The walls of house arrest were not made of stone, yet they pressed on Kim Yunxi like a suffocating weight.
The king's words from the night before clawed at his mind—you will be the one to bring me his head—but Yunxi forced them away. There was no time to dwell on Han Ji's poison-laced voice, nor the way his touch had burned on his chin long after he'd gone. He had to focus.
For his father.
For his family.
For his cousin.
---
The investigation had started. Han Ji's men prowled like hounds across the estate, searching for scraps of treachery. Yunxi stayed close to them, smiling politely when needed, but never letting them out of his sight. He could not allow anything to surface—not until he had enough proof to bury Han Ji's accusations forever.
And then, one evening, he caught a whisper among the soldiers.
They had found something Autopsy—proof.
His veins iced over. Proof meant execution. Not just of his father, but of him, of his entire bloodline.
Yunxi followed silently, his steps light, his face masked with feigned indifference until the soldier carrying the evidence broke away from the group, heading toward the outer gates.
In the shadows of the stable yard, Yunxi approached him.
"Is that… what I think it is?" he asked softly, voice trembling just enough to seem harmless.
The soldier turned, startled. "Lord Kim—"
The blade slid in before he could say another word.
Yunxi's hand gripped the hilt tight, shoving the sword between the man's ribs from behind, feeling the sudden jerk of a body going limp. The soldier gasped, choked, and then fell silent as Yunxi yanked the weapon free, he picked the autopsy report. This was one thing that showed the late queen had died of poison.
For a moment, there was nothing.
No sound, no feeling, only the weight of the man's body crumpled at his feet.
Then, reality crashed in.
His hands were slick with blood.
His gown soaked where the soldier had clutched him in his last seconds.
Yunxi's breath hitched violently. He dropped the sword and stumbled back, staring at what he'd done. Again.
He pressed a shaking hand to his mouth to smother a sob. He hadn't wanted to do this again. He'd promised himself he wouldn't. Never again…
But here he was.
He staggered back to his chambers in a daze, shutting the door with trembling hands. The scent of iron clung to him. He ripped his bloodied gown from his body and threw it into the basin, scrubbing furiously.
"Out… out… out!" he cried, tearing at the fabric as if scrubbing could erase what he had done. Tears blinded him as he worked, water turning red, hands raw from friction.
When his body finally gave out, he collapsed against the wall, knees to his chest, sobbing into his arms.
He stayed there long into the night, the room dark, his heart darker still.
No one would ever imagine that quiet, delicate Yunxi could drive a blade through a man's heart without hesitation. No one would suspect how easily he could lie, or how much of him was rotting inside.
Not even Han Ji, who believed he knew everything.
---
By midnight, he had stopped crying. He dressed simply, pulled his hair back, and opened the window. He wasn't staying here. He needed someone to clear card. Someone who who could give their life for him. Yunxi knew a person.
The horse he chose was swift and silent. The guards outside never saw him leave.
He rode through the night, wind cold against tear-burned cheeks, until he reached his destination, He Ju's home.
He Ju had been his close friend since he joined the royal school, since...Han Ji, the king left five years ago and one of the few people who had never turned away from him.
Yunxi climbed the trellis outside He Ju's chamber window and tapped once. When He Ju opened it, the shock in his face was immediate.
"Yunxi—by the gods, you're under arrest—"
Yunxi didn't let him finish. He stumbled forward, all but collapsing into He Ju's arms. His face was a ruin of tears, eyes swollen, clothes rumpled from flight.
He Ju's protests died. Instead, he held him close, strong arms wrapping around Yunxi's trembling form. "It's all right," he murmured, stroking his back. "You're safe here. It's all right…"
Yunxi said nothing. He just let himself be held, as if He Ju's chest were the only place left where he could breathe.
---
Morning crept through the curtains.
He Ju awoke first, the early light brushing his face. His gaze fell to the boy in his arms—Yunxi, curled against his chest like a fragile thing seeking shelter.
He Ju's breath caught.
He had known Yunxi in what felt like for ever, had watched him leave the past that woke him up and turn into this beautiful, young man. And for years now, every time he saw him smile at someone else, every time he heard another speak his name too fondly, jealousy had gnawed at him like a sickness.
He brushed a loose strand of hair from Yunxi's cheek, heart twisting at the sight of him like this—so vulnerable, so close.
I will one day give you a happy life, he thought fiercely. Just wait, Yunxi. Just wait for me.
And in that same moment, unknown to him, Yunxi's eyes were open.
His face remained soft, resting, but inside…
Admire me. Touch me all you want. Think every filthy thought about me you please, Yunxi thought coldly. That's the price for using you. Now I'm certain—you want me. And I'll use that. I'll make you my witness, my shield. You'll swear I never killed that fool of a soldier. Because I'll be so very helpless in your eyes.
His inner smile was ice.
After all… I'm not the worst one here.
Yunxi was now like;
Soft as petals, bright as dawn,
Eyes like angels, sins well-drawn.
Tiny hands that clutch and plead,
Hide the claws that make men and women bleed.
Sweetest smile, the purest grace,
Hell itself behind that face.
The little devil, adored by all,
Whispers love… and watches you fall.