The Great Wish

Chapter 2: To Open One's Eyes

A woman poured a light green tea out into a white teacup. It was an herbal tea that Sienna loved to drink.

The tea gave off a bitter fragrance. Sienna liked to put a spoonful of sugar into the tea before drinking it. There was a subtle harmony in the mixture of the bitterness of the tea and the sweetness of the sugar. Only a few people knew that Sienna had a sweet tooth.

Sienna reached out with her right hand and held the teacup. She looked forward to the bitter aroma and the sweet taste. However, she couldn't smell or taste a thing.

"Add less sugar next time."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Sienna thought she had reached out on her own accord, but it had only been a coincidence that the owner of the body had done the same.

—Again?

This was her second dream.

Sienna wasn't shocked as she had been the last time. Knowing that this was just an illusion that would end when her eyes opened, she was able to keep her composure.

"It seems my taste has changed with age. I no longer find the sweetness pleasant."

"That isn't true, Your Majesty. You are still as vibrant as always. I am in the wrong for having prepared the tea incorrectly."

"What do you mean? This is not the first time you've brewed this tea for me. There is no other person that brews tea as well as you."

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

Sienna comfortably listened to the conversation between the two. She felt like she was watching an interesting play.

In her first dream, she had been too shocked and missed important details. The voices she heard echoed as if she had still been half asleep. However, if Sienna just focused enough, she was able to make out the words clearly.

—This place is the same as last time.

It was the emperor's office. Because she had seen it a few days ago with her own eyes, the room seemed more familiar to her. The woman serving the tea was not the same woman she saw in her first dream. She had never seen her before. She looked fairly old.

—Did I really make all this up in my head?

Sienna still couldn't believe that all this was a dream.

"Emma, whenever I drink tea, I always remember the tea leaves that I am unable to drink."

"Do you mean the precious box of tea leaves you are keeping in storage?"

"Yes."

The emperor laughed softly.

"I received them just before my twentieth birthday. An unexpected gift from an unexpected person. At the time, I was more worried than happy. I could only wonder about the true intention behind this gift. I had such a narrow mind back then."

"Your Majesty, the officials have arrived."

Sienna heard the voice clearly. She turned her head along with the emperor and opened her eyes.

A group of officials began to enter the office. They were all holding stacks of documents in their arms.

After all the courtesy greetings, they began to stack the documents on top of the emperor's wide desk. The emperor looked up and down at the mountain of documents.

Sienna was unable to read the emperor's mind, but judging from the way her gaze fell on the documents, she was able to guess her thoughts.

The officials dropped off the documents and left the office. Only the woman who had served the tea and the emperor were left in the room.

"Have you ever met the previous emperor?"

The woman didn't immediately respond.

"I'm speaking of my father, the late emperor."

"I've seen him from a distance."

"He used this office as his private room. Unless one was personally called to come here, no one could step foot in this room."

"I see."

"However, I thought differently. I believed the office should be a public place of work. But I think I now understand that person's intentions."

The emperor took another look at the documents and let out a sigh.

"Each page carries one more thing to worry about."

"Your Majesty..."

"Every time they walk in here with their piles of worries, I feel angry."

The emperor muttered bitterly.

"Emma."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

"After I became the emperor, for the first time in my life, I realized that I am also human. Isn't that funny?"

Sienna blinked as she continued to stare at the ceiling. It was dawn, and the sun had just begun to rise. Sienna slowly got up and sat on her bed. She was still thinking about her dream.

"The emperor is also human..."

Sienna rubbed her chest. Her heart was throbbing.

The Imperial family was superior. The emperor was absolute perfection. He dominated the world. His existence itself was perfection: his heart was objective and he was absolutely level-headed.

A suffering emperor. An emperor exhausted from work. That was a weakness. One mustn't become an emperor with that kind of attitude. More than that, it bothered Sienna that this emperor kept making an appearance in her dreams.

After her first dream, Sienna looked through many books that talked about dreams. Many authors claimed that dreams were reflections of the dreamer's desires. This perplexed Sienna.

'Do I want to become the emperor? Is that my subconscious desire?'

At present, there weren't any grievances with the current emperor's rule. Either way, the throne was Sienna's, and she only had to wait for it. There was no need to fret over it.

Sienna knew that the throne was in her future, but she was confident that she had no greedy desire for the throne. Feeling uncomfortable, she flipped through the pages of many books until she came upon an interesting passage.

—The members of the Imperial family are deities due to their godly blood. They are descendants of the gods as well as the priests. There have been instances where the gods have descended onto the bodies of the members of the Imperial family and relayed their messages through voices or illusions.

'Have I received a prophecy?'

That would explain everything. Sienna was convinced.

'If this is a prophecy, that means that the gods are communicating with me through my dreams. The emperor in my dreams might be a real emperor of the past.'

This history of the Imperial family ran as deep as the history of the Empire itself. Many emperors reigned over the Sun Palace. The memories of their lives permeated every little stone that made up the walls of the Imperial Palace.

'Which past emperor could she be? There isn't enough information.'

