The Great Wish - Chapter 8.2

Vol.2 Chapter 8 Part 2 

'It's my future... but it seems so strange.' 

Sienna thought as she leaned back on the sofa. 

'Even if one changes as they grow older...' 

The emperor in her dream didn't seem anything like her. Her words and her 

actions were too emotional. The emperor felt so distant and unfamiliar to 

Sienna. 

'What happens to me in the future?' 

People didn't change easily, so she must have gone through something 

traumatic to make her that way. 

'So I didn't get married?' 

It was hard to believe that the emperor remained unmarried despite being in 

her forties. The emperor needed to marry in order to leave behind an heir. 

It was a duty that needed to be fulfilled. 

Sienna never thought to reject her duty. Additionally, she had an overeager 

mother who diligently thrust men into her periphery. Even if it was a bit 

late, she'd still be engaged next year. Then, within two or three years, 

she'd get married. At least, that's what she thought. 

'It was probably an estranged marriage.' 

But that would mean that something had happened to tear the marriage 

apart. 

'Even though the dream wasn't pleasant, I learned a lot.' 

Through this dream, her weariness of Patricia solidified completely. There 

must be a reason why her future self acted so cold to her mother. 

In the future, her mother would dwell in the Founding Palace. The Founding 

Palace was reserved for the heir and, as a rule, wasn't supposed to be a 

place where Patricia could live. 

'It probably means Mother has quite a large influence.' 

To the point where it could break rules. 

And that mysterious person... Some clues related to the Gong King were 

revealed. 

'Even though the Iron King ended up with the throne, he lacked the 

justification.' 

And the ones leading the charge of opposition were probably Patricia and the 

House of Rimone. 

'The Gong King was definitely a vassal of the Iron King. He put his man in a 

position of power in order to dispel the attacks against him.' 

This method was a double-edged sword. If the Gong King ever betrayed his 

master, it would prove to be fatal. But that was just how much Dian trusted 

this man. And this man had enough skill to keep his position after Dian's 

death. 

'Who could it be? Is it someone I know?' 

While Sienna racked her brain, a lady-in-waiting stepped up and called 

her. 

"Your Highness, Sir Gilbert is requesting an audience." 

"Let him in." 

Sienna carefully observed the man who followed Gilbert inside. 

"Your Highness, I've brought the one you mentioned to me." 

"Good work." 

Gilbert walked out and left the two of them alone. The man who stood behind 

Gilbert stepped forward. 

"Greetings to the Silver King. I am Levan Kali, a fourth-grade official 

secretary." 

Sienna was disappointed as soon as she saw Levan. He was a man of small 

stature. He didn't look anything like the large knights in her dream. 

"Secretary Kali. I've heard many things about you. You currently hold the 

top score of all time in the national exam." 

"That is high praise, Your Highness." 

"Do you happen to have any brothers?" 

"I'm an only child." 

"Do you have any knights in your family? I think I may have heard of the 

name 'Kali' somewhere before." 

"If you are looking for someone specific, I'm afraid it isn't me. My family 

is quite ordinary, so I actually took that name as my own once I received my 

government post." 

"...I see." 

So it wasn't him. 

"So you aren't a citizen of the empire?" 

Levan answered every question she threw at him. Why he came to the Empire, 

when he came, where his parents came from... 

"...I wasn't very good when it came to manual labor, so I took the national 

exam and obtained a government post. But I plan on leaving the Empire after 

a few more years. I don't plan on bringing any disorder to the Empire, so 

there is no need to worry." 

Sienna glanced at Levan and spoke up. 

"Did I ever ask?" 

"I was worried I'd be taking too much of Your Highness's precious time, so I 

prepared this beforehand. If I've crossed the line, I apologize." 

In the past, she would have just let this go and passed him off as another 

shrewd person. However, this man in front of her eyes kept overlapping with 

the image of another man who had nothing to do with him. 

Their attitudes were very similar. They were polite, but not excessively so. 

They didn't lose their nerves in front of the Empire's Princess. 

Sienna's lips tilted up into a slight smile. 

"I'm sure you've had many superiors ask you all sorts of questions just like 

me." 

"..." 

"It seems that you have grown tired of answering the same questions over and 

over again. Aren't I the one who is wasting your precious time and not the 

other way around?" 

Levan's shoulder flinched as he kept his head lowered. 

"That's not true at all. How could I dare..." 

Sienna suddenly had the urge to make a big leap. What would be the 

difference between a man who was neither noble nor citizen of the Empire and 

a man who had long held a high position and status? 

* * * 

Levan stopped walked and turned around. The enormous entrance to the Palace 

was now far away. 

'I don't know if I did the right thing. Although, I probably wouldn't have 

been able to refuse, anyway.' 

He didn't think much of it when he was called to meet the Princess out of 

the blue. After he took the national exam and obtained a government post, he 

was called here and there quite often. He thought the Princess was merely 

curious about him like all the others. But to think that she would actually 

offer him the position of her aide... 

