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Chapter 2.3 - To Open One's Eyes




Chapter 2.3: To Open One’s Eyes
“Princess . Have you been well?”
 
“Countess, have you come back already?”
To be by her daughter’s side while she gave birth, Beth had left for a long trip . However, she had returned to the Palace earlier than scheduled .
“Yes, I decided to return early . ”
“It has been a while since you’ve seen your daughter . You should have stayed longer and taken a well-deserved rest . ”
“It’s almost your birthday, Princess . How could I miss it?”
“I appreciate your thoughts, but you must be sad . Is your grandchild healthy?”
“Yes . He’s got a strong build, so I think he’ll be a healthy child . Princess, I know it’s not much, but I have a gift for you . ”
Beth brought out a small wooden box .
 
“It’s the tea that you enjoy so much . My daughter roasted it herself . ”
“Thank you . I’ll use it well . ”
“There’s also someone I’d like you to meet . There’s no other intention behind this . When I was on my way back here, I brought a distant relative of my son-in-law with me . I only brought her to help her find a good husband, but she has such great skill when it comes to brewing tea . I wanted you to try her tea, Princess . ”
Sienna laughed lightly .
“I will not misconstrue your goodwill, Countess . Bring her in . ”
“Yes, Princess . ”
The countess left the sitting room for a bit before coming back with a young lady . After seeing the face of the unfamiliar lady, Sienna’s eyes widened . She was unfamiliar, but she also wasn’t .
Beth introduced the lady, who was frozen stiff with anxiety .
“This is the girl, Princess . Emma, greet the Princess . ”
Sienna’s wide eyes trembled .
“Greetings, Y-Your Highness . My name is E-Emma . Emma Dalton . ”
Emma .
 
The trembling woman had the same name as the woman in Sienna’s dream . And that wasn’t the only thing . The younger version of the dream woman who brewed the tea was standing right before her eyes .
‘How can this be?’
Misunderstanding Sienna’s reaction, Beth quickly pressed Emma .
“Emma, brew some tea for Her Highness . Don’t be nervous, do it steadily . Like you always do . ”
“Yes . . . Yes, Countess . ”
Emma’s hands, trembling as if they were freezing cold, stopped shaking altogether when she touched the teapot . She proceeded to boil the tea steadily before pouring it into a teacup .
As soon as Sienna took a sip of the tea, she was amazed . It was the most fragrant tea she had ever tasted . The sweetness was perfectly suited to her taste .
“Amazing . This is the best tea I’ve ever had . ”
“Thank you, Your Highness . ”
If this was the tea that the emperor drank in Sienna’s dream, her compliments were not excessive praise . Also, the birthmark on dream Emma’s nose was also on the young Emma’s nose .
‘They’re the same person . There’s no doubt about it . ‘
“Emma, may I call you by your name?”
 
“Y-yes, Princess . ”
Terrified, Emma replied . While many were nervous in front of Sienna, this was the first time she met someone who was so pale that they looked like they were going to faint . She seemed so timid, and Sienna liked that . She didn’t seem like a person that would speak brazenly or gossip around .
“I would like to continue to drink your tea . Will you stay at the Palace for the time being and brew me your tea?”
The timid country girl Emma was overwhelmed by the vast Palace and froze up a bit .
Emma had been excited up until she had reached the capital with the countess . The glamorous capital was intimidating, and the countess’s mansion made her feel out of place .
But to think that she’d stay at the Palace . To think that she’d see the Princess every day and serve her tea . She didn’t care about finding a husband anymore and just wanted to go back to her hometown . Emma looked at the countess with pleading eyes . She spoke to the countess with her gaze, ‘This is too much for me to handle . ‘
The countess didn’t take Emma’s side, and shy Emma couldn’t refuse with her own lips .
“It’s . . . an honor, Princess . ”
Sienna ordered a lady-in-waiting to prepare a room for Emma . Leaving with the lady-in-waiting, Emma’s shoulders slumped in disappointment . At Emma’s obvious reluctance, the countess was embarrassed .
“Princess, that child is only like that because she hasn’t gotten used to the Palace . ”
“I understand . She will be living in an unfamiliar place where she doesn’t know anyone . Countess, please check on her in the mornings and in the evenings to make sure she’s doing well . ”
 
 
That night, Sienna was in bed as she went over what happened in her dreams . She had made no progress when it came to figuring out the identity of the emperor . The problem was the garden she saw when she looked over the balcony in her first dream .
These gardens, created using different themes of architecture, were created about seventy years ago . At that time, the Empire was ruled by her great-grandfather . After that, all the emperors up until her father were men .
“Emma . . . ”
Even after she had received the tea leaves from the Emperor, Sienna wasn’t completely sure . However, when she met the person that had appeared in her dreams . . .
‘The emperor in my dreams is me . . . ‘
If that was the case, everything fell into place . Sienna’s heart began to race . She felt like she was going to laugh .
‘As I thought, it was a prophecy . ‘
A dream showing the future was truly a work of the gods .
‘I saw my future . ‘
Everyone around her said that she would become the emperor . Sienna also thought this was a certainty . She had the bloodline as well as the skills to be one . But now she had even received a prophecy . The gods were telling her that she would definitely become the emperor . She had been acknowledged by the divine .
‘If they were only going to show me my future, they wouldn’t have made the dream so ambiguous . There must be some kind of message behind the dreams . I just have to find it . ‘
 
That night, Sienna had her third dream .\n