It's morning.
Nyima slowly opened her eyes. Her first gaze fell on Kenji, seated on the floor, half-asleep.
She was still weak. Whispering, she said, "Why didn't you return? It's cold on the floor."
Kenji's eyes opened instantly and he looked at her. "You woke up! How are you feeling now? Is it hurting a lot?"
Nyima studied him carefully without saying anything, thinking, This boy didn't even talk when I punished him - he's been so chaotic since last night. What's wrong with him?
She replied in a low voice, "Feeling better than last night... go rest in your room."
A sudden voice announced from outside: Prince Tashi is coming.
Kenji was shocked and looked at her. "When did he return to the capital?"
Nyima was shocked too. "I have no idea. By the way, why is he here this early in the morning?"
Prince Tashi knocked on the door. "Sister Nyima, are you awake?"
She hurriedly told Kenji to go open the door. He was a bit reluctant to show himself in front of the prince, but there was no other way, so he went and opened it.
It was unexpected for the prince to see him there this early, but he didn't think too much and asked, "How is she?"
Kenji couldn't understand what he should reply and was silent for a moment.
Nyima's voice came from the inner room. "Brother, I'm awake - come here."
They went in. The prince immediately checked her and asked, "How is your injury? Show me how badly you're hurt. Why did you wake up so early? You should've rested a bit more - you look so weak."
Kenji and Nyima were both shocked.
Nyima looked at her brother and asked, "How did you know about this? And when did you return? Why was there no information?"
"I returned last night... it was an emergency return, that's why I didn't tell anyone yet. I went to visit the imperial physician last night but found Mr. Dechen there - he was so severely injured. I was so worried about you, so he told me you were injured but had returned to your manor instead. I was thinking of visiting last night but he told me to come today. I couldn't wait, so I came early this morning. How can you be so careless with yourself? You shouldn't have gone there alone - those people are dangerous. How could you take such a risk?"
Nyima just stared at him blankly and asked, "He told you everything?"
Tashi said, "What, you think I wouldn't be told? Were you planning to hide it?"
Nyima: "No, I didn't mean that... It's just you returned to the capital and I felt guilty for making you worry. But trust me, I was fully prepared - it wasn't a reckless move. Mr. Dechen was also with me. There were many of us. We had received news from our spies that some people were planning to move a group of poor men somewhere, so we thought it might be human trafficking. Why are so many people disappearing overnight? The investigation department has failed to solve this case. If we charged them on the spot we might catch the person the investigation department has its hands on, but unfortunately they were from the Ghost Vipers group and the situation turned worse."
Prince Tashi looked worried. "People from the Ghost Vipers? How did they enter our land? They're showing up again. What are they planning this time? We have to take more serious action against them."
Nyima: "No matter how strong our security is, they still manage to carry out their actions. I think someone from the court is helping them; otherwise how can this be possible?"
Prince: "I also think so. But don't risk yourself. They are indeed doing human trafficking. I heard on the journey that the Zharyal kingdom's army has captured a lot of our spies who tried to invade their borders - they're now prisoners there. There's also a rumor that our kingdom is deliberately doing this to start a dispute between the two kingdoms."
Nyima: "So disgusting. I can't believe the Zharyal king would play this kind of dirty politics. They're clearly taking our people forcefully and declaring them our spies. Their assassin group is already here. If I find the leader of the Ghost Vipers one day, I will make him pay for our people's lives."
Tashi: "Don't get furious. I feel you, but you're hurt. Let me present this problem in court. We need more support to take action against them."
Nyima: "No. You can't bring this topic to court for now. There are already so many people trying to drag you down, and these incidents are right before your Crown Prince entrustment ceremony. If you tell them now they might see it as a weakness. At least wait until the ceremony is over. That's why I didn't even tell Father."
Tashi grew emotional; tears welled in his eyes. He held both her hands, looked at her, and said, "I feel so happy that I still have someone by my side who genuinely cares for me and trusts me. Recently I've been thinking I'm not fit to be the future king. People in court are always against me. My own brothers are scheming against me. Sometimes I feel so suffocated; there's no one I can share my worries with. It's really hard to trust anyone in the palace. I feel truly like myself whenever I'm with you. Thanks for always supporting me - I will not disappoint you."
Nyima smiled a little. "Don't feel low. Give your best. You will be a great leader in the future. I trust you."
While Nyima and Prince Tashi spoke, something hit Kenji's heart so hard he felt as if he had been kept in the dark for too long. He thought to himself, Kenji, what are you doing? You don't even know what's going on around you. Am I really the personal guard of the third princess? I always think about giving my best to protect her, but it seems like it's Mr. Dechen who is always by her side. He looked at her with desperate eyes and wondered, What is your intention? I really can't understand. You saved me, made me your personal guard. Sometimes you treat me with kindness, sometimes worse than an animal. You neither accept me nor leave me. What do you actually want?
-
(Flashback - the past scene) 3 Years Ago ..
News of Southern Provision General Zangmo's family massacre by the Ghost Vipers, after he claimed to have found evidence of officials from Lumera Kingdom secretly colluding with the assassin group, spread throughout Lumera Kingdom. The imperial court sent alerts everywhere to keep people safe.
