And here I was expecting the "competitions" to be some sort of actual organized tournament...
Also, for all y'all complaining that it makes no sense for the citizens to not recognize their empress, most common people (peasants and whatnot) would most likely never even have a chance to see their...
That's depressing, knowing that the whole world (or at least the country) is fated to bring you down. Sure, she planned ahead to use that for a happy ending, but still...