After the wound was dressed, the apartment fell silent again, only the distant city lights filtering through the windows.
Yuexi released his hand and walked to the liquor cabinet, selecting a bottle of single malt whiskey and two glasses. "Your collection?" she asked softly, her voice clear in the quiet room.
"25-year Macallan," Haoxuan walked up behind her. "Fitting for such a night."
They sat on the sofa before the floor-to-ceiling window, the city's glittering nightscape outside, the calm after surviving danger inside. Yuexi sipped the amber liquid, savoring its smoky spread on her tongue.
"Those attackers," Haoxuan broke the silence. "They were clearly professionals. Not sent by ordinary business rivals."
Yuexi's gaze was serene as water. "They're from 'Dark Moon.'"
"Dark Moon?"
"An international secret organization specializing in assassinations and intelligence theft targeting European royalty." Yuexi set down her glass, pulling up a file from her encrypted tablet. "Twenty years ago, I was sent to China because of Dark Moon's assassination attempts."
Haoxuan took the tablet, brows furrowing as he read. Dark Moon's history traced to the 19th century, originally a secret society of nobles discontent with royal rule, later evolving into a vast transnational crime network.
"Why target you?"
"Because I'm the last direct descendant of the Habsburg line." Yuexi's voice held a tinge of weariness. "My existence is a threat to some."
Haoxuan set the tablet aside, looking at her seriously. "Yuexi, I didn't propose out of pity or curiosity. Twenty years ago, that rainy night, I lost my chance to find you. Twenty years later, fate brought you back. This time, I won't let go."
His words were direct and firm, and Yuexi felt something hard within her begin to soften.
As royalty, she was accustomed to hiding true feelings, subordinating personal desires to duty. But now, facing this man willing to confront a dangerous world for her, she hesitated for the first time.
"Ye Haoxuan," she said softly. "My world is complex and dangerous. Being with me, you could lose everything—your family, your career, even your life."
"Then we'll face it together." He took her hand. "Nan Gong Yuexi, or should I call you Princess Alice, from this moment on, your battles are mine."
Moonlight streamed through the window, silvering their pledge.