Chapter 2: To Open One's Eyes
Kuhn had met many royal families and aristocrats before. They acted generous, pretending they were the saviors of the poor. It was ridiculous. They would listen to the problems of the poor, but mock and twist their words behind their backs. It was a specialty of the upper-class.
Kuhn knew how to push the buttons of those who talked in circles using their sophisticated words. They were always displeased when he took their words and threw them back at them. Kuhn would draw their human natures out of their gentle facades.
However, the Princess's reaction was new. The moment she called him 'you', Kuhn could feel her anger radiating off of her, but the way she expressed her rage was elegant.
'How is she so different?'
She was completely different from Dian. Dian had incredibly thick skin and had no problem lying to someone's face. Sometimes, he made Kuhn want to curse.
Sienna merely muttered 'Impertinent, so impertinent' as she calmed down.
"If it's a difficult question for you to answer, you don't have to answer it."
Feeling a bit bad, Kuhn suddenly had the desire to be someone that gave Sienna the answers she was looking for. Sienna wanted to hear him say, 'Princess, it's not like that'. However, nobody was around that would say those words to her.
'I don't think this man is the type of person that only says things I want to hear.'
Sienna's reaction was unexpectedly mild, so now Kuhn was the one left wondering. Just what did she want to ask him?
"Please ask your question."
"I have been learning the sword for eight years now. It took me eight years to know where my skill stand. All thanks to you."
"You're being too generous, I'm sure."
"I realized that my other skills might also not be as good as I thought. I want a new perspective. However, I'm finding it hard to let go of everything that I've come to know up till now. The incident with my swordsmanship can be forgiven. Maybe it's better to just let sleeping dogs lie since the Empire under the Emperor's reign will always be perfect and firm."
Kuhn wanted to tell her that her observation was all wrong.
'Princess, the world isn't as wonderful as you think.'
The only place that was run perfectly was the Imperial Palace. The Palace was a beautiful, artificial pond. It only took the purest waters from outside and brought it in to keep its own water clean.
"I'll ask you my question. Am I being worried over nothing?"
Kuhn felt frustrated as he looked into the Princess's stony eyes.
'A greenhouse flower...'
That's how Dian had described Sienna. He was half right but also half wrong. The Princess had found something she was lacking in and was troubled over it. Not everyone would have reacted the way she did. Especially someone that was as well-respected as she was.
The Princess wasn't an ancient tree that had hardened with age. She was a sapling, still slender and unsure of where it would spread its leaves. If she had an advisor around her that gave her the honest truth, she might even become a wise ruler.
'But the Red King is the problem.'
And all the feudal lords and dukes that don't want to give up their control.
'Princess, you must start by seeing your mother's true nature.'
Kuhn thought to himself. It would almost be impossible. Even if the advisor had no ulterior motives, it would be hard for him to avoid the allegation that he was trying to drive a wedge between the mother-daughter pair. In the end, the advisor would be hated by both mother and daughter.
"I am in no position to advise you about that. However, if it were me, I wouldn't just brush over it. In life, it isn't often you get a chance to correct wrongdoing. Being able to see something from a different perspective is as rare as a miracle. You're doing a good job by worrying over it."
Their eyes met. Sienna was stunned. He complimented her as if he was humoring a child. How dare he? As a commoner to this Empire's Princess...
"So impertinent."
Pfft, Kuhn burst into laughter before coughing awkwardly and apologizing.
"I'm sorry. I was thinking about something else."
Displeased, Sienna scowled at Kuhn as she spoke.
"I'll take your words into consideration."
"Then is it alright for me to take my leave? There's something urgent I need to take care of."
Sienna wanted to continue their conversation. There was nobody around her that she could have this kind of exchange with. However, she didn't have anything to keep him here.
"...You may go."
Kuhn nodded his head. Even though it wasn't according to etiquette, it was still more polite than before.
"Is your hand okay?"
"What?"
"I'm talking about your hand."
"Ah, yes... It's fine."
Kuhn had walked a few steps before turning around.
"Princess, if you want to see what's outside the pond, you need to actually leave the pond."
He didn't pause to see her reaction and walked out through the hedges. His footsteps were hurried. The palm of his lightly clenched left hand burned as if it had just been cut. He felt that if the Princess called for him to come back now, his legs would betray him and he'd scurry back to her.
He didn't want to admit it, but at this moment, Kuhn was running away... starting with his heart that kept being drawn towards the Princess.
He felt frustrated. Every single one of his plans was in opposition to Princess Sienna and what she stood for. Kuhn felt that it would have been better if Princess Sienna had turned out to be a wicked woman. She was different from Dian in every way, but he wanted to talk to her in a different way than he did with Dian.
'I'm sure she'll end up hating me.'
When would that day come?
The day Dian became the emperor, she would glower at him with extreme resentment in her cold eyes. Kuhn's felt a twinge in his chest as he grit his teeth.
