In a spacious room in the center of the Pavilion that overlooked a peaceful koi pond in its courtyard. On a large wooden desk sat an old man with a twisted grey mustache, his wrinkled hands shuffling through the stack of papers placed on it. He narrowed his eyes, focusing on the work.

A sudden knock was heard, breaking the silence. “Come in,” the old man said with a cough.

The door creaked open. “Courtesan Aika entering!” announced the guard before she stepped inside.

Aika bowed elegantly. “I’m back, Pavilion Master. The task has been finished. Those three have been taken care of”, she said with a dangerous glint in her eyes.

The old man’s lips curled into a twisted smile. “Ah, Aika; you never fail me,” the Master replied, smiling. “Make sure you collect the bribes, and have you been giving out the meals on time?”.

“Yes, Pavilion Master,” Aika replied.

The old man leaned back in his chair. “When can I get my hands back on my doll?”. The Pavilion Master's voice was low and eager. He rubbed his hands together as if he couldn’t wait for his delicious meal. “It’s been too long since I’ve touched Jun, but it seems like she’s gone a bit brazen,” he thought aloud.

“No worries, Pavilion Master. I am here”, Aika said, her eyes flashing darker. She let her silk robe slip to the ground. The old man’s eyes widened, his breath catching in his throat.

Everyone in this Pavilion knew that the old man was a pervert that Aika was taking advantage of. She whispered, approaching him, “Jun is a courtesan in the end, Pavilion Master. She will have to obey you eventually. I see no reason why you can’t make it happen and take back what’s yours”. She uttered, making herself comfortable in his lap.

“You're right!” the Pavilion Master said sinisterly. He had his unique way of making things work in the Pavilion. He gave out food to the people since he wanted to raise the relines of the citizens of District D., Making the public think he was a saint. He was also receiving free labor from slaves; in exchange, they got food. It wasn’t a bad process.

On the other hand, people should be thankful to him for thinking about and caring for the citizens, as he supported the whole district solely through the income of his Pavilion. The whole district would go to heaps without him. Even worse than it is now.

Aika was not a dumb person either she knew all the secrets of the Pavilion since she had been serving the bastard for a while. She was glad another one of her competitions, Jun, was going to be out of the way. She chuckled, realizing Jun had dropped to #13.

Aika smirked, gleaming with malice. She knew exactly how to manipulate the Pavilion Master. With Jun falling from her position, it was only a matter of time before she could secure her number one spot. She chuckled softly. Poor Jun has to take the fall for me.

“This hand misses you, Jun.” The Pavilion Master muttered, leaning back as Aika got to work. “My doll…”.

The morning had arrived, and I groaned, yawning and opening my eyes with the help of my daily alarm. I reluctantly woke up.

“Jun-sama, it’s time to get ready,” came the familiar voice of my maid. I think now my eyes open on their own, not wanting to hear the maid’s voice again. “Jun-sama, why do you have eye bags?” she questioned, noticing them as she tugged me off the bed.

I awkwardly chuckled, not having a real explanation. How am I supposed to tell her this is the side effect of training all night and getting a couple of hours of sleep? 

The maid sighed deeply. “Jun-sama must be upset dropping to #13. Even if we’re broke, I know you can pull through and rise again”.  She said, trying to console me.

I raised an eyebrow. “How about I reduce your pay instead?” I teased, silencing the maid.

“N-no,” the maid replied hesitating, but before she could continue, I cut her off. “I’m just joking. I’d never do that to you, my loyal maid. Would I?” I said, glancing her way.

I could sense her nodding and approaching me. “…we should get you ready for the meeting”, she said, her tone now quieter.

“Do it perfectly since this is an important meeting with Ryuji-sama,” I said, spreading my arms as she adjusted my robes for me.

As the maid worked dressing me in layers of fabric and carefully placing jewels on my wrists, I couldn’t help but think of Zero. It disappeared when the sun came up, acting just like a Shade, but why was it following me? I couldn’t help but wonder if I could take Zero with me to the Tower. Guess I’ll have to ask that idiotic Jinn the next time I meet him.