He rejected her offer at first. He was a foreigner and hadn't been at his 

post for very long. And it was all true. While he did take 

this government post for personal reasons, he was planning on quitting 

soon. 

The Princess paid no attention to Levan's refusal. 

?Because you aren't a citizen of the Empire, we can just have you work 

for me temporarily. Work as my aide for just one year.? 

He couldn't reject her a second time. And, to be honest, being the 

Princess's aide wasn't that bad. The work of a low-level administrative 

officer was incredibly boring. 

'If I get to go in and out of the Palace, I'll at least be able to see some 

interesting sights.' 

Levan didn't really hold any high expectations for this post as the 

Princess's aide. He thought she probably wanted to keep him close to watch 

over him and satisfy her curiosity. 

'The whims of those who sit on high don't last very long anyway. Two months? 

It'll only last that long.' 

It would be best to just humor the royalty and nobility for now. Hurting 

their ego would only make things more troublesome for him. And Levan hated 

dealing with troublesome things more than denting his pride. 

* * * 

It was well past noon. Two carriages without any distinctive features left 

the Palace. Once they left the outer wall of the Palace, they stopped. In 

one of the carriages, Sienna sat alone. 

'I already told Sir Gilbert, but I'm not so sure." 

Kuhn had told her that he'd meet her out in front of the Palace, but he didn't 

tell her a specific time or place. She believed he'd use any method to 

contact her again, but she had received no other word from him. 

'How much longer do I have to wait?' 

As soon as that thought crossed her mind, the carriage began to move once 

again. 

Sienna sat in an aloof position for a while. In the end, she couldn't 

contain her curiosity and peeked out the window from between the curtains. 

Similar buildings of the same height passed by outside. They looked 

different from the buildings in the Palace or the shopping district. 

'We're going westward?' 

The carriage continued to race along the road. After a long while, it 

finally stopped. In a few moments, a knock sounded from outside. The door 

opened after a short interval. She thought she'd see one of her guards, but 

the person who leaned into the carriage was none other than Kuhn. When their 

eyes met, he grinned at her. Despite Sienna's lack of reaction, he didn't 

seem to care. 

Sienna got out of the carriage and looked around. Identical two-story buildings 

were clustered together on the street. 

"This way." 

Kuhn led Sienna and her guards into one of the houses. 

After Sienna entered the house, a gloomy tension hung in the air. 

It was a sense of danger that the average person wouldn't be able to 

notice. 

There were people that had followed Sienna and her guards from the moment 

they had left the Palace. They were from the same group as the men who had 

followed Sienna on her first outing. 

They were men who had trained as assassins and were serving as unofficial 

soldiers belonging to the House of Rimone. They needed to execute their 

orders in absolute secrecy. They were the ones in charge of settling 

important and dangerous missions, even if they had to use inhumane 

measures. 

Of the three men Russ and Martin had captured, only one survived. However, 

this man seemed to be a low-ranking member of his organization and didn't 

seem to know any important details. 

Kuhn believed that these men would follow the Princess during this outing as 

well. And, as expected, these men followed the Princess to this house. 

These men were the hidden strength of the House of Rimone, but Kuhn realized 

that this strength could never be revealed to the public. The identities of 

these men were probably top secret. If these men were caught, the ducal 

house of Rimone would probably cut their losses and distance themselves from 

this organization. Therefore, Kuhn couldn't miss this opportunity to land a 

blow on the House of Rimone. 

The men didn't realize that they had fallen into a trap. Unaware to them, nets were closing in on them from every direction. Like 

this, a silent and cold war erupted. 

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Vol.2 Chapter 8 Part 2 

Report 

"Should we head to the saloon now? The marketplace is still open for a little while longer, so there should be a lot to see." 

I've seen enough of the marketplace from the last outing. And there's somewhere I need to go today." 

The back alleys of the capital where the poor lived. Sienna had been looking forward to going there ever since she left the Palace. However, the one who had first offered this opportunity to her had a strange look on his face. 

"What is it? Lead the way." 

"Um..." 

"Were you lying to me?" 

Sienna's golden eyes narrowed. Kuhn quickly shook his head. 

"It's just that it's dangerous there." 

"That's your only excuse?" 

"It's not an excuse. It's a place where the public security of the Empire has no reach. Can't you just be satisfied by knowing that a place like that exists?" 

"I need to see it with my own eyes." 

Kuhn had expected this response from this stubborn woman. But he only asked just in case. 

'I wouldn't take her at night, but since it's still bright out, it should be fine.' 

The alleyways reared its ugly head at night. But if he told this to the Princess, she'd definitely insist he take her at night. 

'I'm never going to tell her.' 

"Don't move on your own and stick to my side." 

At Kuhn's request, Sienna merely stared at him. Kuhn thought he accidentally dented her pride. 

"It's not an order, but..." 

"Is it that dangerous?" 

"Probably..." 

"Even though you'll be with me?" 

Sienna recalled how he had told her that he was at least as good as the captain of the knights back at the Palace. Although she'd never seen his skills for herself, she didn't think he said it out of reckless bravado. 

