The Great Wish - Chapter 9.1

Vol.2 Chapter 9 Part 1 

Sienna was busy for a long while after her outing. After having elected her captain of the knights and her guards, she was busy choosing the candidates of other positions. 

Ironically, while she had decided on the two most important positions on an impulse, she was spending more time and effort filling the more inconsequential positions. 

But Sienna had realized something recently. Those that did trivial or unimportant work were the ones who had the potential of becoming a small crack in her defenses. Just like how the ladies-in-waiting that were believed to be inconsequential were actually the ones who had kept watch on Sienna. Therefore, during this process, she changed all of her ladies-in-waiting as well. 

Her quill moved busily before stamping a period on the document. 

'Done.' 

Sienna sighed lightheartedly as she grinned. The selection process was now finished. Her report to the Emperor was completed. Roughly one month had passed since her coming-of-age birthday banquet. She had only used up a little less than half of the 100-day grace period, so she had some free time now. 

"Go to the Sun Palace. Tell His Imperial Majesty that I would like to speak with him, and ask him when it would be a good time to meet." 

"Yes, Your Highness." 

After receiving her orders, the lady-in-waiting exited the room. 

Sienna basked the silence of the room. The relaxation that came from finishing a great task only lasted a second. Sienna's head soon began to fill with many thoughts. 

'Why did the dreams stop?' 

The dreams weren't coming consistently. A month had already passed since she'd had her last dream. This was the longest she had gone without dreaming ever since they started. 

'I wasn't able to dream before. That's for certain. Because the Imperial family can't dream.' 

The past few months of her 20 years were completely shaking her life. At first, the dreams were fascinating. She'd even felt touched that the heavens had decided to bestow these prophecies to her. However, the more she dreamed, the more she wondered if they were truly a gift. 

Whenever she dreamed, Sienna wasn't able to concentrate on anything the day after. Her head was filled with what she had seen the night before. And when she didn't dream, she felt uneasy. She wondered if the prophecies ended here. 

'Is it a good thing to know what happens in the future?' 

Doubt began to fill her mind. She had definitely felt more comfortable when she didn't know anything. 

The lady-in-waiting who had gone to the Sun Palace finally returned. 

"Your Highness, His Imperial Majesty is currently in the courtyard. He said to come in the afternoon if you'd like a formal meeting with him." 

"All right. Good work." 

Sienna took her report and got up from her seat. She had worked on nothing but this for the past month. She wanted to get it done and over with as soon as possible. 

'I only need to meet with him for a little while and hand him the report. There's no need for a formal meeting over something like this.' 

In the past, Sienna would have gone to meet the Emperor in the afternoon. This was because the Emperor didn't explicitly say 'Come now.' He only said 'If you'd like a formal meeting.' She had believed that this kind of speech meant he wanted her to come at a different time. 

However, now she interpreted it as 'If it doesn't require a formal meeting, you can come now.' 

She had changed. However, no one noticed. Not even Sienna herself. 

As soon as she arrived at the Sun Palace, an attendant came out to greet her. He guided Sienna to the courtyard. 

The courtyard of the Sun Palace was only built for the pleasure of the residing emperor. There were many who wanted an invitation to this courtyard, but only a few received one. It was the emperor's personal garden. How extravagant could it be? Most people wondered this. 

However, the courtyard in the Sun Palace was the smallest garden in the entire Palace. It was also simply decorated. 

The Emperor was sitting at a table and drinking his tea. When he saw the attendant arrive with Sienna, he slowly put his teacup down. 

Once Sienna was a respectable distance away from the table, she bowed and lowered her knee to the ground. 

"Greetings, Your Imperial Majesty." 

"You may rise. What brings you here?" 

"I've finished my report on my selections. Since this was my first task as king, I came here to report it to you." 

The attendant took Sienna's report and handed it to the Emperor. 

"Already? Did you think about them carefully?" 

"Yes, Your Imperial Majesty. I've reviewed them meticulously." 

The Emperor didn't say any more and nodded his head. 

"And what brings you here?" 

The Emperor's gaze wasn't on Sienna. Instead, it was fixed on someone behind her. Before Sienna could turn around and look, she heard a voice. 

"Greetings, Your Imperial Majesty." 

A man arrived at her side, and their eyes met. 

