Chapter 6. Awakening

Yerena realized as she watched the despairing women before her. That she was dreaming.

It had started some time ago. Instead of her dead family, the ancestors of Sedas, specifically the princesses, appeared in her dreams.

‘Mother! I can’t see…… I can’t see!’

‘My eyes…… Something’s wrong with my eyes! Call a physician immediately!’

‘I can’t live like this! Why is this happening to me…… Oh God. Please have mercy.’

‘Waaaah! Something’s wrong! I can’t see anything.’

Unlike Yerena who could see in the dream, all the princesses were blind and panicking. Some wept profusely after dropping their elaborate golden crowns, while others pretended to be composed, clutching the hems of their elegant dresses but turning pale. And a young princess who seemed to have just learned to walk burst into tears.

At first glance, these diverse princesses had nothing in common. But upon closer inspection, they were all young or youthful. Most appeared to be not even twenty, let alone thirty. Yerena, who had just turned twenty, felt a chill as she considered her own age.

‘It’s all your fault, Mother! Father’s death too! And my eyes becoming like this!’

As she watched the despairing princesses, the scene before her suddenly changed. This time, it was the life of the princess who had been crying with her golden crown dropped. Yerena watched as she screamed and raged at someone presumed to be her mother. She had dreamed this once before. After this, that princess would…

‘No!’

Yerena cried out. But her voice didn’t reach those in the dream, and the princess who had dropped her golden crown took her own life in front of the Rubeo sacred tree. Yerena bit her lip as she watched the blood seeping from the knife in the princess’s chest being absorbed into the sacred tree. The endings of all the princesses in her dreams were this tragic.

Cloudy, hardened eyes, red blood, the sound of crows…… The red leaves of the Rubeo sacred tree fell like rain. Yerena closed her eyes as she looked at her ancestor, half-hidden by leaves. And immediately woke from the dream.

‘A similar dream again…’

Ridiculously, the dream that had been so vivid just moments ago became blurry as soon as she woke up. All she remembered was that the dream was related to the curse on the radiant princess, and that when she dreamed, she also remembered previous dreams within it. The rest, strangely, she couldn’t recall. But the residual emotions from the dream remained. Yerena bit her lip tightly, clutching her aching chest.

‘……Am I having these strange dreams because I’m nervous?’

In a week, Yerena would leave the tower to be examined by the high priest to determine if the curse had disappeared. And if the curse was confirmed gone, she would go to the emperor.

‘You’ll be leaving here briefly in a week.’

‘What’s happening?’

‘His Majesty the Emperor has ordered confirmation that the Goddess has mercifully removed the curse.’

‘……’

‘The high priest himself will check about the curse. And after the verdict, it will be decided whether you’ll continue staying here or move elsewhere.’

What expression had she made at Alicia’s words? Yerena couldn’t define her emotions at that time. For the sake of her kingdom, she should have been eager to flatter the emperor right away. But her aversion to such a life grew stronger by the day, and she blamed herself for being selfish.

Of course, these were all thoughts Yerena had because she didn’t know the current situation. The emperor, thinking Roshan was aiming for the throne, had momentarily forgotten about her. But within the temple, they were planning to at least pretend to examine her, fearing the unpredictable emperor might demand it again at any moment.

In reality, the results of Yerena’s examination were already decided. After a formal inspection, she would return to the tower. But Yerena, unaware that everything around her was a lie, sighed and closed her eyes again after a long while.

* * *

The sunlight coming through the window was warm. But Yerena, sitting in the sunshine, trembled continuously with a pale face. Concerned about her poor physical condition, Jane wrapped a blanket around her and lit a fire in the hearth.

“I heard you’ve barely eaten. Are you feeling very unwell?”

‘Kian’ wasn’t the type to just watch. He approached Yerena and immediately checked her condition. Now accustomed to the man, she gave him a faint smile and shook her head.

“No. I’m just a bit dizzy…… Tired, that’s all.”

“……Is your bed uncomfortable?”

About to shake her head again, Yerena changed her mind and nodded. Then she invited the knight to sit in front of her and hesitantly opened her mouth.

“Sir, I have something to ask you.”

“What is it?”

“Um…… Could you tell me about the empire’s emperor? As you know, Alicia tells me nothing except things related to the goddess, and Jane isn’t familiar with palace affairs.”

Yerena cautiously broached the subject while watching the knight’s reaction. The face of the knight sitting before her immediately hardened. When he remained silent, she felt inexplicably anxious and hurriedly continued.

“In, in a week, I’m supposed to be examined by someone called the high priest. To check if the curse is gone or something……”

“……”

“If the curse is confirmed gone, I’ll meet the empire’s emperor…… His Majesty the Emperor, so I wanted to know a little beforehand. What kind of person he is. What I should be careful about. Things like that.”

