The Princess's Day Worth More Than Lives
A non-dream like dream. The princess's single day held more value than a commoner's entire lifetime. With just one night's dream, she could save tens of thousands of commoners—so even thousands of lifetimes couldn't compare to the mere moment she awoke from her slumber.
The imperial family was truly the pillar of the empire. Protecting the people was the monarch's duty, and looking after them was the monarch's privilege.
And.
"Haa... My dreams have been so restless, I feel like I'm dying..."
Garnet wanted to tell royal duties to fuck off and just sleep soundly.
"Gachadppi. Dreams are just dreams. Especially then—"
"Focus on the present and get moving?"
"Good job. You know it well?"
"Must've heard it in a dream. Pfft."
The princess shrugged her shoulders. What stood out was how she didn't look sleepy at all.
"Feels like the drowsiness flew away too."
"After that nightmare, all the sleepiness vanished. My head hurts now."
Just as on days with sweet dreams, you think you want to sleep ten more minutes. On nightmare days, you bolt awake in cold sweat and toss and turn all night. The princess who dreamed sweetly would loop through sweet dreams like hypersomnia. But after nightmares, each repeated dream loop brought insomnia.
The princess's sleep was completely gone. What a shitty feeling. Nightmares growing ever clearer...
"If you hate nightmares that much, why not just ignore them and take a nap?"
"Pretend twenty thousand people dying doesn't matter?"
The princess smirked. Truth be told, even if she shirked her duty, the imperial family wouldn't hold her accountable. Even if a natural disaster struck a city while she slept in her bedroom, no one would blame her. She'd just had one nightmare. Next time, sleep a bit longer, that's all. Simple.
"If I just went back to sleep, the dreams would get even worse and kill me, right? How could I relax after hearing that? I'd just have more nightmares."
But the princess didn't do that. Back when she knew nothing, she could have filled her day with sleep... But now that she knew, she couldn't ignore the deaths of countless people.
"It's my duty, the one I chose. I can't run from it."
Dream nightmares. Or live a reality like nightmares. Worst or worst, pick one. The absolute worst part? She had to choose both.
This world was a nightmare anyway. At least for the princess. So she had to choose her own nightmare.
"Man, the world is full of dogshit. It'd be easier if it just ended entirely..."
"Stop overthinking. Put negative thoughts on hold for now, My Daughter. This world might be a nightmare, but facing your own nightmares head-on? That's for the courageous. You're courageous. So let's power through with hard work and make today a miraculous one."
"That courage is gonna kill me early, probably..."
"That's the alpha's privilege. Charging into battle first. Die honorably or survive greatly."
"Pfft."
The princess smiled languidly as she straightened her nightgown. To some, this life might seem horrific. But this palace existence was the life she had chosen. It was duty, but a self-chosen one. In the most prosperous palace. Saving the people while enduring the lowliest sights. The process might look pathetic and painful. But it was honorable. At least she was saving lives.
"Aaaah! I wanna quit being princess!"
The princess yelled vigorously out the window, then suddenly flopped to the floor. It was pretty tough-looking.
"But I don't wanna quit. The palace beds are so soft and nice. Ordering maids around is super fun. Saving lives feels rewarding... Nightmares suck, but dreams are just dreams anyway. Kinda contradictory?"
"Everyone's like that. It's just human."
"Hate the idea everyone's the same. I wanna be unique and special. Pfft."
The princess was contradictory. As the essence of dreams and wisdom, she had two faces. The scared princess waking from sweet dreams and the prickly one from nightmares seemed like totally different people at a glance.
"But yeah. A princess in the depths of the palace being this human? Kinda charming twist, right?"
And like two sides of a coin aren't different. The princess burrowing endlessly into blankets for late sleep and the early riser smiling out the dawn window—they weren't different. Everyone's like that, really. Mornings hating to get up, clutching sheets—then once awake, chasing time desperately. Garnet just had a wider, more distant gap between extremes.
"Alright, Dream Guy. Can't sleep anyway—wanna take a walk? Grab breakfast too. Now that I think, I'm hungry. How many days since I ate properly? Just milk yesterday, I think..."
