Yuna's POV
My new quarters have a door.
That's the first thing that hits me. A real door that locks from the inside. For twelve years, I've slept in the servant barracks where anyone could enter at any time. Privacy was a fantasy. Safety was a joke.
Now I have a door. A lock. A room to myself.
I might cry if I wasn't so terrified.
The room is small but clean, with an actual bed instead of a straw mat. A desk. A window with glass. Luxuries I haven't experienced since I was twelve years old, before my mother died and Lady Seol claimed me as property.
The Emperor requests your presence at midnight, miss, the servant who brought me here says nervously. In his private study. Someone will fetch you.
After she leaves, I collapse on the bed, shaking.
I survived. I actually survived.
But survival is just the beginning. Now comes the hard part—convincing Kael to help me destroy the people who murdered my mother while helping him save his throne.
I have exactly six hours to decide how much truth to tell him.
Midnight arrives too fast.
Commander Chen himself comes to escort me. We walk through silent corridors, past guards who watch me with expressions ranging from curiosity to contempt. The Emperor's pet maid, they're probably thinking. We all know what she's really here for.
Let them think it. Underestimation is my greatest weapon.
Chen stops outside an ornate door. His Majesty is inside. Alone. He's dismissed all guards.
My stomach flips. Why?
Because what you're about to discuss requires absolute privacy. Chen's eyes bore into mine. Whatever happens in that room, whatever you tell him—remember that I'm loyal to the Emperor above all else. Hurt him, and I'll end you. Understood?
Perfectly.
He knocks twice and opens the door.
The Emperor's private study is nothing like the throne room. No grandeur, no imperial trappings. Just a room filled with maps, books, and papers scattered across every surface. A fire burns in the hearth. Wine sits on a side table.
And Kael stands by the window, looking out at the dark palace grounds, tension radiating from every line of his body.
Leave us, Chen, he says without turning.
Your Majesty
I said leave.
Chen bows and exits, closing the door behind him.
The lock clicks.
We're alone.
Kael finally turns to face me, and without his formal robes and crown, he looks different. Younger. More human. But no less dangerous.
Wine? he offers, moving to pour two cups.
I... Your Majesty, I don't think
You just survived three days in the dungeons and a rigged trial, he interrupts, handing me a cup. You need wine. Sit.
It's not a request.
I sit, trying not to look as nervous as I feel.
He settles into the chair across from me, and for a moment, we just study each other.
We're alone now, he says quietly. You can drop the humble servant act. I know what you are.
My heart pounds. And what am I, Your Majesty?
Intelligent. Calculating. Playing a game far more complex than anyone suspects. He sips his wine, never breaking eye contact. The question is: are you playing against me, or for yourself? Or possibly... with me?
This is the test. Everything I say in the next few minutes determines whether I live or die.
Truth or lies? Which keeps me alive?
May I speak freely, Your Majesty?
Please do. I'm exhausted by people telling me what they think I want to hear.
The honesty in his voice, the weariness, makes my decision.
Truth, then. All of it.
I'm Lady Seol Velashen's half-sister.
His eyes widen slightly—the first genuine surprise I've seen from him.
I continue before I lose my nerve. My mother was a seamstress who bore Duke Velashen's bastard child. Me. She kept me hidden in the servant quarters, educated me secretly, loved me fiercely despite the risk. When I was twelve years old, she discovered evidence that the Duke's legitimate family was embezzling imperial funds—your funds, Your Majesty. Money meant for roads, schools, the military—stolen and redirected to private coffers.
Kael sets down his wine, completely focused now.
Before my mother could report what she'd found, she was murdered. Made to look like suicide. The investigating physician confirmed it as suicide, then mysteriously fell from a palace wall one week later. My voice hardens. Lady Seol, my own half-sister, took ownership of me. Forced me into servitude while erasing every record of my birth, every proof I was family. For twelve years, I've served the woman who ordered my mother's death. Bowing. Scraping. Playing the perfect, invisible maid.
While secretly planning revenge, he finishes.
