emperor was going and for what reason. It was time for the imperial audience. It was the basic responsibility of an emperor.
The way an emperor reigned was revealed in his imperial audience. How much time he devoted to the imperial audience, who he met with... This was all decided by the emperor himself.
In previous generations, there had been emperors that had never had an audience with a nonaristocrat. There were also emperors that spent all day listening to the requests of the common citizens.
They had almost reached the throne room when...
"Your Majesty! Your-"
An urgent call, a scrambling noise. As the emperor began to walk faster, the surroundings blurred as it passed by. Some distance away, she could see a group of knights and attendants dragging someone away.
"Halt!"
The emperor approached the group that was now standing still. A middle-aged man had fainted and was limp as he was being dragged by the knights by both arms.
"Who is this?"
A knight answered her.
"This man lied about his identity. He trespassed and dared to try and enter the throne room in order to scorn you, Your Majesty."
"What is this man's identity?"
The knight hesitated before he replied.
"He's an official that assists the envoy from the Kingdom of Peroh."
"The envoy? He could have just followed procedures and scheduled an audience. Why did he decide to deceive and trespass instead? Was he plotting to hurt me?"
"We will interrogate him and find out."
The emperor stared at the knight. Sienna couldn't read the emperor's thoughts, but she felt that the emperor was glaring at the knight. The emperor then spoke to the attendant at her side.
"Search this man's pockets."
The attendant searched the unconscious man's clothes.
"Did you find anything?"
"No, Your Majesty."
"Then are you telling me that a man trespassed all the way over here to hurt me without carrying a weapon?"
The knight couldn't answer back.
"When he wakes up, bring him to me. I will question him myself."
"Your Majesty."
The emperor turned her head at the call.
"I rushed over here when I heard that a wicked man had caused a disturbance here."
—Hmm.
Sienna let out a groan. She finally saw someone she recognized. Of course, this person had also aged considerably. Still, he was the spitting image of his father, that old man, so Sienna was able to recognize him quickly.
Doug Rimone.
He was the eldest son of Duke Rimone as well as Patricia's older brother. In other words, he was Sienna's maternal uncle.
—You've aged a lot, Uncle.
Sienna laughed as she spoke the words her uncle couldn't hear. Unlike her last two dreams, Sienna was feeling a bit lighthearted. This was because she realized she was experiencing a miracle from the gods. She was peeking into her future.
"You didn't have to hurry over here for such a trivial matter, Duke Rimone."
"What do you mean by 'trivial'? How can a matter related to your safety be considered trivial?"
Doug clicked his tongue as he looked at the unconscious man in the knights' arms.
"That man came all the way here..."
"Do you know him?"
"I heard that the Kingdom of Peroh is undergoing a crisis due to the monarch's inadequate governing. The public sentiment is split, and half of the people want him dethroned. That man is a representative of those people. No matter how much one claims to be a loyal subject of the Empire, interrupting the emperor from doing her duties is not proper. I only worry that it will spoil your mood, Your Majesty. I will take him away."
"...Alright."
As Sienna listened to the conversation between the two, her heart sunk. For some reason, she didn't feel these two had a good relationship.
As she saw her uncle through the eyes of the emperor, Sienna felt that her uncle seemed a bit cunning. She didn't have any context about this situation, but Sienna felt that her uncle was trying to hide something. She couldn't shake off this feeling.
—Can't you notice it? Or are you just pretending not to?
Sienna criticized her future self even though she knew her words wouldn't be heard. The emperor's gaze fell on the envoy from the Kingdom of Pero for a moment before turning away. She was about to enter the throne room before she suddenly stopped.
"I will postpone the imperial audience."
The emperor turned around and walked back.
"Son of a bitch."
Sienna clearly heard the soft words that were spat out through gritted teeth.
Chapter 2: To Open One's Eyes
A middle-aged noblewoman appeared before Sienna's eyes. Sienna soon realized that the woman was a reflection in the mirror.
This was the first dream she had after realizing that she was the emperor in the dreams. The definite proof of her realization was right in front of her eyes.
—This is... the future me.
Even though she was much older, Sienna could tell right away.
Blue hair mixed with silver and golden eyes. Her cheeks were a bit more slender, and her eyelids were thinner, revealing sunken eyes. The fresh vitality of Sienna's twenty-year-old complexion was nowhere to be found.
Twenty years... or maybe more time had passed. Sienna couldn't tell what her exact age was.
The current Sienna was at the peak of her youth. Like every young person, Sienna never imagined what her older self would look like. She suddenly began to realize the universal truth that every person was marching towards their deaths.
Sienna felt strange to see her future self like this, but there was one thing that Sienna liked about what she saw.
Her eyes.