Chapter 2: To Open One's Eyes

A woman poured a light green tea out into a white teacup. It was an herbal tea that Sienna loved to drink.

The tea gave off a bitter fragrance. Sienna liked to put a spoonful of sugar into the tea before drinking it. There was a subtle harmony in the mixture of the bitterness of the tea and the sweetness of the sugar. Only a few people knew that Sienna had a sweet tooth.

Sienna reached out with her right hand and held the teacup. She looked forward to the bitter aroma and the sweet taste. However, she couldn't smell or taste a thing.

"Add less sugar next time."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Sienna thought she had reached out on her own accord, but it had only been a coincidence that the owner of the body had done the same.

—Again?

This was her second dream.

Sienna wasn't shocked as she had been the last time. Knowing that this was just an illusion that would end when her eyes opened, she was able to keep her composure.

"It seems my taste has changed with age. I no longer find the sweetness pleasant."

"That isn't true, Your Majesty. You are still as vibrant as always. I am in the wrong for having prepared the tea incorrectly."

"What do you mean? This is not the first time you've brewed this tea for me. There is no other person that brews tea as well as you."

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

Sienna comfortably listened to the conversation between the two. She felt like she was watching an interesting play.

In her first dream, she had been too shocked and missed important details. The voices she heard echoed as if she had still been half asleep. However, if Sienna just focused enough, she was able to make out the words clearly.

—This place is the same as last time.

It was the emperor's office. Because she had seen it a few days ago with her own eyes, the room seemed more familiar to her. The woman serving the tea was not the same woman she saw in her first dream. She had never seen her before. She looked fairly old.

—Did I really make all this up in my head?

Sienna still couldn't believe that all this was a dream.

"Emma, whenever I drink tea, I always remember the tea leaves that I am unable to drink."

"Do you mean the precious box of tea leaves you are keeping in storage?"

"Yes."

The emperor laughed softly.

"I received them just before my twentieth birthday. An unexpected gift from an unexpected person. At the time, I was more worried than happy. I could only wonder about the true intention behind this gift. I had such a narrow mind back then."

"Your Majesty, the officials have arrived."

Sienna heard the voice clearly. She turned her head along with the emperor and opened her eyes.

A group of officials began to enter the office. They were all holding stacks of documents in their arms.

After all the courtesy greetings, they began to stack the documents on top of the emperor's wide desk. The emperor looked up and down at the mountain of documents.

Sienna was unable to read the emperor's mind, but judging from the way her gaze fell on the documents, she was able to guess her thoughts.

The officials dropped off the documents and left the office. Only the woman who had served the tea and the emperor were left in the room.

"Have you ever met the previous emperor?"

The woman didn't immediately respond.

"I'm speaking of my father, the late emperor."

"I've seen him from a distance."

"He used this office as his private room. Unless one was personally called to come here, no one could step foot in this room."

"I see."

"However, I thought differently. I believed the office should be a public place of work. But I think I now understand that person's intentions."

The emperor took another look at the documents and let out a sigh.

"Each page carries one more thing to worry about."

"Your Majesty..."

"Every time they walk in here with their piles of worries, I feel angry."

The emperor muttered bitterly.

"Emma."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

"After I became the emperor, for the first time in my life, I realized that I am also human. Isn't that funny?"

Sienna blinked as she continued to stare at the ceiling. It was dawn, and the sun had just begun to rise. Sienna slowly got up and sat on her bed. She was still thinking about her dream.

"The emperor is also human..."

Sienna rubbed her chest. Her heart was throbbing.

The Imperial family was superior. The emperor was absolute perfection. He dominated the world. His existence itself was perfection: his heart was objective and he was absolutely level-headed.

A suffering emperor. An emperor exhausted from work. That was a weakness. One mustn't become an emperor with that kind of attitude. More than that, it bothered Sienna that this emperor kept making an appearance in her dreams.

After her first dream, Sienna looked through many books that talked about dreams. Many authors claimed that dreams were reflections of the dreamer's desires. This perplexed Sienna.

'Do I want to become the emperor? Is that my subconscious desire?'

At present, there weren't any grievances with the current emperor's rule. Either way, the throne was Sienna's, and she only had to wait for it. There was no need to fret over it.

Sienna knew that the throne was in her future, but she was confident that she had no greedy desire for the throne. Feeling uncomfortable, she flipped through the pages of many books until she came upon an interesting passage.

—The members of the Imperial family are deities due to their godly blood. They are descendants of the gods as well as the priests. There have been instances where the gods have descended onto the bodies of the members of the Imperial family and relayed their messages through voices or illusions.

'Have I received a prophecy?'

That would explain everything. Sienna was convinced.

'If this is a prophecy, that means that the gods are communicating with me through my dreams. The emperor in my dreams might be a real emperor of the past.'

This history of the Imperial family ran as deep as the history of the Empire itself. Many emperors reigned over the Sun Palace. The memories of their lives permeated every little stone that made up the walls of the Imperial Palace.

'Which past emperor could she be? There isn't enough information.'