Lin Rui summoned Arkan before dawn. There were no guards stationed outside his chambers. The corridors were silent, with only the sound of the occasional flicker of a torch on the wall.
Inside, a single candle burned in the corner of the table. Lin Rui stood beside it, already dressed in his Khan persona with an immaculate posture. The wound beneath his robes had healed and had become something he could ignore. So was the memory of that night. At least, that's what he was striving to do.
When Arkan entered, he closed the door behind him silently. He stopped a few steps from him and bowed. "Your Majesty."
"I have decided," Lin Rui began, "I need to kill Ruhan."
The words were final, without any room for argument.
Arkan looked up. His eyes scanned the man in front of him from head to toe, tracing the lines of his body, reading the subtle tension of his shoulders. For a moment, he said nothing. He searched for a crack, a hesitation that would betray human weakness, but found none. The Khan's composure was flawless, and his gaze was unflinching.
"You created Ruhan," Arkan said slowly. "You made him so you could move through the corner of this palace like a ghost. So you could walk where the Khan cannot, listen to the whispers of the kitchens, and see the rot of this court for yourself. Without him, you are blind."
"I know," Lin Rui replied, staring into the candle's flame.
"Without Ruhan," Arkan continued, "you lose access. You lose flexibility. You become a statue on a throne. Bound to the expectation of the court and especially the Kathun Dowager."
Lin Rui nodded once. "Yes."
A thick silence followed, before Arkan finally asked the question that had been hovering in the air like a ghoul, "Is this because of her?"
Lin Rui did not answer, but Arkan knew it already.
Arkan exhaled through his nose, a long, weary sound. He had anticipated this long before the words were spoken.
"She has made him distracted." Lin Rui finally turned his head just enough to catch Arkan's silhouette. "And distraction is death."
Lin Rui's lips pressed into a thin line. He knew it and accepted it. The conclusion was brutal but flawless. Ruhan's presence endangered her, endangered the Khan, and endangered the very ending Lin Rui was trying to write. If Ruhan existed, she would try to run. If she tried to run, the world would collapse.
"Very well," Arkan said at last, his tone shifting into that of a soldier receiving orders. "What do you need me to do?"
"Select men we trust," Lin Rui said, his voice regaining its sharp, commanding edge. "Loyal to you personally, not to their rank or the Dowager. Do not bring anyone whose curiosity outweighs their obedience."
Arkan nodded. "And the target?"
"Place them near Kabil," Lin Rui continued, his finger tracing the edge of the table.
Arkan's brow furrowed. "You want to keep an eye on Prince Kabil?"
"No," he said. "I want to place an executioner."
Lin Rui did not elaborate. The plan spoke louder than any explanation.
"And the method?" Arkan asked, his voice was steady, no more hesitation.
"A confrontation," Lin Rui replied. "Something that looks spontaneous. Consistent with Kabil's temper. Rage is expected of him. Violence is believable. The scene must appear natural, uncontrolled, yet precise. Nothing accidental, nothing implausible."
"An execution?" Arkan prompted.
"A conclusion," Lin Rui corrected, almost gently.
He moved his attention to the open map that was on his desk. He traced his finger along the narrow path just outside the palace.
"Ruhan will die here. Far enough not to be witnessed, but close enough to be heard."
Arkan's gaze sharpened. "And the body?"
"There will be one," Lin Rui said. He had already thought through the logistics. "A body from the morgue, or a prisoner scheduled for death. Someone of similar height and build. I want the face unrecognizable, but the clothes must be Ruhan's. Wounds must be in the expected places. It must be enough to satisfy the rumors, but messy enough to prevent a close inspection."
"And you?" Arkan asked softly. "What does the Khan do when his favorite attendant is slaughtered by his brother?"
"I will grieve," he said. "Briefly. Appropriately. Maybe even confront Kabil for a bit. But he will deny it, and I will believe him. And then Ruhan will be spoken of in the past tense."
Arkan studied him for a long moment. "You understand what this means. Once Ruhan is dead, there is no turning back. No second name to hide behind. You will be the Khan, and only the Khan, until the very end."
"Yes, I know."
"And the Princess?"
Lin Rui fell silent for a second. Arkan could see the only sign of the war raging inside him as he asked the question.
"She will be safer," he finally said. "If the man she loves is a corpse, she will stop trying to run away. She will stay within the walls. She will be miserable, but she will be safe. That is sufficient."
Safe is a cruel word, and Lin Rui knew this. But he couldn't let Arkan know what Lian Zhi's true fate was that was waiting for her.
Arkan inclined his head. "I will make the arrangements."
"One more thing," Lin Rui said, almost as an afterthought. "Summon Lady Naram to the Grand Hall. I will announce my wedding."
Arkan lifted his head. Another resolution. The Khan was finally returning to the path he was meant to walk. Yet Arkan could not tell whether he should feel relief or unease.
"Understood." He nodded before turning to leave, then paused at the threshold. "For what it's worth, this does not remove the reason for your decision. It only removes the symptom."
Lin Rui didn't respond. Sometimes, he hated how perceptive Arkan was. How he could see right through him and find the grieving man underneath.
He had created the perfect character.
The door closed softly behind Arkan, leaving the chamber in stillness once more.
Alone, Lin Rui's gaze returned to the map. He traced the line where "Ruhan" would meet his fate. For a moment, he hesitated. He hated the feeling and hated himself for it.
It was a clean edit. Cold, sure, but the narrative required it.
And with that justification, he closed the map.