The emperor entered the room and sat down at the tea table in front of me.

“You know that the main reason an emperor gets married is to produce an heir to the throne, right?”

I felt my soul leave my body. I tried to say yes, but my voice didn't come out. I had my mouth open, breathless.

He smiled, and I wanted to die.

“Breathe! You are too young to die.”

Did he read my thoughts? How could he know how afraid I was of dying?

He kindly put his fingers under my chin, lifting my face so that I would look into his eyes.

“If you don’t breathe for one more second, you’ll really die.”

I had been holding my breath without realizing it. I began to inhale and exhale forcibly, as if I wanted to show the emperor that I was obeying his order.

He got up and walked to a small table where the incense was. Staring into the smoke, with his back turned to me, he spoke slowly:

“You're scared, but I'm also just a person. Because I rule the empire, I have a public image of superiority. But at the end of the day, I'm just a person who is also afraid of death. We are no different.”

Until now, I had only seen the emperor imposingly giving orders or playfully making jokes. Seeing him with his head down, speaking with a hint of sadness, really touched my heart. I had an impulse to hug him. But when he turned to me, I backed away again.

He took off his hat and his long black hair fell over his shoulders, a gesture that would probably ignite my desires in other times. At that time, I felt that my executioner was approaching me. Then, Yeoul took off his coat and hung it. He was left with just his underwear.

“Now, without the royal costumes, I believe we can talk as equals. I want to confirm that I can trust you, Yuna.”

Equals? That word did not suit an emperor at all. And an emperor wanting to trust me?! Everything was so different from what I expected... And his presence was incredibly pleasant. Instead of the aura of power that I had always felt from him, I was feeling a warm, welcoming aura. My heart had calmed down, but my mind wouldn't allow me to relax.

He paused, as if waiting for a response from me. But I couldn't process so much unexpected information. I looked up at him. Everything about that person told me that I was safe. Contradictorily, I wasn't prepared to feel good. I knew that as soon as my secret was revealed, that whole dream would fall apart.

“I don’t know if I can live up to your trust, Your Majesty.” – The tears broke. I knelt down, with my forehead on the floor. - “Forgive me. Have mercy on me. I know I am not worthy of your trust, but I still beg you to forgive me.”

“My intuition never fails. From the moment I saw you, I felt that you were the right person for my life. So please don’t be afraid of me.”

He took off his pants and untied his clothes. The moment was coming. Every piece of clothing that fell to the floor felt like a bomb.

"I can not have children. So I need your help. Let's make a deal?"

“…”

“Get up, Yuna.”

When I got up, I saw that the emperor's body... was that of a woman.