"I didn't know you were with the Silver King. I apologize if I'm interrupting anything." 

Sienna was shocked to see Dian appear so abruptly. Sienna's eyes quickly went to his hand. As if by reflex, she checked and saw this his hand was empty, and she was overcome with relief. 

'Oh my god.' 

To think that she was feeling competitive over who handed in their report first. Sienna was embarrassed of these childish feelings. 

"The Silver King just handed me her report. Have you come here to do the same?" 

"Already? I'm far from finishing mine. There's still a lot of time, so I was planning on taking my time with it." 

"Do you plan on using all one hundred days to finish it?" 

"Of course not. I'll finish it a couple of days before the deadline." 

"I don't plan on waiting until you're finished. Because the Silver King has prepared ahead of schedule, I will begin to cede her the respective resources she's requested within the next few days." 

"That's only fair. The person with the most diligence and sincerity deserves to be rewarded." 

"You've got quite the silver tongue." 

Sienna clenched her hands as she listened to the dialogue between the father and son. There was a hint of warmth in the Emperor's dry voice. 

While she had seen the father-son pair together before, this was the first time she had heard them speaking to each other. Dian's lighthearted attitude towards the Emperor contrasted sharply with hers. She had only met the Emperor formally whenever there was business they needed to discuss. 

"Your Imperial Majesty, I request your permission to take my leave." 

"You may leave." 

"Thank you, Your Majesty." 

Sienna got up from her spot and left the courtyard as if she were making an escape. Even if she stayed longer, she didn't see a way to easily join their conversation. 

 Walking along the corridor with the attendant, Sienna suddenly felt a flash of anger. 

"Who is the one who sent my message to His Imperial Majesty?" 

Sienna's voice carried a sharpness that caused the attendant's shoulders to tense. 

"It was me, Your Highness." 

"I definitely sent a message saying that I would meet with the Emperor. If I had known that the Iron King had plans to visit the Sun Palace, I would have come later. Did you do this on purpose or are you just incompetent?" 

"Th...That's not the case, Your Highness. I didn't know about this as well." 

"You didn't know?" 

The attendant awkwardly tried his best to explain. 

"The Iron King often comes by unannounced." 

"...Unannounced? He visits the Emperor without asking for permission first? Whenever he pleases?" 

"Not whenever he pleases. The Emperor often takes a break around this time." 

Sienna nodded. She knew that much as well. That's why her visit today quite shocking, even to herself. She usually avoided meeting the Emperor at this time. She was trying to be considerate and not bother the Emperor during his time of rest. 

"The Iron King usually comes to visit His Imperial Majesty around this time. He comes once every three or four days." 

"Since when?" 

"It's been a little over a month." 

She was just about to ask why the Iron King visited the Emperor so often, but she held back. It would be dangerous to dig into the Emperor's personal matters. 

"Isn't His Imperial Majesty displeased?" 

"He hasn't ever ordered the Iron King to be sent out of the Sun Palace." 

"..." 

If it had been over a month since the Iron Kings visits, that meant that it began after the coronation. Even though he had received the coronation, a prince of low birth entering and leaving the Sun Palace so freely was strange. 

However, Sienna wasn't annoyed at Dian's shrewd actions. Instead, she was shocked by something else. 

'Why does the Emperor... treat the Iron King so differently?' 

Sienna still didn't know how Dian would become the emperor. The more she thought about it, the more she realized that there was no way he obtained that position without the help of the current emperor. 

Sienna had never expected parental love from him. He was the Emperor. He was cold to everyone, so she was never disappointed. However, the Iron King was different. 

Her heart felt empty. She felt as if all energy had left her body. 

"Silver King!" 

Sienna turned her head when she heard the loud voice ringing inside the halls of the Sun Palace. Dian was hurriedly approaching her. It seemed that he had been in a rush. His breaths were slightly strained as he came closer. He didn't speak right away, but his expression looked as if he had a lot to say. 

"What is it?" 

"I didn't do this on purpose. I didn't mean to interrupt your time with His Imperial Majesty." 

"Is that so?" 

Sienna kept her face calm. Although her true feelings weren't revealed, her cool behavior bothered Dian even more. 

"I'm sorry. It was my mistake." 

"And so what business do you have with me?" 

"I wanted to apologize." 

