Chapter 2.7 - To Open One's Eyes

Chapter 2.7:To Open One’s Eyes

Sienna began to practice her swordsmanship for the first time in a very long time . She hadn’t felt like practicing with her sword ever since she found out that the knights were going easy on her . However, last night’s dream wouldn’t leave her head, and she wanted to release her frustrations by moving her body and sweating it out .

The knight that had always been her sparring partner was called once again . The moment their swords clashed, Sienna furrowed her brow . Sienna lowered her sword . The knight, who had taken a defensive stance in preparation for Sienna’s next attack, lowered his sword as well .

“Is something the matter, Princess?”

As Sienna stared intensely at him, the knight began to become restless .

“Are you doing your best?”

“What?”

“I’m asking you if you are showing me the full extent of your skills . Or are you only going easy on me and matching my level?”

“Princess, you can only improve your swordsmanship if there is a constant exchange of give and take . ”

“So you’re saying that I’ve been lacking and you’ve been lowering yourself to my level . ”

The knight’s expression became cautious as he tried to guess Sienna’s intentions .

“I cannot dispute your way of teaching since I am the student . However, isn’t it the responsibility of the teacher to properly guide their student so that they objectively understand where they stand?”

“You are correct . ”

“You have deceived me . ”

“Princess, I have never . . . ”

“Yes or no? You’ve led me to believe that I was doing better than I actually am and never corrected me about it . ”

The knight swallowed . His vision was going black . He had been teaching the Princess for a long time now, so he knew how she was . She would never accept a lame excuse .

” . . . Yes . ”

“Did you do this voluntarily?”

“I . . . ”

“Before you answer the question, think long and hard . I don’t plan on punishing you . However, if you’re only trying to flatter me, I will be very disappointed, and I will never have any business with you ever again . ”

The knight was worried . The silence stretched out as Sienna waited for his answer .

“I was ordered to do this . ”

“By whom?”

The knight shut his eyes tight before opening his mouth . There was no way he could escape this situation .

“The Red King ordered me . ”

Sienna’s eyes wavered .

“When?”

“Around the time I began to teach you swordsmanship, Your Highness . ”

Sienna slowly closed her eyes .

“What did the Red King say? Tell me her exact words . ”

「The Princess is someone who will become the master of the Empire . Everything must be perfect . She is choosing to practice the sword as a way to exercise, and it must never become a stumbling block for her . She is stubborn and very hard on herself . If she ever notices that she is lacking in any way, she will dig into it until it has been perfected . She’s not even going to be a knight, so what’s the point of perfecting her swordsmanship? The Princess is very busy . She doesn’t have the time to pour all of her efforts into perfecting the sword . So I’m asking you to help by making the Princess believe that her swordsmanship skill is good enough . 」

The knight stuttered as he recalled the conversation . Sienna felt as if she could hear Patricia’s voice in her ears .

When Sienna first brought up that she was going to practice swordsmanship, Patricia wasn’t pleased . She thought that it would make Sienna’s hands too rough for a lady . However, Patricia didn’t object to it . She never brought it up after that day, so Sienna had thought that Patricia didn’t really care about it .

“Did the Red King also call the Captain of the Knights?”

“Ah . . . About that . . . I went and asked the Captain to follow along with it myself . I’m sorry, Princess . However, I didn’t lie when I said that you are truly a quick learner . ”

“When it comes to swordsmanship, it is sincerity over skill . You said this on the first day of my lessons . A couple of hours once every few days . If I continue to practice like this, how much time will it take until I am able to fight on par with a knight? An eternity?”

Sienna was embarrassed by her self-confidence . She had truly believed that she could tackle this with her amazing skills alone . Until a few days ago, that is .

Sienna looked down at the knight in front of her who kept his head down .

“I will forgive you . ”

Surprised, the knight raised his head . He thought his career was over .

“However, under a couple of conditions . First, nothing happened today . Forget the conversation you and I just shared . Second, show me your true skill . I want to know where I stand in terms of my skills . Can you do that?”

“Yes, Princess . I promise you . ”

“Now, let’s continue with today’s practice . . . ”

Sienna grabbed her sword and went into position before she asked the knight another question .

“Have you met the Red King after that day?”

“I have seen her a few more times . ”

Does that mean . . . Sienna’s heart began to race inside her chest .

“A few times, you say . When?”

