🔊 TTS Settings
~Chapter 2~
After walking through the white marble hallway and out the back door, Dahlia saw a wide backyard.
Tall trees rose up high behind the backyard, surrounding her palace so tightly that nobody could see inside from outside.
Because of this, her separate palace was called the “Secluded Palace” among the nobles.
People said the princess, the king’s younger sister, lived there, but since she was a child, nobody had seen her.
Only her maid Annie, her guard knight Cole, the royal doctor, and a few servant maids were allowed to enter, with the king’s permission.
When she was a child—
The day she realized that what she saw in her dreams happened in real life, a strange illness appeared as well.
It was an illness where she would suddenly collapse and fall asleep without any warning.
After she fainted for the first time in front of her mother, her mother chose to live with her in the separate palace.
She didn’t like living far from the main palace at a young age, but after her mother’s sudden death, she chose to live shut away in the palace by herself.
Here, she didn’t have to worry about people staring. She could live freely as “Dahlia,” not as “the princess.”
Dahlia sat on her usual bench and looked straight ahead.
The world was full of things she loved.
The blue sky. The fluffy white clouds. Birds singing beautifully. The gentle breeze touching her hair.
Little by little, her heavy mood was starting to get better after finally coming outside.
If only I didn’t have those dreams, I could live peacefully and enjoy everything I love forever.
Because of her dreams, she was forced to see the “future.”
After she dreamed, what she saw would happen—sometimes after just a day, sometimes up to a year later.
Crash! Boom!
The sky made a terrifying sound, like it might fall apart.
She should have been shocked, but her whole body was so heavy that she couldn’t even move her fingers.
She was in the same dream again.
It hurts. Every time I have this dream, pain rises from somewhere in my body.
Dahlia tried to lift her eyelids, but only her eyelashes trembled.
“Kyaaa!”
“Save me!”
“No, I’m scared…”
“Graaargh!”
So many screams. Cries mixed with fear. Fast, rough footsteps. The roar of chasing beasts.
She wanted to cover her ears, but she didn’t have the strength to lift her hands.
Dahlia could only hope for time to pass, unable to block out the awful sounds.
Tears rolled down from her eyes, and finally her eyelids slowly opened.
Through her blurry vision, she saw the blue sky, torn like paper.
Below it, thousands—no, maybe tens of thousands—of black monsters were falling to the ground.
Hell. The world was ending right before her eyes.
She wanted to close her eyes again, but once they opened, they wouldn’t close.
She had seen this destruction in her dreams over and over.
Even though it was a dream, the helplessness was painfully sad.
If only she could know where she was. If only she could find a clue. But all she could see were white pillars.
Then, it happened.
“His Majesty Emperor Grey…”
A man’s voice, sounding like he was crying, was heard.
For the first time in these repeating dreams, she heard something other than screams.
Dahlia wanted to look, but the man’s voice was outside her sight.
“If only His Majesty had married…”
Married? Isn’t Grey the name of the Emperor of the Ruu Sephon Empire?
What does the Emperor’s marriage have to do with the end of the world?
“If only… it wouldn’t have turned out this way…”
Wait, does the world end because the Emperor didn’t get married?
Why? What does the Emperor’s marriage have to do with the end of the world?
Dahlia wanted to ask again to be sure, but as always in her dreams, she couldn’t move as she wanted.
“If only he had married…”
“Hey!”
Dahlia suddenly raised her head and shouted.
At that moment, white flower petals floated down before her eyes like snowflakes.
With sleepy eyes, she looked at the petals covering her pajamas and then raised her gaze.
Her niece Rose’s personal maid stood nearby with an apologetic face.
“Kyahaha!”
The one who put all the petals on her head was laughing brightly from far away.
When Dahlia turned her head, she saw Rose’s cute back.
If there was a perfect example of cuteness, it was that child.
But—if the world ends, what will happen to her? What will her future be?
Suddenly, Dahlia’s eyes filled with tears. Her chest hurt and her hands grew sweaty.
My dreams come true in real life.
After failing to stop her mother’s death, she realized she couldn’t change the dreams. She just accepted it and kept living.
But really, it was giving up.
Still, isn’t the end of the world just too much?
She had locked herself up for days, denying the terrible future, then she despaired, and finally she thought she had to accept it.
Today was different. In her dream, she heard—
If only the Emperor gets married, the world won’t end.
Could she really change it?
“Dahlia auntie, aren’t you going to find me?”
Rose called out sweetly from behind the bushes.
Dahlia looked at Rose’s back and squeezed her hands tight. If she gave up, that child would have no future.
Dahlia’s violet eyes shone with determination. She decided to try just this once.
Just once, please let me change it. Even if I can’t change other futures, let me stop the end of the world!
She prayed with all her heart.
Rose peeked out from behind the bush, then quickly hid again when their eyes met.
Did she think hiding her face made her round backside disappear too?
Watching her cute niece, Dahlia’s eyes became serious again.
The Emperor must get married.
She didn’t know why or how the Emperor’s marriage was connected to the end of the world, but she had to get the Emperor married before finding out the reason.
From her dreams, it could happen within a year—or as soon as tomorrow.
“Dahlia auntie, come find me!”
Since Dahlia didn’t come right away like usual, Rose called again in her sweet voice.
“Grrr—Where is our Princess Rose?”
Dahlia spread her arms wide and pretended to be a wolf.
“Kyahaha!”
Rose laughed loudly and ran with her short legs.
Dahlia looked around, pretending to search for Rose, while watching her cute niece.
Every time she woke from the dream of the world ending, she felt hopeless. She hid away, afraid of the future.
But this time, she found a clue.
Chasing after Rose, Dahlia’s heart filled with hope.
To protect that child’s future, I will do whatever it takes.