"You wanted to apologize to me, so you ran after me like this?" 

Dian nodded. 

"Why?" 

Dian wondered for a moment whether Sienna was being sarcastic and carefully observed her face. However, Sienna truly found Dian's behavior odd. 

"If I feel that I made a mistake towards someone, then it's only right that I apologize." 

"It looks like you chased after me not long after I left. Didn't you have something you wanted to say to His Imperial Majesty?" 

"No, that wasn't the case. I only came to see his face for a bit." 

Sienna couldn't understand what Dian was saying. 

"Why are you coming to visit the Emperor when you don't have any important business with him?" 

"Just because. I was nearby, so I wanted to visit." 

Sienna frowned. 

"It's not wrong for a son to visit his father. Of course, I understand that this may sound strange to you. Anyways, I just wanted to see how my family was doing." 

Family. 

Sienna found the word Dian had chosen to be incredibly shocking. It sounded too intimate to be attributed to someone like the Emperor. 

"Then are you visiting him with pure intentions?" 

"I'm not really sure. Every child has a selfish desire to look good in front of their father. If the father has a lot of power and wealth, then even more so. But doesn't everyone feel that way?" 

Sienna gazed at Dian with surprised eyes. All the things Dian had just said were incredibly shocking. 

The Sienna from a several months ago would have been angered by Dian's frivolous words. She might have even looked down on him, believing he couldn't help being this way because of his lowly birth. However, during the past few months, Sienna's world had widened. Dian's words were dangerously toeing the line. 

Sienna felt the anger begin to settle inside her heart. A son taking care of his father... Although these words sounded so strange to her, they also began to make sense. 

"Um... If my apology offended you even more, then..." 

"I'm fine." 

"Ah... okay." 

Dian's voice faded away. He didn't know what else to say. He swallowed back a bitter smile. 

'Wow, I'm so pathetic.' 

Although he wanted to have everything to himself, he still didn't want to seem like a bad guy in front of the Princess. He found these feelings to be so ridiculous. 

"Are you going to go back and see His Imperial Majesty?" 

"As I said before, I didn't come here because I had any important business with His Imperial Majesty. I plan on heading back now." 

"Do you have anything scheduled after this?" 

"Not really... Unlike the busy Silver King, my schedule is quite empty." 

Although Dian was tossing Sienna's words right back at her, Sienna felt that it sounded like an attempt at banter. 

"I have some good tea leaves." 

"Excuse me?" 

"You've extended an invitation to me before, so it's only proper that I return the favor. If you don't feel like..." 

"N-no, not at all. I'd love to. Truly." 

They exited the Sun Palace. Sienna's carriage was the only one waiting outside. 

"What about your carriage?" 

"I walked here. I was taking a walk and happened to pass by the Sun Palace, so... You go ahead. I'll follow behind you." 

"Let's walk together. It's not that far." 

Dian stared blankly at Sienna's back as she took the lead. Then he quickly followed after her. 

'As I thought... She's hard to read.' 

Dian was in a cold sweat. He had met many wicked people who had hidden their secret intentions, but he couldn't make heads or tails of the Princess. She didn't show any emotion on her face, and she didn't make any unnecessary remarks. 

'I think I was still a kid when I was twenty.' 

The Princess didn't seem like a younger sister who had just come of age. Instead, he felt as if he had turned into a flustered young boy in front of his older sister. 

Countess Pope came outside to greet Sienna. She was startled to see that Dian was following behind the Princess. After Sienna made the introductions, Beth skillfully hid her emotions and politely greeted Dian. 

"It's an honor to meet you, Your Highness." 

"Nice to meet you, Countess. Please excuse me for showing up unannounced." 

Sienna waited for them to finish their polite greetings before she spoke. 

"Countess, if you open my bottom desk drawer, you'll find a box of tea leaves. Please prepare them for us." 

"Sorry? That's... Yes, Your Highness. I will follow your command." 

The two siblings went into the sitting room and sat across from each other on the sofas. Hating the awkward silence, Dian did his best to start a conversation. 

"I saw some interesting things at the entryway." 

Sienna had placed objects that seemed out of place on a table at the entrance to the sitting room. 

"They are things I managed to obtain by chance." 

"May I take a look?" 

"Of course." 