Wondering if the imperial knight might be uncomfortable with her disrespectful reference to the empire’s emperor, Yerena even forcibly changed her way of addressing the emperor while repeatedly asking. But the longer she spoke, the colder the face of the man sitting before her became.

“I cannot tell you. How could a mere knight like me carelessly speak about His Majesty the Emperor?”

He coldly retorted toward Yerena, whose shoulders had completely stiffened. For a moment, her face showed hurt at his response, which was much more resolute than expected, but she quickly changed her expression and nodded.

“I made an unreasonable request. I’m sorry. I was thoughtless.”

Her hunched body looked precarious. The man bit his lower lip at her diminished voice and gestures that had completely lost confidence.

‘Why should she care about the country that sent her as a prisoner……’

The man felt angry that Yerena wasn’t rejecting the emperor. Even though it was for her country, still, despite clearly showing her dislike, the thought of willingly entering the emperor’s bedroom made him hate her.

He boiled with rage as he thought of the emperor and her together, and unable to contain himself, he abruptly stood up. Startled by the rattling sound of the couch being pushed back, Yerena called out to him with wide, sightless eyes.

“S-Sir Kian. Are you very angry?”

“……”

“Sir?”

At her second call, the man still didn’t answer and just looked down at her. Seeing her not just startled but anxious that he might leave, his heart softened somewhat. He sat down again and asked her,

“Lady Yerena.”

“……”

“Aren’t you curious about me?”

* * *

The princesses crying out in blindness visited her even during the briefest moments of drowsiness. Yerena, who had nodded off while stringing beads, was startled awake from her nightmare by someone gently touching her.

“You seemed to be having a nightmare, so I took the liberty of touching you, Lady Yerena.”

A typical knight would have sent Jane, the maid. But Yerena, who had been suffering from nightmares all night before falling asleep during the day, was too drowsy to properly question this. Moreover, the person was Sir ‘Kian.’ She smiled at the knight and said,

“Sir. You mentioned before that the reason Sedas princesses go blind might be due to a medical condition.”

“……”

“That’s wrong. This is definitely a curse.”

“……”

“My ancestors all met miserable ends while blind. I saw it. Even just now…… Ah.”

Perhaps because she wasn’t fully awake, she could somewhat recall the content that she usually forgot upon waking. Of course, even as she spoke, it gradually became blurrier, making it impossible to complete her thoughts.

“……How strange. I can’t remember again. Or maybe there’s something wrong with my head?”

Yerena chuckled as she talked about the forgotten dream. The man gazed at her expression, which was like a sweet dream. Her half-closed eyes and the eyelashes covering them, her slightly parted lips revealing her teeth, even her body movements that had gone limp—everything about her was sensual.

While the man couldn’t take his eyes off the woman, Yerena suddenly burst into a fit of coughing, as if something had gone down the wrong way. Only then did he come to his senses and rise, saying,

“I’ll bring you water. Please wait.”

Yerena shook her head, signaling him not to leave. As soon as her coughing subsided, she called out to him.

“Sir.”

“Yes?”

“I may not remember, but one thing is certain. I……”

Yerena’s voice was wet. In truth, she was very tired, both physically and mentally, from the recurring nightmares. Above all, it was extremely difficult to keep witnessing others’ deaths in her dreams, especially those whose futures might be similar to her own.

“I’m going to die. It might be while I’m living as a prisoner here with blind eyes…… Or I might have my neck cut in your damned Emperor’s bedroom……”

“……”

“Whatever happens, I’m certain I’ll die miserably while blind.”

Yerena, who had half-collapsed, covered her face with her hands, even uttering an unusual curse. Transparent tears moistened the spaces between her fingers.

At the sight of her, the man gritted his teeth, looking as if he’d been struck on the head. He clenched his fist so tightly that his hand turned white and murmured in a voice lower than ever before,

“……Have you already forgotten your promise?”

Though she couldn’t see, she could tell. That the man was close to her. Yerena was surprised by the man’s breathing, which she could rarely hear normally, and then realized something, murmuring to herself,

‘I see. This person……”

It would be extremely embarrassing if she was mistaken, but Yerena was certain. That the man had feelings for her, though she couldn’t gauge the depth.

Her heartbeat quickened. Her mouth instantly dried, and her cheeks flushed. But strangely, it wasn’t unpleasant. Rather, a peculiar anticipation spread to her fingertips. Lowering her head to hide her flushed face, Yerena remained silent for a moment before murmuring,

“I remember our promise. I probably won’t break it.”

“……”