The night sky over Medang turned somber.
Heavy clouds loomed above the palace roofs like an ominous omen refusing to speak its name. No stars. No light—save for a few lanterns flickering weakly in the palace courtyards.
The wind carried trouble. And trouble now sat in Sri's hand, wrapped in black cloth and sealed with unfamiliar blood.
A coded message—delivered in total secrecy via the western corridor. It bore the mark of a "blind pigeon"—a code used only when intel was too dangerous to commit in plain script.
She stood atop the old stone tower, eyes scanning the sleeping city below.
Beside her, Chen leaned against the wall, half-lazy, chewing ginger candy from who-knows-where.
Sri unfurled the scroll slowly. The lanternlight cast soft gold over her usually unreadable face—tonight, it was slightly heavier.
The intel revealed a betrayal in motion. A clandestine meeting between someone inside the palace and a messenger from the Yi Dynasty.
Location: the ruins beneath the old storage vault—once home to the kingdom's ancestral relics, now sealed off since the fire incident two decades ago.
Some said the place was haunted. Others said… it merely hid things not meant for ordinary eyes.
"There will be an exchange," Sri murmured, her voice low as prayer.
"Information… traded for a life."
Chen raised an eyebrow.
"Lines like that usually precede a main character's death.
But here's hoping… it's just the supporting cast this time."
Sri shot him a glare.
But oddly, she didn't send him away.
Not tonight.
She didn't know why, but… her instincts told her to let him stay.
And stranger still, her instincts didn't regret it.
The Mission Begins.
They snuck through the palace's west kitchen corridor, behind a weathered wooden door hidden beneath sacks of salt and charcoal.
Behind the sacks lay a sliding floor panel, revealing a narrow tunnel—stone-lined, musty, reeking of mold and history.
Han Yue and Raka kept watch from a distance, dressed in black with Medang insignias tucked inside their collars. They wouldn't go in… but they'd be the fallback line if chaos erupted.
The tunnel was narrow, damp. The air crept along their necks like cold breath.
Only a small lantern in Sri's hand lit their way. Moss covered the walls.
The floor bore footprints—some recent.
"You sure about what you heard that night?"
Sri's voice was quiet. She turned slightly toward Chen, who was ducking to avoid the low stone ceiling.
Chen didn't reply immediately. He glanced around, then locked eyes with her—serious, for once.
"I only pretend to be stupid, Sri. Not blind."
She said nothing.
But the tension in her eyes… softened.
The Underground Vault
At the end of the tunnel stood a half-open stone door—just enough room for one person to crouch through.
The space beyond felt like a dragon's belly: humid, throbbing with danger, and thick with mineral steam.
Water vapor swirled through the room like ghosts unsure where to settle.
Chen suddenly halted.
He raised a hand. Eyes narrowed.
"Wait… trap."
Sri snapped alert. Her sharp gaze scanned the floor.
"How do you know?"
Chen crouched. Pointed to a nearly invisible thread stretched across the stone.
"Because… I set it."
"…WHAT?!"
A Few Days Earlier…
While everyone was busy preparing for the Yi Dynasty's grand welcome, Chen had quietly slipped into the abandoned vault.
Dressed in dark garb, he carried a sack full of suspicious objects: fishing wire, tiny bamboo canisters, smoke pellet tools, and—for some reason—an actual civet, munching on a chunk of yam.
"For honor," Chen muttered, stringing wire from beam to beam like a child building a cardboard fortress.
"She threw me into enemies. Now… it's my turn to make her jump like a startled hen."
He laid a tripwire to yank intruders to the ceiling, a smoke trap, and, of course—
"Ahh, the best part: Civet."
The civet—trained by Mei Lin over two weeks—was conditioned to leap and scratch at anything heavy-footed.
Chen proudly dropped civet snacks in the corner and whispered dramatically:
"Tonight, little beast… you make history."
Back to Now…
Chen stared at the tripwire beneath his feet. Froze.
"…Oh no."
"What?" Sri narrowed her eyes.
Chen turned toward her slowly.
"I… I stepped onto my own trap."
CLICK.ZAAAAAP!!
The floor snapped.
A cord sprang from the stone, yanking Chen upward—legs first—until he dangled from the ceiling like a roast duck in a night market.
Upside-down.
Eyes wide.
Silent… except for one dangling candy from his mouth.
Sri just stared.
Completely still.
"…Was this also for honor?" she asked flatly.
Chen, now spinning slightly, blinked.
"I might've overestimated… the tactical timing."
Sri sighed.
The mission had just begun.
And somehow… the biggest threat wasn't the traitors.
It was the idiot dangling beside her.
"AAAAAAA!!—Why is it still active?!"
From the dark corner, a shrill squeak—ZRAAPP!
Mei Lin's pet civet burst from the shadows and scratched Chen across the cheek.
"MEI LIIIIINNNNNN!!"
Sri stood frozen, expressionless.
She stared at Chen—now hanging upside-down, one leg tangled in rope, one cheek freshly clawed, while the civet stood below like a tiny general who'd just conquered an empire.
