While sitting in a local restaurant, I stirred the bottom of my teacup with a spoon, the hood over my face providing a sense of security. There was the sound of a bag of coins toppling onto a countertop, hushed voices whispering on the second floor, and should an individual possess keen observation, they could spot ears perking up from the shadows. Acquiring a vast amount of information was exactly what I was after, and this building was the perfect place to find it, swimming in secrets.

In this world, known as Lumaria, the gods only grant titles of priests or priestesses to chosen individuals, and with it came great power, but because of this, many of them lost their lives.

While some accepted their inhuman nature, others did not. For anyone with the power to burn down empires and flood civilizations, their power was not a miracle of the gods. So the churches of the land sought after them to protect the gods’ will, but ultimately, they failed.

Except for one church, a group known as the Unruly, located here in Cassanova. There were six members, including the boy I met last night, and no one could ever control them. Li Wei was their leader. The problem is that I couldn’t find him, no matter how hard I looked, as if he simply never existed.

The warm tea went down my throat as I brought the cup to my lips. The taste was sweet, with a lingering aroma of honey and spice. Voices soon filled my ears, drawing my attention to a table nearby.

“Did you hear?” said a young man. “The crown prince is plotting to kill his stepbrother! Faking closeness only to betray him is truly despicable.”

“Really?” said the second man, his ears perking up with disbelief. “You mean the quiet one we never see? He probably didn’t want to show his face for such a reason. The quiet ones are always the scariest.”

Another person joined the conversation, and I resisted getting involved. I placed my teacup on the table, feeling the weight of exhaustion as I rested my head in my hands and let out a deep sigh.

“I don’t understand,” the third voice remarked. “Assuming your statement is true, what does the crown prince gain by killing his stepbrother? Sounds like a bunch of hearsay to me.”

“Removing competition, of course! If everyone is gone, who will stand against him?” The first man huddled everyone together. They sipped their wine as if agreeing with his perspective.

The third man continued, bringing his voice to a whisper. “This makes sense, my brothers. Let us hope someone will drive out the royals. We all know Cassanova doesn’t stand a chance against the North. The royal family has grown weak since a long time ago.”

“We’re not any better right now, so we might truly sink into the gallows,” said the second man, sipping his wine. “I pray for this country’s safety.”

“To think he would go to such lengths to secure his position? How monstrous indeed.”

They nodded in unison, and it was at this point I decided I had enough. I left my pay on the table, my legs moving me out the door.

Didn’t they realize their story was in reverse and that my life was actually in danger? When did everything become so twisted? I was so annoyed that my head throbbed. I rubbed my forehead for some relief, walking down the busy streets.

There were stalls of various kinds, mostly vegetables and herbs from the local farmers, but unfortunately, the vendors overpriced these items.

With businesses unable to maintain their financial stability, they have no choice but to raise prices as the economy declines.

The taxes on such items were ridiculous too.

How are families supposed to feed themselves in this type of environment?

My heart felt heavy as I watched a group of children in rags, desperately scouring for food on the streets. Wounds covered their feet and hands, with dirt further smudging their skin as they dug through the trash that was strewn across the cobblestone pavement.

The sight triggered memories of the night I stumbled upon Ming Yi and how gaunt he appeared.

When Ming Yi was young, someone enslaved him on a ship and forced him to do manual labor, moving crates of an experimental drug that the North conjured up for profit. He didn’t even have a name, so I offered him one when I took him under my wing. I remember how surprised he was by an ounce of kindness, followed by how hard he trained to protect me. All of which he decided on his own, despite how I protested he should leave the palace behind and live his own life.

I walked to a food stall nearby, pulling out a bag of coins from within my garments. The vendor’s eyes grew wide as I set the money on the countertop between us. “Feed them,” I said, not bothering to elaborate or stay any longer. Silently, I expressed my gratitude to Luna and vowed to repay her for lending me her savings.

As I continued walking through the streets, two girls promptly stood before me, both adorned in beautiful silk dresses. No doubt, these two women were nobles. They had jewelry hanging around their necks and lips painted with makeup. “Luna,” the first one said with familiarity. “Did you hear about the prince?”

The sound of her voice addressing me made my eyebrow twitch. I was desperate to end this conversation, but I refrained from saying something unnecessary. My jaws clenched, forcing a pleasant smile. “Which one?”

“The crown prince, of course!” she said, wearing a frightened expression. “Apparently, he’s gone mad and trying to take us down with him!”

“You don’t say?”

She ignored my obvious sarcasm, continuing to make her point known. “Take care while walking home from now on. You can’t trust anyone these days.”

The further I walked, the rumors became more twisted. One after the other, people shoved them in my face until I couldn’t ignore them anymore. Even though Xu Yang’s mother had forged him into a double-edged sword for me to fall on, I’ve never once wished for his death.

