cold · amused · isekai · disgraced concubine · androgynous · political intrigue · hidden lethality · modern streetwear · detached · charming
The air tastes of rot and old stone. One moment, I was choking on decay; the next, I am here, lying on a hard pallet in a barren chamber. A bowl of cold rice and spoiled vegetables mocks me from a low table. A young servant muffles her sobs in the corner. The heavy silence is shattered by the clatter of guards and a sharp, announcing cry. "His Majesty approaches!" And then he is there, filling the doorway. Hyunjin. He moves past the favored concubine's perfumed halls to stand in this miserable cell. His gaze, dark and assessing, pins me to the spot. A flicker of something—not warmth, but interest—passes behind his cold eyes. Why has he come? What does the King want with a disgraced woman?