Chapter 6

I wiggled my hands. They were still so small. I couldn’t believe that ten months had already passed since my birth.

“By the way,” the emperor continued as if he had been waiting for the right moment, “on her first birthday, I’d like to hold a banquet to commemorate it.”

“A banquet...?” My mother trailed off slightly. “Do you think it’ll be okay? Aisha is very shy...”

I felt a hand gently caress me as if asking me if I would be okay. It seemed like the empress misunderstood my habit of always avoiding people.

“It would be okay if we show her face just for a little bit on the first day,” the emperor answered.

“Are you planning to hold the banquet for a long time?” Mother asked, tilting her head.

The size and splendor of the banquet were indications of how important the star of the banquet was. Usually, nobles held a banquet for a day or two, or at most three days.

However, since the emperor brought it up first, I had a feeling that my banquet would definitely go beyond a day or two.

The emperor nodded calmly. “Her birthday should be celebrated for several days. It’s her very first birthday, after all.”

“So how many days are you thinking?”

I pretended to ignore it, but I couldn’t stop my ears from perking up.

What is he going to do?

When I thought about it, a week or so would be plenty. Of course, only if he insisted on celebrating my birthday. A week would show that he cared about me enough.

Besides, the budget and manpower required to prepare for a week-long banquet would be huge, so in fact, a week was more than enough.

Unless he was determined to brag to the whole world about how much he cared about me, a week sounded just about right.

But unfortunately, it seemed like the emperor really wanted to show the whole world how precious his daughter was to him.

“A month.”

His confident voice echoed throughout the indoor garden.

“...”

I could feel the servants and my mother silently gasping.

“Y-you want to throw her a birthday banquet for a month?”

I had the same question in my mind. I once heard from the nanny that when Crown Prince Ysis was born and when he was chosen as the crown prince, a month-long banquet was held.

I heard that it was a captivating banquet that seemed out of this world, with gold fluttering in the air. But that was because Ysis was a very important successor.

The empress just stood there with her mouth open.

“B-but the budget for that...”

“It’s my beloved daughter’s first birthday, so why worry about the budget?”

The emperor was trying hard to convince the empress, while I was screaming inside.

For a month? No!

It was too much. It would tire me out. But I wasn’t capable of persuading the emperor.

Maybe the empress will stop him? A month is too long.

With that hope, I looked at the empress. But the next moment, I knew I had to give up. The empress’s eyes were sparkling even brighter than before.

“A month...”

Her face filled with overwhelming emotion she couldn’t hide. She had only recently entered the palace, so she didn’t have a lot of power.

It was important to note the fact that the former empress, Thetis, who passed away from ill health, had been a courtier, and her people were still scattered throughout the imperial palace.

Since the position of a member of the royal family who had not inherited the throne was usually determined by the power of her maternal relatives, my mother was probably worried about me. But as if to completely dispel her anxiety, the emperor was declaring that he wanted to hold a month-long banquet for me.

It was to show the whole world that he loved me and that I was welcome in the imperial palace.

“...”

Feeling mixed emotions, I bit my lip.

The empress was happy because she knew what it meant. With a joyful smile, the empress hugged me tightly.

“And why don’t you invite your father and mother?” my father said. “I will send someone.”

“Oh…!”

The empress’s eyes sparkled.

House Lucell, the empress’s maternal family, was a marquess family that protected the northern border.

Naturally, it was rare for them to visit the capital. The emperor seemed to have sensed that the empress, who had just entered the palace, missed her family. That was probably why he made that suggestion.

If my birthday banquet went on for a long time, it would extend the time my mother could spend with her family.

As I looked at the two, I suddenly felt a pang in my heart. They were so different from my father and mother in my previous life.

In my past life, the only thing that mattered to my father was his successor, Lakias. And even though I came out of her womb, my mother was indifferent toward me.

No, there was one exception for my father.

I smiled bitterly. Princess Marianne. She was the exception.

When I thought of her, my head suddenly hurt. I groaned.

The empress quickly noticed it and corrected the way she was holding me.

“What is it, Aisha? Are you not feeling well?” Her eyes were full of worry.

“...”

As I stared into those eyes, I somehow felt my headache disappear. When I calmed down, the empress was happy, and she grinned as she rocked me gently.