Within those eyes, she could see the many years of experience she had gained. It was something that the current Sienna could never obtain no matter how hard she tried. The wisdom of the years was reflected in her eyes.
Sienna could see the ladies-in-waiting walking back and forth behind her through the reflection in the mirror. They were helping the emperor with her wardrobe. Two ladies-in-waiting fastened a cape onto her shoulders. The elaborate embroidery on her coat was beautiful but intimidating.
The bustling ladies-in-waiting stood back and lowered their heads.
"Is it finished?"
"Yes, Your Majesty."
"Let's go."
The emperor turned around. The sturdy door opened as the emperor approached it. She walked along a long corridor. There were circular, engraved columns along the passageway. The path went along the courtyard and stretched out to the side.
Sienna knew where this path led to. She had gone this way before.
—Are we going to the throne room?
The fragmented sunlight cast a shadow on the emperor. Sienna estimated the time of day by the length of the shadow.
—The midday break has ended, and now it's afternoon.
She felt like she knew where the emperor was going and for what reason. It was time for the imperial audience. It was the basic responsibility of an emperor.
The way an emperor reigned was revealed in his imperial audience. How much time he devoted to the imperial audience, who he met with... This was all decided by the emperor himself.
In previous generations, there had been emperors that had never had an audience with a nonaristocrat. There were also emperors that spent all day listening to the requests of the common citizens.
They had almost reached the throne room when...
"Your Majesty! Your-"
An urgent call, a scrambling noise. As the emperor began to walk faster, the surroundings blurred as it passed by. Some distance away, she could see a group of knights and attendants dragging someone away.
"Halt!"
The emperor approached the group that was now standing still. A middle-aged man had fainted and was limp as he was being dragged by the knights by both arms.
"Who is this?"
A knight answered her.
"This man lied about his identity. He trespassed and dared to try and enter the throne room in order to scorn you, Your Majesty."
"What is this man's identity?"
The knight hesitated before he replied.
"He's an official that assists the envoy from the Kingdom of Peroh."
"The envoy? He could have just followed procedures and scheduled an audience. Why did he decide to deceive and trespass instead? Was he plotting to hurt me?"
"We will interrogate him and find out."
The emperor stared at the knight. Sienna couldn't read the emperor's thoughts, but she felt that the emperor was glaring at the knight. The emperor then spoke to the attendant at her side.
"Search this man's pockets."
The attendant searched the unconscious man's clothes.
"Did you find anything?"
"No, Your Majesty."
"Then are you telling me that a man trespassed all the way over here to hurt me without carrying a weapon?"
The knight couldn't answer back.
"When he wakes up, bring him to me. I will question him myself."
"Your Majesty."
The emperor turned her head at the call.
"I rushed over here when I heard that a wicked man had caused a disturbance here."
—Hmm.
Sienna let out a groan. She finally saw someone she recognized. Of course, this person had also aged considerably. Still, he was the spitting image of his father, that old man, so Sienna was able to recognize him quickly.
Doug Rimone.
He was the eldest son of Duke Rimone as well as Patricia's older brother. In other words, he was Sienna's maternal uncle.
—You've aged a lot, Uncle.
Sienna laughed as she spoke the words her uncle couldn't hear. Unlike her last two dreams, Sienna was feeling a bit lighthearted. This was because she realized she was experiencing a miracle from the gods. She was peeking into her future.
"You didn't have to hurry over here for such a trivial matter, Duke Rimone."
"What do you mean by 'trivial'? How can a matter related to your safety be considered trivial?"
Doug clicked his tongue as he looked at the unconscious man in the knights' arms.
"That man came all the way here..."
"Do you know him?"
"I heard that the Kingdom of Peroh is undergoing a crisis due to the monarch's inadequate governing. The public sentiment is split, and half of the people want him dethroned. That man is a representative of those people. No matter how much one claims to be a loyal subject of the Empire, interrupting the emperor from doing her duties is not proper. I only worry that it will spoil your mood, Your Majesty. I will take him away."
"...Alright."
As Sienna listened to the conversation between the two, her heart sunk. For some reason, she didn't feel these two had a good relationship.
As she saw her uncle through the eyes of the emperor, Sienna felt that her uncle seemed a bit cunning. She didn't have any context about this situation, but Sienna felt that her uncle was trying to hide something. She couldn't shake off this feeling.
—Can't you notice it? Or are you just pretending not to?
Sienna criticized her future self even though she knew her words wouldn't be heard. The emperor's gaze fell on the envoy from the Kingdom of Pero for a moment before turning away. She was about to enter the throne room before she suddenly stopped.
"I will postpone the imperial audience."
The emperor turned around and walked back.
"Son of a bitch."
Sienna clearly heard the soft words that were spat out through gritted teeth.