Dian burst out of his seat and walked over to the table. Sienna followed Dian as he looked at the objects with interest. 

"It looks like you bought out a whole marketplace." 

"...Have you been to the marketplace before?" 

"I used to go from time to time. But I wasn't able to go this year." 

"I heard it did very well this year." 

"Really? Maybe I should have gone. You really bought a lot of different things. The servant who went on this errand must have been very tired finding all these things." 

Dian had thought Sienna had sent someone on an errand to the marketplace to buy all these things. 

"If something catches your interest, you may take it back with you." 

"I should refuse your offer, but... May I take this?" 

Dian pointed to a piece made of hardened amber. 

"Not that." 

Her firm refusal quickly left her lips. Dian awkwardly chose a small wooden doll. Then he gestured to something he didn't recognize. 

"What is this?" 

"It's dried desert mantis." 

Cough, Dian let out a low cough. Sienna glanced at him. 

"It seems that you know what it is." 

"More or less..." 

Dian's eyes shifted awkwardly. 

"I've ordered for its ingredients to be analyzed. I can't stand by as my people are conned out of their money." 

"Have you gotten the results?" 

"It looks like it produces a unique effect." 

"Really?" 

"Rather than building up one's stamina..." 

"No, wait, never mind. I don't want to discuss this kind of topic with you, Silver King." 

Sienna continued to stare at Dian with a blank expression. At that moment, the door opened. The countess entered the room followed by a lady-in-waiting holding a tea tray in her hands. 

"If you need it, would you like to take it?" 

"No!" 

He clearly saw Sienna's lips slightly tilt up as she turned around. 

'What the hell. Am I being teased right now?' 

Dian couldn't believe it. Did people usually talk like this with their younger sisters? Were they usually lively and act like bumpkins? Dian picked up his teacup as he was lost in thought. 

Before sipping her tea, Sienna fixed her eyes on the light brown hue of the tea. This tea was brewed from the tea leaves sent by the Emperor. She had kept them in her desk drawer all this time. 

In her dreams, the emperor hadn't been able to bring herself to try it. She had kept the tea leaves stored away until they had become brittle because she had been keeping them locked away like a precious treasure. When Sienna told Dian that she had some good tea leaves, she thought of these. 

She took a sip. 

'It's good tea.' 

It was just tea leaves. She wouldn't think much more of them. She wouldn't repeat any of the foolish things her future self had done. 

"Do you happen to know what lies at the very end of the western path of the capital?" 

"You mean the slum?" 

As expected, the Iron King knew about it. Sienna wondered whether Kuhn had also guided the Iron King to the slums. 

"Have you been there?" 

"I haven't been there recently, but I did live there for a few years when I was young. But that place never changes, so I'm sure it's still the same as I remember it." 

"You've lived there? In the slums?" 

"Before I entered the Palace. I'm pretty sure it's common knowledge by now." 

"..." 

She didn't know. She hadn't even cared to know anything about Dian. Even if he was only half royalty, he still carried the blood of the Emperor in his veins. How could he have been so neglected that he had to grow up in the slums? 

"It must have been a horrible time for you." 

"There were good times and there were bad times. It's all the same no matter where you live. I was able to learn things because I lived there. If I never lived in a place like that, I would have never seen such outrageous things happen before my very eyes." 

Dian's face didn't show any emotion. He wasn't bragging or pitying himself. His behavior struck a chord with Sienna. She now realized that she truly didn't know anything about Dian at all. 

After Dian left, Sienna wondered what Dian had that made him better than her. In her dreams, Dian had managed to ascend the throne, and he was probably the first emperor who had grown up in the slums. 

Having lived with the lowest of the low, having lived the life of a commoner, wouldn't he be better suited to bettering the lives of the subjects of the Empire? 

'Then what about me?' 

Her whole life, she had raced along this path, keeping her eyes on one goal. Becoming the emperor was her whole life. Sienna suddenly felt incredibly alone. No one could understand the agony she was experiencing right now. She wanted to be comforted. She needed someone to embrace her without saying a word. 

Sienna walked over to the table full of miscellaneous objects. She gazed at the round, hardened amber trinkets that came in many colors. 

"Liar." 

He'd told her that they'd be able to meet very soon. 

But a month had already passed, and she had seen no trace of him. A yearning feeling began to spread throughout her heart.