I suddenly come up with a wild conspiracy theory. What if Dan-I is actually dead in the real world? And all of this is a story her friend wrote as a memento? That's why Dan-I is surrounded by pp who love her!
I ship her w/ the crown prince and I'm ready to die w/ this ship.
Edit: I just realized that the empress looks so much like Shuli. Plz tell me they're not half sibling 😔
Hmmmm... Was that shadow figure Rowan? He probably met Erin there and her mother probably tied their fate together or something like that. She is a gypsy, she probably saw the future.