No one knew, not even Ming Yi, how Xu Yang’s eventual betrayal kept me sleepless at night. How sometimes, I forced my smiles to hide the sadness that lurked in all the bantering and laughs I shared with Xu Yang.

My throat bobbed as I swallowed thickly, trying to maintain my composure. The more I tried to calm down, the faster my heart would race with unease.

A hushed whisper crept into my ear. “If the crown prince hates being around his xiongdi so much, maybe he should just kill himself first. He’d be doing himself a favor if you ask me. His xiongdi has suffered so much for his sake! I want to stab Zhen Xue with a hundred knives!”

With a tired tone, a second voice remarked, “You really come up with some wild ideas. I worry about those books you have your nose stuck in until early morning.”

“Come on, don’t tell me you haven’t thought about it? Xu Yang is an upstanding person! He works hard for the people, yet receives second-hand goods. If our classes weren’t so different, I would marry him and take away his troubles.”

“The next time you shut yourself away in your room, I’m going to drag you out myself,” the second voice replied, ending the subject.

“That Zhen Xue!” another voice shouted heatedly. “Nothing good ever comes from him, I swear!”

His friend sighed. “You’re not wrong,” the man said. “His brother must hate him.”

The cacophony of voices intensified, their relentless clamor pushing me to the edge of sanity, leaving me desperate for a moment of respite. Panic gripped me as each breath I took grew more labored, my chest tightening with an invisible weight. I pulled at the collar of my shirt for relief, my hands shaking as they clenched the fabric.

Instead of meeting a quick death, an entirely different man with a head of blond hair walked up to me, holding an open book before him.

My breath hitched as he grabbed my hand, pulling me closer like a lover. The moment he did so, my panic vanished, replaced by the pounding of my heart against my ribcage, as if it were desperately trying to break free.

Li Wei’s earrings dazzled in the sunlight, turning a rich sapphire shade that matched his eyes. He smiled near my ear like he knew many secrets, speaking in a low voice as he said, “Darling, I was looking everywhere for you.”

If I couldn’t breathe before, I definitely wasn’t now.

With tenderness at my lack of response, Li Wei’s arm wrapped around my shoulders, guiding me along. “Why don’t we have some tea together?” he offered. “There seems to be a lot to talk about.”

While I walked beside him, I found myself unable to look away. I didn’t understand his kindness, nor felt deserving, but none of that seemed to matter to him. Rather, he looked at me as though I was perfect all along, and every time he does, I think I become even more undone by him.

“You’re staring,” Li Wei said after moments passed. “Is my face that impressive?” he asked with a teasing smile.

“I was just thinking it’s nice to see...” my voice trailed off, catching the flare of amusement that washed over Li Wei’s expression. “That you got my message,” I said finally, clearing my throat. It took all my effort to ignore the heat in my cheeks.

Li Wei cleared his throat too, failing miserably to hide his laugh. “Ah yes, Helix told me… fairly quickly, I might add, that you ran into some trouble. Do you frequently visit palace dungeons? That’s a nasty habit, dear.”

Before I could consider a reply, the glint of a blade stopped me in my tracks. I felt my body go rigid, sensing the sword’s sharp edge slice through the air with incredible speed.

Li Wei dropped his arm to take hold of my waist, whisking us around to avoid getting hit. His long white clothes fluidly moved about, following his movements. The golden trim and sparkles engraved on the material reflected in the sunlight for a moment, capturing my attention. “You still haven’t told me of your name,” he commented, casually opening the fan he had just taken out from his sleeve.

I watched as he caught the sword easily, with the fan somehow maintaining the weight. “Zhen Xue… I mean, Luna,” my words fumbled over themselves, realizing my mistake. I was so focused on the fight that I forgot I’m not in my original body. For whatever reason, keeping up with this charade felt a lot easier for now than revealing my identity.

Li Wei smiled, not saying a word. His gaze turned to me with an unexpected affection that made my heart flutter. However, his momentary distraction created an opening for the enemy.

The thief, wrapped in black clothing, lept forward with their blade, ripping the front part of my dress to my knee.

Li Wei’s expression twitched, his body stiffening beside me.

I was lucky not to get hurt because of the amount of layers on this outfit, but the sudden action of the thief snapped me back into reality. Before I could attempt to fight on my own, Li Wei didn’t give the thief time to recover.

He knocked the assailant out cold with a quick slap of his fan across their head. They fell ungracefully to the ground, their sword clinging against the concrete along with them. “Your thinking awfully hard right now. That’s good,” Li Wei praised calmly, gaze fixated on the assailant while he spoke to me. “Keep your wits about you. Our trials have only just begun.”