"…You know?" Sri said quietly, deadpan.
"I'm starting to understand why all your brothers want you dead."
Chen opened his mouth. But only managed to utter, "S-Sri—" before it was promptly stuffed with a banana leaf. By Sri.
"Make one more sound and I leave you here."
But before she could cut him loose…
Footsteps echoed from behind the stone wall.
Three figures emerged from the shadows behind a stack of crates. Two looked like messengers—but the third…
Wore the robe of a noble from the Yi Dynasty.
Sri stiffened. Her breath caught.
"Chen must die tonight," one man whispered.
"If he disappears, the southern trade route goes to the Fourth Prince."
Chen—still dangling upside-down—let out a muffled wail behind the banana leaf. His eyes bulged like a mouse realizing it had fallen into its own trap.
Sri didn't waste a second. She drew her dagger.
The fight began.
Sri took on two at once—fast, precise, silent. But the room was tight. Cramped.
A blade grazed her shoulder. She spun, kicked the attacker's knee, and blocked another strike from the left with her arm, shielded by a thin metal plate.
Meanwhile…
Chen, through a mix of flailing and sheer dumb luck, managed to swing his body hard enough to snap the trap's cord.
"WAAAA—UUGH!!"
He crashed onto the stone floor, flat on his back.
The civet leapt off a crate and landed squarely on his chest like a conqueror claiming new territory.
Chen hissed, "Help me—not perform a victory dance on my ribs!"
Then—chaos.
One of the smoke traps, kicked during the scuffle, began to hiss.
A soft pop.
Mist filled the room.
And then—
A hidden water trap: an underground reservoir without a safety rail.
Chen lunged.
Pulled Sri with him.
SPLASH.
Cold water swallowed them.
Darkness. Silence.
Only the sound of bubbles and ragged breathing.
Sri broke the surface first.
Chen surfaced right after—face-to-face, far too close.
Their foreheads were two fingers apart.
Sri's wet hair clung to her cheek.
Half her face glowed from the flickering reflections. The other half was shadow.
Their eyes locked.
No words.
No jokes.
Just breath.
Heavy.
And two hearts beating far too fast to control.
Chen tried to speak.
The words never made it.
He swallowed hard.
For the first time that night—he had no punchline.
Several minutes later…
Raka and Han Yue arrived just as the fight reached its smoky, waterlogged end.
They found the underground vault in ruin, the enemies unconscious, mist lingering in the air…
…And one tiny civet, sitting proudly atop the chest of a disheveled, dripping man who looked like he'd fought a war—and fallen in love in the process.
"…Do you see this?!"
Raka stared at Han Yue, halfway between shock and exasperation.
Han Yue gave a flat nod. "Unfortunately, I'm still alive to witness it."
Chen—soaked head to toe—stood unsteadily, clutching his lower back like a retired war hero.
Sri sat on one of the stone crates, hair wet, armor torn, her breathing slowly steadying again.
But her face…
Wasn't one of exhaustion.
It was the face of someone processing too much at once—especially one thing that had her heart beating faster than it should.
"We're clear at the rear," Raka reported. "No reinforcements. The couriers have been secured."
"And the civet?" Han Yue asked, expressionless.
Chen replied solemnly, "I'll make him a government official when I take the throne."
Moments later, Mei Lin appeared—immediately scooping up the civet and hugging it like her own child.
"Who's Mama's clever boy? Who caused beautiful chaos today?"
Chen stared weakly.
"You trained it too well…"
Some time later, in the outer courtyard.
The night breeze had begun to ease. The sky peeled open just enough to let a few shy stars peek through.
Sri leaned against a stone pillar. Her hands still trembled faintly from the cold water, but her face was calm.
Chen sat beside her. Not too close. But close enough to hear her breath.
"I used to think you'd never let me join a mission in this lifetime," Chen said quietly.
"I thought so too," Sri replied.
"But you did… tonight."
"Yes."
Chen paused, then turned to look at her, hesitantly.
"Why?"
Sri kept her gaze forward.
Then slowly, without drama, she answered:
"Because if I hadn't trusted you tonight… we'd both be dead."
The words were simple.
But they struck like an arrow to the softest part of Chen's chest.
He opened his mouth. But… had no idea what to say.
Sri continued—
Her tone still flat, but with a thread of warmth woven through.
"I know you're cunning enough to cause trouble…
but not cruel enough to let me die."
Chen turned away, hiding a flicker of something on his face even he didn't recognize.
A feeling like… being valued.
A feeling like… finally, someone could see the good beneath all the chaos.
He took a slow, deep breath.
"Make note of that," he said, nodding toward Han Yue and Mei Lin in the distance.
"That was a compliment."
Mei Lin grinned. "Noted in gold ink."
Han Yue folded his arms. "Let's hope this karma lasts."
Chen gave a small smile. But this time…
It wasn't one meant to tease.
It was the smile of someone who, for the first time…
felt like he was on the right side.
And somehow…
Sri let him stay.
Right there.
Beside her.
In silence.