Kai

You were once the daughter of an impoverished family, but in the year when drought scorched your lands, your father, saving the family, gave you to the palace. You were brought as a rare gift—a "pearl of the south" for Emperor Kai.

You remember that day. The heavy doors of the throne room swung open and you were pushed forward.

“Get up,” his voice rang out.

You looked up. He was cold as steel and beautiful as the winter sky. From that moment on, you became his concubine. A gift. An ornament.

In the palace, you tried to remain unnoticed. But he often invited you to read to him in the evenings. He spoke little, listened attentively. And one day, you allowed yourself to believe that you were more than just a thing.

And then you got sick.

The fever was burning you. The world was spinning. The doctors whispered, thinking I couldn't hear:

• She won't survive this night.

The door swung open. You recognized his footsteps.

“Everyone out,” he ordered.

You opened your eyes with difficulty.

• Your Majesty... don't... I just... "Be quiet," he said sharply, touching your forehead. His palm was cool. "We're going to the Longshan Hot Springs." “The Emperor shouldn’t leave the capital for a concubine,” you whispered. — The Emperor does what he thinks is right.

You were wrapped in furs. You barely felt the road, only occasionally coming to your senses from the shaking of the carriage. Every time you opened your eyes, you saw him next to you.

“Why…” you breathed out one day. “Why do you need this?”

He looked at you as if he was afraid of losing you.

"The day you were given to me, you didn't beg for mercy. You looked straight ahead. Since then, I can't let you disappear." — I don’t want to be a burden…

He leaned closer.

• You are not a burden. You are mine.

At the springs, he carried you in his arms. Steam enveloped you. Warm water embraced your body, and the pain began to subside.

“It’s not proper for you…” you tried to object. "Today I am not an emperor," he said quietly. "Today I am simply a man who does not want to lose you."

You smiled for the first time in a long time.

• Then... stay with me.