Moments went by, and the maid finally finished her look. She described to me what I was wearing as I stood in front of the mirror. I was dressed in deep blue and black robes, my hair adorned with gold jewels. A heavy headpiece rested on my head. “Summon, Joon-soo”, I ordered.

“Yes, Jun-sama. He’s in the courtyard training as usual. I’ll go get him immediately”, she said, hurrying to Joon-soo.

I sat sighing, fixing the gold headpiece. I’m not a queen or king why the hell do I have to wear a headpiece? But the position and the influence are not bad….It is worth the inconvenience.

“What could be so important that you had to interrupt my training?” Joon-soo said with irritation as he walked in. The maid arrived next to him, disturbed at the tone he was using with the courtesan.

Let’s use this authority to the max. Shall we? I turned, smiling, facing Joon-soo, “Are you ready? You’re escorting me to the Kurokawa mansion. I have a meeting there with Ryuji”, I said calmly.

A long silence followed for some reason. Was this man deaf? It was frustrating not to be able to sense his expression. “Do you hear me? We’re going to the Kurokawa mansion”, I asked again.

“Yeah,” Joon-soo replied, tone stiff.

I smirked, approaching him. This was a good feeling, being able to now sense what he was feeling. I got him. Joon-soo was blushing after seeing me, wasn’t he? I grabbed his collar, pulling him closer, I could feel the heat from his body. “Don’t even think about it!” I said sharply, walking towards the door.

“What are you waiting for? Follow me”, I said, knocking some sense into him coldly. If he was disrupted by seeing my beauty, then he needs to strengthen his mind. He needs to live up to the title of Guardian Paladin.

Tightening his grip on the sword, Joon-soo followed behind me.

On a narrow and bumpy road, a carriage that didn’t fit the atmosphere was heading towards the large mansion ahead. “What the hell is with this carriage?” I said in a monotone voice as I jumped in the air and hit the seat hard every time with a thud when the carriage hit a bump on the road.

“Apologies Jun-sama. The Pavilion said this was the only open carriage at the time”, the maid replied.

I quietly nodded, keeping my thoughts to myself. That damn wench Aika probably had a hand in this. While I complained about the comfort, Joon-Soo remained stoic, not reacting to the uncomfortable ride. “We have arrived at the Mansion”, he said.

“That was so fast,” the maid said, surprised.

“This district isn’t that large, and half of this district is under the Kurokawa clan,” Joon-soo explained.

The carriage halted in front of a massive black metal gate. The guards instantly came and opened the doors on alert, scanning us. I handed over the invitation, and they let us go inspecting it. I smiled at them, though in my mind, I wanted to snap out my katana and slice through them without a second thought.

“Let them through,” the guard barked.

The horse neighed, and the carriage started again towards the entrance of the mansion.

I could also sense Joon-soo's heart beating faster. He was probably fascinated since, as a former slave, I bet he never thought of being able to enter the Kurokawa mansion. A servant was waiting for us at the entrance as we arrived, and we followed them inside the mansion. I didn’t wait in awe at the mansion’s interior like my companions did because, well, I couldn’t see.

“Ryuji-sama will see you in this room, Courtesan Jun,” said the servant elegantly. I nodded and entered the room, but the guards who were following the group immediately stopped my maid and Joon-soo from entering, blocking their path. Joon-soo instantly sheathed his sword.

“Calm down. I’ll be out after talking to him. Why don’t you two wait around and get to know each other or whatever? I won’t be long”, I shrugged, giving a small smile as I turned to enter the room.

The guards closed the door. The maid and Joon-soo looked at each other speechless.

I entered the room, and before I could look around, I felt someone gripping my arms, guiding me to a sofa. I didn’t resist allowing myself to be led. “Ah, Courtesan Jun. To think we will be meeting like this”, a deep voice broke through the silence. “Welcome to the Kurokawa Mansion”, he said.

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