“She calls me once every two or three months . ”

“What does she tell you when she calls for you?”

The knight tensed up at Sienna’s interrogation .

“Nothing of importance . She was wondering if you were having a hard time with your lessons . She just asked questions about your welfare . I thought the Red King was worried about you, Princess . I never spied on you for her . ”

It was possible for a mother to be concerned about her child’s education . However, Sienna had a hunch that the Red King’s intentions weren’t completely pure .

“If you’re uncomfortable, I won’t meet with the Red King in the future, Princess . ”

“No . If she calls for you, go . Just tell her the same things you’ve always told her . Never let her know what we talked about today . Don’t let her know that I know . ”

“Yes, Princess . ”

“It’s true that the Red King is my mother, but the future emperor isn’t her . It’s me . ”

The knight wasn’t a cunning man, but he understood Sienna’s words perfectly . The cold sweat on his back had cooled and was making him feel chilled . He lowered his head even lower and agreed with Sienna .

Practice ended earlier than usual . She sent away the knight and stayed behind, lost in thought .

Patricia wasn’t one to tremble and back down at her daughter’s words . If she was displeased, she would throw small tantrums at times . Still, Sienna had believed that her mother was an honest woman .

The knight said that they didn’t discuss anything important .

‘That may be true . There isn’t much he would have had to say . ‘

When they were practicing, they didn’t talk much . The conversation they had today was the longest they’d ever had . If the Red King had called him over multiple times, she would have caught on to that as well . But why did she continue to call him? What did she want to know?

Sienna looked around absentmindedly and sighed quietly . Nobody was there . There was always someone around her . However, whenever she was practicing with her sword, she sent everyone away because she didn’t want any distractions .

In other words, the only ones who knew what Sienna was doing at this time were Sienna herself and the knight .

‘Was she checking up on me? To make sure that I was really practicing my swordsmanship at this time?’

If this was true, then one couldn’t merely call this an act of a mother’s love . It was persistent surveillance .

‘If she’s only satisfied by knowing my whereabouts and my every move, that means all my actions thus far have reached Mother’s ears this whole time . ‘

Sienna slowly raised her sword . She pointed it away from her own palace .

‘I trusted you . ‘

She felt as if she had taken a blow from a dull weapon . She was absolutely shocked that those around her were all under Patricia’s control . The mother she had known wasn’t someone like this .

She had always thought that she was a bird that flew freely in the wide sky . However, an invisible net was just waiting to trap her within its grasp .

‘I trusted you when you told me that no mother would harm her own child . ‘

The Red King might argue that she had never harmed Sienna . If Sienna had just been a normal maiden, she would have thought that her mother was just being overprotective . However, Sienna wasn’t normal . Having Sienna in one’s grasp meant that they had the future emperor at their beck and call .

This was all just Sienna’s guess . She hadn’t actually heard what Patricia had been thinking . However, it was too late to go back to the way it was before . No matter what Patricia said, a seed of distrust had taken root in Sienna’s heart .

Also, the question that came with last night’s dream had been answered . Sienna finally had a clue as to why her future self was in opposition to her maternal uncle . There was no doubt that her mother and her uncle had her in their grasp and were using her to monopolize the government .

Sienna was now suspicious of everyone around her . She felt like a lost child . For the first time, she felt hopeless .

By the time Sienna returned to her senses, she was standing in front of the entrance of the maze garden . While pondering over the chaotic thoughts in her mind, Sienna recalled the black-haired man .

‘Would he be here?’

When Sienna finally fought the knight, who now held nothing back, Sienna was disappointed . She never lost her sword, and she was even able to block a few of his attacks .

She could tell the difference in skill between herself and the knight, but she felt that he was still manageable . If he had truly come after her with intent to kill, she felt like she could have defended herself enough to make an escape .

However, the other man was a gigantic wall . He hadn’t made her sword fly out of her hand with just brute strength . He used simple movements and skillful technique .

“Ah . . . ”

The clearing in the maze was empty . There was no one there, and even the table had disappeared .

‘Was it around here?’

Sienna walked over to the spot where the table used to be . She looked around at her surroundings absentmindedly .

‘There’s no way he’d be here . ‘

Sienna chuckled and raised her head . Suddenly, a black-haired man entered the clearing and met her eyes . Sienna’s eyes widened . The man stiffened for a moment before quickly turning around . Sienna called out to him .

“Stop right there!”\n