While gathering evidence, I correct. Revenge without proof is just murder. Justice requires truth. So I built a network. Kitchen maids who overhear nobles' private conversations. Guards who witness midnight meetings. Seamstresses who find documents in pockets they're mending. Stable boys who know which nobles meet in secret. For twelve years, I've collected every whisper, every secret, every crime that passes through this palace.
The silence stretches. Kael stares at me like he's never seen anything quite like me before.
Then he laughs.
Actually laughs, a genuine sound of surprised admiration that transforms his entire face. For one moment, he's not the Winter Dragon. He's just a young man who's discovered something unexpected and delightful.
You've been conducting your own investigation for twelve years? He shakes his head, still smiling. While working as a maid? That's either the most brilliant thing I've ever heard or completely insane.
Probably both, I admit, and his smile widens.
He leans back, reassessing everything he thought he knew about me. Lady Min discovered Lady Seol's affair with Minister Han's son, didn't she? That's why they poisoned her and framed you.
My heart jumps. He's already figured it out.
Yes, Your Majesty. But the affair itself is just surface-level scandal. I believe it's cover for something worse. I lean forward. Minister Han is building a conspiracy against you. Lady Seol's engagement to his son isn't about love—it's political alliance. They're embedding themselves in positions of power, buying loyalty, positioning pieces on a board. And I think they're planning to move soon.
Can you prove any of this?
Not yet. But I can. Given time, resources, and access I've never had as a servant—I can prove everything.
Kael studies me for a long moment, then makes a decision that changes everything.
I'll give you something better than time and resources. I'll give you power.
My breath catches.
You'll become my personal agent, he continues. My eyes and ears throughout this palace. You'll investigate this conspiracy, report only to me, and have my full authority to question anyone below noble rank. You'll have access to restricted areas, protection from Commander Chen, and quarters near my chambers—which you've already been given.
And in exchange?
You bring me proof of Minister Han's treason. Evidence of who's loyal to him, who's plotting against me, and exactly what they're planning. His voice goes hard. The conspiracy comes first, Yuna. If they're planning to move against me, that threatens the entire empire—millions of lives. Personal revenge is secondary to the empire's survival.
I understand what he's really saying: Serve the greater good first. Your vendetta second.
Can I accept that? Can I put justice for my mother behind political necessity?
I think of Mother's voice: Knowledge is power, my darling. Use it wisely.
She'd want me to be smart. To take this opportunity. To save the empire and get justice—in that order.
I accept, Your Majesty.
Good. He pours more wine for both of us. One more condition. You'll take your meals in my study every evening. We'll discuss your findings, but also... He pauses, something vulnerable flickering across his expression. I want your honest counsel on palace matters. You see angles I never could. You hear things I'll never hear. You understand how power looks from the bottom up, not just top down. I need that perspective.
What he's really saying: I'm lonely. I need someone I can actually talk to.
The most powerful man in the empire, surrounded by thousands of people, and he's desperately lonely.
Something in my chest aches for him.
As Your Majesty commands, I say softly.
He raises his cup. To unlikely alliances.
I match the gesture. To justice and empire.
We drink, and something shifts between us. An understanding. A partnership forming.
We're not Emperor and servant anymore. We're two people who've survived hell, recognizing each other across a chessboard of vipers.
Now, Kael says, all business again. Tell me everything you know about Minister Han's finances. Start with the embezzlement and work forward.
I do.
For the next three hours, I share every detail I've memorized over twelve years. Names. Dates. Amounts. Patterns of corruption so deep and complex they'd shock most nobles.
Kael listens with fierce intelligence, occasionally asking questions that prove his brilliance. He connects dots I hadn't seen. Points out implications I missed. We build something together—a case, a strategy, a plan.
It's intoxicating, being treated like an equal by the smartest person I've ever met.
Finally, exhaustion catches both of us. Kael rubs his eyes, and I notice the dark circles I'd missed before.
It's late, he says. Get some rest. Tomorrow, Commander Chen will brief you on your new official duties and security protocols.
I stand to leave, then hesitate. Your Majesty... may I ask one question?
Yes.
Why? Why save me? Why trust me? You could have let them execute me and avoided all this political mess.
He meets my eyes, and for just a moment, his mask drops completely.