"Good job. A healthy meal breeds a healthy mind."
The princess grabbed her journal and rang the bell a few times.
The shrill sound echoed through the bedroom, and soon a maid entered, bowing her head.
"You called, Your Highness?"
"Take this. Tell them time's short, so hurry."
"Understood."
Handing the journal to the maid, the princess did some light stretches, changed into a robe, and headed to the corridor.
"Run to the dining hall?"
"Moving's good, but not running in the halls. Gachadppi."
"It's my palace anyway."
Everything in this palace existed for the princess. Priceless art too beautiful to buy. Delicacies from across the world. Hundreds of servants willing to die for her. All for the princess, the pillar bearing the empire.
"You idiot. It doesn't matter whose palace it is. What matters is—"
"Shh. Quiet."
Running down the corridor lined with countless paintings, the princess smiled.
"Dream Guy. Let's go."
"So when the princess isn't battling drowsiness, she's got this personality."
"Huh?"
"Glad this doomsday button changes so quickly."
While rehabilitating Princess Garnet, Canaria suddenly brought up something odd.
"Hold on, Canaria."
"Yes."
"You misunderstanding something?"
"Pardon?"
Thinking about it, it was so obvious from my perspective that I'd forgotten to explain to Canaria. But I never expected her to have zero clue. She'd been doing so well lately, I got complacent.
"My bad for not explaining. First off, that's not the princess's real personality. Just her brain fried from insomnia."
"Pardon?"
"The princess suffers from hypersomnia and insomnia at the same time."
"Uh, is that even possible?"
"More like alternating, technically."
Like all things in this world, great power comes with great cost. The price of her dream-in-dream ability: never sleeping soundly.
"Normally, she's in hypersomnia mode. The more she uses her power, the more sleep crashes over her."
Hypersomnia. She falls back asleep over and over. She doesn't want to save the empire. Just lie in bed wasting the day.
"Hypersomnia princess is depressed and listless. This world's just a dream anyway—what she achieves vanishes when she wakes."
She's accomplished nothing. The world too cozy, kind, comfortable. Knowing it's a dream that'll end someday makes her endlessly depressed.
"But for imperial duties, she gets insomnia."
Insomnia. She can't sleep easily, tosses all night. She can save the empire. She does what she must. Even if it kills her.
"Insomnia princess is tough and impulsive. If the world's just a dream, anything goes. Even suicide."
She can do anything. The world too harsh, hard, rugged, exhausting. Knowing it's a dream that'll end someday makes her endlessly brave.
"But why does that lead to doom?"
"It's a mental illness."
"...Pardon?"
Hypersomnia and insomnia. Oversleeping and restless nights. Not mere sleep disorders. Symptoms and causes of a greater illness—something like bipolar disorder.
"The princess has severe bipolar."
"..."
"Bipolar easily leads to grand delusions."
Grand delusions. The princess has them. Believing 'this world is a dream' sincerely? Impossible for a sane mind. Not a huge issue, really. Mental quirks come with living. The problem? This world is actually her dream.
"The moment the princess thinks this world is a dream, it becomes one. Think you're dreaming right now? Back to that morning."
"Hm."
"But what if—not just now, but her entire life so far was one long, detailed dream?"
Yeah. Exactly.
"What if not just now—but all history from the beginning to now is someone's dream?"
What if I'm a brain in a vat? A mad scientist shocking me with electricity? This world just electrical signals?
"What if there's no world—just a lazy, incompetent absolute being dreaming it? All my knowledge just fabricated memories in the dream?"
Everyone imagines or doubts this once, but doesn't take it seriously. But the princess is already insane. She just hasn't thought of 'this idea' yet.
In other words. Any trigger, and she'll imagine it—dooming the world. Ridiculously, pointlessly.
"In that sense, us being in a loop is good news. Means there's at least one non-doom answer. Stick to the plan, no pointless end."
"Young master. A very belated question, but..."
Canaria asked incredulously at my explanation.
"Isn't this world too fragile?"
"Yeah... really belated."