During the massacre, the whole area near the general's mansion was set on fire. Many civilians died; many suspicious people were caught by the Lumera army during the investigation. Today they were being interrogated in prison. Many young people were under suspicion. The army used Nightshade Bloom poison to torture prisoners.
Nyima (nineteen) was heading toward the palace when she received news that some suspicious people related to the incident were being interrogated. She decided to take a look and went to the dungeon. On her way she saw many dead bodies being dragged outside.
She stopped and asked one of the soldiers, "Are those the people who were caught for the general's family massacre?"
The soldier nodded. "Yes, your highness."
"Any information?" she asked.
"No. They all say they don't know anything. The court ordered us to use Nightshade Bloom on them."
She asked, "What if they're innocent and really don't know anything?"
The man said, "I can't say. But from our investigation their bodies show great martial skill - they seem utterly loyal to their master. They don't seem like ordinary people."
She sighed. "So all are dead?"
"Yeah, except one boy."
She headed straight to the chamber where that boy was kept. A few soldiers were there. They greeted her.
Someone said, "Princess, this environment is not good today. You should not have come here. It's quite disturbing."
She nodded. "I'm aware of the situation."
The boy was chained and brutally tortured, half-conscious and unable to lift his eyes. With his half-open eye looking downward, he sensed someone approaching. The clean, silky aqua-green robe sweeping the floor caught his eye. He slowly lifted his head and looked up. Nyima stood before him, watching him carefully.
While looking at him she asked the guard, "Has he not been given the poison yet?"
The guard replied, "Already given. But surprisingly, none of the others survived - they all died after some time. He is still alive. Only hallucination-like symptoms, nothing serious. It's literally surprising how his body resists the poison."
She nodded at his statement and examined the boy's physique. "Not only inner resistance but his physique is quite impressive. Seems like a great martial artist... isn't it a waste to die such a person?"
She lifted the boy's chin and looked into his eyes, whispering in a low voice, "It's called Night Bloom. There's a great story behind it. This deadly flower blooms at night; its beauty masks its toxicity. A flower that blooms in darkness with sinister beauty! No matter how much inner resistance you have, you can't survive it. Your friends turned into crazy, thoughtless, zombie-like animals and scratched their flesh until they bled. Isn't it 'fun' to die like that?"
The boy, with deep eyes, met her gaze. "First of all, they are not my friends. I have said many times I have nothing to do with the Ghost Vipers. Just kill me - I won't change my statement."
A soldier shouted, "Increase the dose. We'll see how long his body resists. He deserves to die."
Nyima intervened, "Wait, men. Why so impatient? He will die eventually - maybe not today, but someday definitely."
The soldier sneered, "Princess, are you kidding?"
Nyima: "No, I'm serious. Where is his biodata?"
He handed her the biodata.
Name - Kenji
Age - 17 years old
Status - Orphan; was adopted by a merchant, but he died in a fire.
The soldier: "Your highness, this information is his background; we can't trust anything he says."
She nodded. "I understand. Release him."
The soldier blurted, "Are you serious? He was supposed to die. Do you really think he's innocent?"
She stepped closer to him, turned his face toward her, and said, "Only seventeen. It's a waste to kill him so soon. Since he's so capable, why don't I use him a little more?"
The guards whispered among themselves, shocked. Did she mean what we think? Has she been mesmerized by his charm? She had no history of such behavior; what did she mean by "use him"?
One soldier hissed at the others to be quiet. "Do you have a death wish?"
-
The scene shifted to Nyima's mansion. She sat in a chair. A man from the palace arrived with a confirmation letter. "His majesty has agreed to your request to spare his life and assign him as your personal guard."
Kenji was dragged into her room by guards and forced to kneel before her.
She ordered, "Leave us alone."
Everyone left.
Kenji tried to get up, but a fast, sudden lash across his knees from Nyima made him fall back down. He bowed on his knees.
She approached him and asked, "Did I ask you to get up?"
He looked at her with deep eyes and asked, "What do you want?"
She replied, "What do you think? Why did I save you - to show my humanity?"
He swallowed, thinking something strange was happening in her mind. He was certain he was done for.
She slowly ran her fingers over his face to his neck. His breath stopped for a moment; he stared blankly.
She said, "What, you think I got fascinated by your face? You do have a charming face, but I have no interest in decorating my mansion with charming faces. This face card is useless to me." Then she slid her finger to his heart, pointed, and said, "Since I saved your life, it's like I gave you a second life. I need loyalty - not just for show, but from here." She pointed to his chest. "I need loyalty from your heart. As long as you listen to me and work for me, don't worry - I will keep you alive. It's a fair trade between loyalty and life. What do you think?"
Kenji, without hesitation, said, "As long as I'm alive, this loyalty belongs to your highness. I, Kenji, accept you as my master from now. Thanks for saving my life. Even though the poison takes longer to affect me, death is certain from it, so I owe you in this life."
She was shocked and thrilled for a moment - how he agreed so easily without asking anything.
She asked, "Don't you want some time to consider my proposal?"
"No need," he replied. "It's a matter of life and death. Even a dog without shelter or food tries its best to survive. I'm human."
Her expression softened suddenly. An unspoken truth and pain filled her eyes; tears came to them, but she didn't let go of her hardness. She looked away from him and said, "Hmm. That's true - surviving is the first priority. So you better take care of yourself. There are so many people here who want you dead."