For a moment, Kuhn looked flustered. However, his expression soon changed into one of happiness. 

"I can let you cross a barren desert without hurting a finger." 

"Enough with the big talk." 

Kuhn laughed as he turned around. Even though he was just called a big talker, all he could do was laugh. 

'Is he sick in the head?' 

She wanted to know what was making him laugh like that. 

The two of them went back west. 

"I'm sure you know the history of the Empire's capital better than I do." 

"Of course." 

The Empire's capital was a planned city. Therefore, the residential districts and the commercial districts were clearly set apart, and the closer the resident was to the central Imperial Palace, the higher status the residents held. 

"From what I've heard, this is where the displaced people live. The people who used to live on the land where the Palace now stands." 

"I'm sure that's true. Because this land wasn't a part of the Empire until the founding emperor established the Empire here." 

"The place where we're going now is the remnant of the past civilization." 

The western area of the city was where the commoners lived. As they walked along the path, they passed by many similar buildings that were stuck close next to each other. 

Kuhn led them down a large road before turning into an alleyway between two houses. Sienna could tell that her surroundings were gradually beginning to change. The number people who passed by them began to decrease, and now she didn't see anyone else. It was quiet. However, it wasn't a tranquil silence. 

They continued to walk through the narrow path for a while. When they reached the end of the path, they turned around a corner. Sienna froze. A completely different scene unfolded before her. She saw an endless line of yellowish mud huts with gnarled roofs. 

'What is this?' 

Sienna gazed at the shabby homes that looked as if they'd collapse at any moment. She couldn't believe people lived here. They looked completely different from the usual architecture of the Empire. Once couldn't even call it architecture. 

'Why didn't anyone tell me about this?' 

Kuhn watched silently as Sienna slowly looked around the slum. He didn't rush her or explain anything to her. 

"I want to walk further inside." 

Kuhn walked ahead and began to lead her in. 

"You're walking too fast." 

"We can't walk too slowly here." 

 She couldn't examine anything closely if she walked at his speed. Sienna's eyes rolled in her head as she glanced around at her surroundings. They occasionally came across the residents who were wearing shabby clothing. They were filthy, and their thin faces contained no life. 

They looked completely different from the pedestrians of the western district. They openly stared at Sienna. A sharp wariness gleamed in their eyes. It was similar to the looks given by wild beasts. 

 It was a hostility that Sienna had never experienced before. It made her feel uncomfortable and tense. 

'If I show any weakness, I feel like they won't hesitate to attack.' 

She realized what Kuhn had meant when he said it was dangerous. 

"I don't think they feel very welcoming towards us." 

She heard Kuhn's soft chuckle. 

"Why are you laughing?" 

"I expected you to tell me that their eyes were impertinent, but you said that it was unwelcoming instead. It sounded quite funny to me." 

Kuhn was speaking about how she had called him 'impertinent' many times before. Even if he wasn't being sarcastic, it still sounded quite rude. Speaking sarcastically was common in society, but no one ever spoke to Sienna in this way before. 

"...You need to go back and relearn your manners. Starting with your speech." 

As they continued to banter back and forth, Sienna felt the tension begin to melt away. Sienna thought Kuhn was leading them further into the slum, but she found herself on the outside once again. 

"They probably think we're people who have lost our way. If we go back in, there's a higher chance that we'll run into some trouble." 

"Is it dangerous?" 

"It's dangerous." 

"And what if I want to go back in?" 

"Then we'll go back." 

He answered without any hesitation. 

"But you said that it was dangerous." 

"Only if I'm not with you." 

Sienna looked back at the the slum as the shadows grew long from the setting sun. She sighed. 

"It's fine. I know it's not a place I can freely visit just to satisfy my curiosity." 

 They turned around and began to make their way back to the city. 

"I don't know why people hid the existence of this place from me." 

"They didn't hide it. They just pretended it didn't exist." 

"Pretended it didn't exist? Why? These people are also clearly subjects of the Empire." 

Kuhn briefly observed Sienna's expression. She was being earnest, and there was no sign of hypocrisy on her face. 

'Subjects...' 

Filthy morons, potential criminals... That is what most people thought when they saw the slum and its inhabitants. 

Was it just a difference in the education received by a potential monarch? Or were the members of the imperial family truly different from the rest? Dian and the Princess. While these two siblings were very different, they both had the characteristics to be an excellent ruler. 

What a pity. If Dian became the emperor, then the talents that Sienna had would waste away. 

"No matter where you go on the continent, places like that exist. It's just that the one in the Empire is bigger than most. And it's only going to get bigger, not smaller." 

"Why?" 

"It's just like how the shadow grows darker as the light becomes brighter. And the shadows have to be gathered all in once place for easier management. That's why everyone just leaves it alone even though they know about it." 

"..." 

The two of them continue to walk westward in silence until they reached the main street. Kuhn didn't bother Sienna and let her dwell in her thoughts.