Yuna's POV
Three days in darkness teaches you things about yourself.
I learned I'm more afraid of wasting my life than losing it. I learned my mind stays sharp even when my body weakens. And I learned that if I'm going to die, I'll die fighting—not begging.
The cell door crashes open, flooding my world with painful light.
On your feet, Commander Chen orders. The Emperor will see you now.
My legs barely support me after three days of sitting in the dark. The guards don't care. They haul me upright, chain my wrists, and drag me through corridors I once scrubbed on my knees.
Servants press against walls as we pass, their eyes filled with pity or satisfaction depending on whether they liked me or envied me. None offer help. In the palace, showing mercy to the condemned is dangerous.
We enter the Grand Throne Hall, and my breath catches despite everything.
I've cleaned this room a hundred times but never seen it like this—packed with nobles in silk and jewels, all here to watch a servant's execution like it's entertainment. The morning sun streams through high windows, making the golden throne at the far end blaze like fire.
And sitting on that throne, cold and magnificent, is Emperor Kael Dravenhart.
I've only seen him from a distance before—a remote figure at banquets, untouchable as a star. Up close, he's younger than I expected but harder too. Twenty-eight years old and he looks like he's lived a hundred. Sharp features. Dark eyes that miss nothing. An expression carved from winter itself.
They call him the Winter Dragon. Now I understand why.
The guards force me to my knees before the throne. Chains rattle. The crowd murmurs with anticipation.
Yuna, lady's maid to Lady Seol Velashen, Kael's voice cuts through the hall like a blade. You stand accused of attempting to poison Lady Min, Imperial Consort of the Third Rank. The evidence against you is substantial. The penalty for such crimes is public execution.
My heart pounds, but I keep my face neutral. Can't show fear. Not here.
How do you plead? he asks.
This is it. The moment everything changes or ends.
I could beg. Cry. Plead for mercy like everyone expects.
But something in the Emperor's eyes—a sharpness, an intelligence—tells me he's testing me. Waiting to see what I'll do.
So I make the boldest gamble of my life.
I raise my head and meet his gaze directly. Servants don't look emperors in the eye. It's practically treason by itself.
The crowd gasps. Someone whispers insolent.
But Kael's eyes narrow with sudden interest.
I am innocent, Your Imperial Majesty, I say clearly. But I suspect Your Majesty already knows that.
The throne room erupts. Nobles shouting about my audacity. Lady Seol looking faint with shock. Minister Han's face going purple with rage.
Kael raises one hand. Instant silence.
He leans forward slightly, studying me like I'm a puzzle he's just discovered.
Explain, he commands.
I take a breath and speak the truth that might save me or doom me:
The evidence against me is too perfect, Your Majesty. I'm a maid who earns five copper coins per month. Yet I supposedly purchased ten silver coins worth of rare poison—two years of wages I don't have. I've never left the palace in three years because Lady Seol never grants me leave, yet I supposedly found a merchant in the lower city I've never visited. I have no access to Lady Min's chambers, no reason to harm her, and no training in poison use. Yet somehow, I accomplished all this without anyone noticing until the exact moment that would ensure my conviction.
I see it—the flicker of recognition in Kael's eyes. He's following my logic.
Does Your Majesty truly believe a simple servant capable of such sophisticated planning? I press. Or does it seem more likely that someone with money, access, and influence manufactured evidence to frame me?
The hall goes silent. Nobles shifting uncomfortably as they realize I'm pointing at them.
And why, Kael asks quietly, would someone frame you specifically?
Because servants are invisible. We're easy to blame and easy to kill. No one questions when we disappear. I hold his gaze. But also because I know things. I hear things. For three years, I've stood in rooms where powerful people spoke freely, assuming I was too stupid or too afraid to understand or remember.
His eyes sharpen. What things?
Things about corruption. About embezzlement. About nobles who profit from imperial funds meant for the people. I'm gambling everything now. Things someone might kill to keep secret. Things that make Lady Min's poisoning and my framing solve two problems at once.
I see Kael's brilliant mind working, connecting dots.
Lady Min discovered something. Someone silenced her and framed me to cover it up. Which means the conspiracy involves people in this very room.
This is ridiculous! Minister Han stands, his voice booming. Your Majesty, the girl is clearly lying to save herself. The evidence is conclusive—
Is it? Kael interrupts, his voice going cold. Because I'm finding her argument remarkably logical. Tell me, Minister Han, who investigated the merchant who supposedly sold her the poison?
My son conducted that investigation, Your Majesty. Very thoroughly.
How convenient. And the servants who testified seeing her behave suspiciously—who questioned them?
Also my son, Your Majesty. He was most diligent in gathering evidence.
Diligent indeed. Kael's expression could freeze fire. Almost as if he knew exactly where to look and what to find. Almost as if the evidence was planted specifically for him to discover.
The hall erupts in whispers.
Minister Han's face goes red. Your Majesty, I must protest—
Protest noted and dismissed. Kael stands, and everyone falls silent. When the Emperor stands, you shut up and listen.
He descends from the throne, something so unusual that people actually gasp. He walks toward me, each step echoing in the massive hall.
He stops directly in front of me, looking down at where I kneel in chains.
You're either brilliant or a master manipulator, he says quietly, for my ears only. Either way, you've caught my attention.
Then, louder, for everyone to hear:
I find the evidence against this woman questionable at best. The timing too convenient. The frame too obvious. Therefore, by imperial decree, I declare Yuna innocent of all charges.
The throne room explodes.
Your Majesty, you can't
She must face trial
This is unprecedented
SILENCE! Kael's voice cracks like thunder. I am the Emperor. My word is law. Yuna is innocent. Furthermore, she will be assigned to the Department of Imperial Records under my personal supervision. Anyone who questions this decision questions me.
No one dares question him.
Guards unlock my chains. I stand on shaking legs, barely believing I'm alive.
Kael's eyes meet mine one more time. There's a message there: We're not done. You and I are going to have a very interesting conversation.
Then he turns and strides from the throne room, leaving chaos in his wake.
As guards escort me out—no longer a prisoner but not exactly free—I catch Lady Seol's face.
Pure hatred. Pure terror. She knows I've won this round.
But her expression promises this is far from over.
Commander Chen appears at my elbow. Come with me. His Majesty wants to see you. Tonight. In his private study.
Why?
Chen's scarred face is unreadable. Because you just convinced the Emperor that there's a conspiracy in his court. And now he wants to know everything you know.
He leans closer, voice dropping. One warning, girl. The Emperor is brilliant, dangerous, and trusts almost no one. If you're lying to him, he'll know. And I'll personally ensure you wish you'd died today.
I'm not lying.
Then you just became the most valuable, and the most endangered, person in this palace. Welcome to the game.
As he walks away, I stand in the corridor, finally alone for the first time in days.
I'm alive. I have a position. I have the Emperor's attention.
But I've also just declared war on people who murder without hesitation.
Tonight, I meet with Kael. Tonight, I decide whether to tell him everything or hold some secrets back.
Tonight, everything truly begins.
A servant girl approaches nervously. Miss Yuna? I'm to escort you to your new quarters.
My... quarters?
Yes, miss. The Emperor ordered rooms prepared for you. In the imperial wing.
The imperial wing. Where high-ranking officials and favored courtiers live.
Where I'll be three doors from the Emperor himself.
The scandal this will cause might actually kill me faster than poison.
But as I follow the servant through the palace I've cleaned for twelve years—walking as a free woman, not crawling as a maid—I can't help but smile.
They thought I was invisible.
That was their first mistake.