Inside the garden surrounded by glass, butterflies fluttered around and beautiful flowers were in full bloom. The scent of black tea wafted in through my nose and the sound of two people laughing rang in my ears.

Everything was as beautiful as a dream.

“Aisha, Mom and Dad are here,” the empress whispered to me warmly. “You won’t have to go through anything scary from now on.”

As she spoke, she gently smoothed back my hair.

“Did you hear that? Your father wants to hold your birthday banquet for a month.” The empress beamed. “Everyone will celebrate your birthday.”

I closed my eyes. In the darkness, I still vividly remembered how thirsty I’d been when I couldn’t even get a glass of water.

But now, I was lying in the sun, feeling the empress’s soft touch and the emperor’s love all at once.

The emperor, who had been quiet, said, “I am so happy that Aisha came into our lives. I hope I can show that joy by holding this banquet.”

“As you command, Your Majesty.”

My eyes were still closed. The empress sang a lullaby to me. It was a sweet tune. With the warmth embracing me, I dozed off.

* * *

When I opened my eyes, I was already back in my room, and darkness had descended. According to the strict rules of the imperial palace, the empress and I slept separately, so I was alone.

I don’t like being in the dark.

In silence, I quietly called the spirits with my mind.

Hello, kids.

One by one, the spirits began to approach me. Seeing them warmed my heart. They had been by my side from the very beginning of this new life.

To me, spirits were more than friends.

If it weren’t for you guys, I would have already given up on my new life a long time ago.

As I whispered in my heart, they patted me as if to comfort me.

Hmm?

But for some reason, the spirits were acting a little funny. They were looking into space, seemingly waiting for someone. Feeling puzzled, I raised my body a little.

What’s the matter?

They were trying to tell me something. But before they could, the curtains fluttered slightly and light shined into the room.

Bright yellow moonlight behind the layers of white curtains seeped through, and the dazzling light was so bright that it illuminated the whole room.

Today was a full moon. I opened my eyes wide. There was a man standing behind the curtain. He looked mysterious, with golden eyes that shone like the moon and flowing platinum hair.

In this space, watched only by the moon, there was suffocating silence. I couldn’t figure out what was going on.

Who... is he?

With my mouth open, I stared at the man. He walked out from behind the curtain and approached me step by step. He stared right back at me.

My blue eyes and his golden eyes watched each other. When I gazed at him without looking away, he slowly spoke to me.

So it’s true that you can see spirits.

A low, resonant voice echoed throughout the room. My eyes widened even more.

The fact that he had suddenly broken into the First Princess of Elmire’s bedroom through tight security was enough to put me on alert, but he also knew that I could see spirits.

If I could speak, I would have bombarded him with questions. But I was just a baby, and there were only two things I could do in this situation:

Burst into tears to alert others right away, or quietly hold my breath and hope I’d stay alive.

While I hesitated between these two choices, he put his finger to his mouth as if he had read my mind.

Shh.

At that moment, a gentle breeze blew in, and the light of the full moon poured in through the curtains. My eyes trembled.

No way.

The man, now fully revealed by the light, was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen in the world.

He slowly approached and looked down at me.

His platinum strands of hair fluttered slowly.

What a funny kid.

The spirits next to me all bowed their heads and said, Greetings, Your Majesty.

He’s their king?

I couldn’t believe it, so I just studied his face for a long time. Was he really the king of the spirits?

Then, I realized that he, just like the other spirits, spoke to me through his thoughts alone.

I hadn’t realized, due to his human-like appearance. I began to tremble as he stared at me intently.

It looks like I came too early.

I didn’t understand what he meant. But it was clear that he had very powerful energy.

It was becoming increasingly difficult to breathe. It was the kind of pressure I hadn’t felt even when Emperor Tyrion was in front of me.

Alright.

He lightly placed his finger on my forehead. His fingertips were bright, as if light lingered on them.

You can forget about today.

I opened my eyes wide.

Wait.

But there was no time to stop him.

For some reason, as soon as his finger touched me, I started to feel drowsy. I stretched my eyes open to try to avoid falling asleep. But it was no use.

The last thing I saw was his beautiful golden eyes that seemed to shimmer with magic… and the excitement contained within them.

With just that image of his golden eyes, my memory ended.