Chapter 2: To Open One's Eyes
Kuhn had met many royal families and aristocrats before. They acted generous, pretending they were the saviors of the poor. It was ridiculous. They would listen to the problems of the poor, but mock and twist their words behind their backs. It was a specialty of the upper-class.
Kuhn knew how to push the buttons of those who talked in circles using their sophisticated words. They were always displeased when he took their words and threw them back at them. Kuhn would draw their human natures out of their gentle facades.
However, the Princess's reaction was new. The moment she called him 'you', Kuhn could feel her anger radiating off of her, but the way she expressed her rage was elegant.
'How is she so different?'
She was completely different from Dian. Dian had incredibly thick skin and had no problem lying to someone's face. Sometimes, he made Kuhn want to curse.
Sienna merely muttered 'Impertinent, so impertinent' as she calmed down.
"If it's a difficult question for you to answer, you don't have to answer it."
Feeling a bit bad, Kuhn suddenly had the desire to be someone that gave Sienna the answers she was looking for. Sienna wanted to hear him say, 'Princess, it's not like that'. However, nobody was around that would say those words to her.
'I don't think this man is the type of person that only says things I want to hear.'
Sienna's reaction was unexpectedly mild, so now Kuhn was the one left wondering. Just what did she want to ask him?
"Please ask your question."
"I have been learning the sword for eight years now. It took me eight years to know where my skill stand. All thanks to you."
"You're being too generous, I'm sure."
"I realized that my other skills might also not be as good as I thought. I want a new perspective. However, I'm finding it hard to let go of everything that I've come to know up till now. The incident with my swordsmanship can be forgiven. Maybe it's better to just let sleeping dogs lie since the Empire under the Emperor's reign will always be perfect and firm."
Kuhn wanted to tell her that her observation was all wrong.
'Princess, the world isn't as wonderful as you think.'
The only place that was run perfectly was the Imperial Palace. The Palace was a beautiful, artificial pond. It only took the purest waters from outside and brought it in to keep its own water clean.
"I'll ask you my question. Am I being worried over nothing?"
Kuhn felt frustrated as he looked into the Princess's stony eyes.
'A greenhouse flower...'
That's how Dian had described Sienna. He was half right but also half wrong. The Princess had found something she was lacking in and was troubled over it. Not everyone would have reacted the way she did. Especially someone that was as well-respected as she was.
The Princess wasn't an ancient tree that had hardened with age. She was a sapling, still slender and unsure of where it would spread its leaves. If she had an advisor around her that gave her the honest truth, she might even become a wise ruler.
'But the Red King is the problem.'
And all the feudal lords and dukes that don't want to give up their control.
'Princess, you must start by seeing your mother's true nature.'
Kuhn thought to himself. It would almost be impossible. Even if the advisor had no ulterior motives, it would be hard for him to avoid the allegation that he was trying to drive a wedge between the mother-daughter pair. In the end, the advisor would be hated by both mother and daughter.
"I am in no position to advise you about that. However, if it were me, I wouldn't just brush over it. In life, it isn't often you get a chance to correct wrongdoing. Being able to see something from a different perspective is as rare as a miracle. You're doing a good job by worrying over it."
Their eyes met. Sienna was stunned. He complimented her as if he was humoring a child. How dare he? As a commoner to this Empire's Princess...
"So impertinent."
Pfft, Kuhn burst into laughter before coughing awkwardly and apologizing.
"I'm sorry. I was thinking about something else."
Displeased, Sienna scowled at Kuhn as she spoke.
"I'll take your words into consideration."
"Then is it alright for me to take my leave? There's something urgent I need to take care of."
Sienna wanted to continue their conversation. There was nobody around her that she could have this kind of exchange with. However, she didn't have anything to keep him here.
"...You may go."
Kuhn nodded his head. Even though it wasn't according to etiquette, it was still more polite than before.
"Is your hand okay?"
"What?"
"I'm talking about your hand."
"Ah, yes... It's fine."
Kuhn had walked a few steps before turning around.
"Princess, if you want to see what's outside the pond, you need to actually leave the pond."
He didn't pause to see her reaction and walked out through the hedges. His footsteps were hurried. The palm of his lightly clenched left hand burned as if it had just been cut. He felt that if the Princess called for him to come back now, his legs would betray him and he'd scurry back to her.
He didn't want to admit it, but at this moment, Kuhn was running away... starting with his heart that kept being drawn towards the Princess.
He felt frustrated. Every single one of his plans was in opposition to Princess Sienna and what she stood for. Kuhn felt that it would have been better if Princess Sienna had turned out to be a wicked woman. She was different from Dian in every way, but he wanted to talk to her in a different way than he did with Dian.
'I'm sure she'll end up hating me.'
When would that day come?
The day Dian became the emperor, she would glower at him with extreme resentment in her cold eyes. Kuhn's felt a twinge in his chest as he grit his teeth.