Because when they dragged you before my throne in chains, you didn't beg. You didn't cry. You looked me in the eye and challenged me to see the truth. You treated me like a person capable of reason, not a symbol to plead to. His voice softens. No one has done that in nine years. Not since I took this throne and everyone started seeing the crown instead of the man wearing it.
My throat tightens.
And because I know what it's like, he continues quietly, to lose family to court conspiracies. To spend years planning revenge while smiling at your enemies. To survive by being smarter than everyone trying to kill you. We're the same, you and I. Survivors playing the long game in a palace full of predators.
The raw honesty in his voice breaks something loose in my chest.
Get some rest, Yuna, he says gently. Tomorrow, we start hunting wolves.
I bow and turn toward the door.
One more thing.
I look back.
His expression is deadly serious now. Lady Seol will try to kill you. Soon. Probably within days. She's too intelligent to let you live now that you have my protection and authority. She knows you're the greatest threat to everything she's built.
I understand, Your Majesty.
Do you? He stands, crossing to stand directly in front of me. I mean it, Yuna. Watch your back. Trust no one except Commander Chen and me. Sleep with a weapon. Check your food for poison. Don't go anywhere without guards. These people have been killing for decades. They're very, very good at it.
The concern in his voice—genuine fear for my safety—makes my heart do something complicated.
I'll be careful, I promise.
See that you are. I've invested considerable political capital in keeping you alive. He says it lightly, but his eyes are intense. It would be inconvenient if you died now.
I'll try not to inconvenience Your Majesty.
His lips twitch in an almost-smile. See that you don't.
I leave before the moment can become something more dangerous than it already is.
The corridor outside is empty except for Commander Chen, who materializes from the shadows like a particularly deadly ghost.
Walk you to your quarters, he says. It's not a question.
We walk in silence until we're far enough from the Emperor's study that no one can overhear.
You told him the truth, Chen observes.
How do you
Because you're still alive. His Majesty has excellent instincts for lies. If you'd tried to deceive him, he'd have seen through it and had you executed quietly. Chen glances at me. You gambled on honesty. Smart.
It seemed like the right choice.
It was the only choice. We stop outside my quarters. One thing, girl. I heard what you told him about being Seol's half-sister. About your mother's murder. That true?
Every word.
His expression softens slightly—the first hint of sympathy I've seen from him. Then you've got bigger guts than most soldiers I know. Serving the woman who killed your mother for twelve years without snapping? That's discipline. That's strength.
Or stubbornness.
Same thing, usually. He turns to leave, then pauses. His Majesty hasn't smiled in years. Not real smiles. But tonight, talking to you, he smiled. Don't hurt him.
The warning is clear: Hurt Kael, and Chen will end me.
I would never
Wouldn't you? Chen interrupts. You're using him for your revenge, same as everyone else uses him for their agendas. Just... try to be honest about it. Try to protect him while you're using him. He deserves at least that much.
He walks away before I can respond.
I enter my quarters and lock the door, my mind spinning.
I have power now. Resources. The Emperor's backing.
But I also have a target on my back bigger than ever.
And somewhere in this palace, my half-sister is sharpening her knives.
I'm about to collapse into bed when I see it—a note on my pillow.
I didn't leave a note there.
With shaking hands, I unfold it.
Enjoy your victory, little sister. It won't last. You can't hide behind the Emperor forever. When you're alone—and you will be alone eventually I'll be waiting.
Sweet dreams.
The paper falls from my fingers.
Lady Seol got into my locked room. Past guards. Past security.
She can reach me whenever she wants.
And she wants me to know it.
I sink onto the bed, allowing myself to shake for just a moment.
I just became the Emperor's agent.
I have more power than I've ever dreamed of.
But I've also declared war on people who've been killing their enemies for decades.
Tomorrow, the real game begins.
Tonight, I'm just a terrified girl who survived one more day.
I blow out the candle and lie in the darkness, listening for footsteps that might mean assassination.
Sleep, when it finally comes, is filled with nightmares of my mother's hanging body and Seol's cold smile.
But I don't scream.
Survivors don't have the luxury of screaming.
We just keep playing the game until we win—or die.