Yuna's POV
My new quarters are three doors from the Emperor's chambers.
Three. Doors.
The scandal is already spreading through the palace like wildfire. I can hear servants whispering as I pass. The Emperor's pet maid. Sleeping her way to power. Who does she think she is?
Let them talk. Words can't hurt me anymore.
What can hurt me is the threatening note still burning in my pocket. Lady Seol's promise: When you're alone, I'll be waiting.
I lock my door and lean against it, breathing hard. For three years, I've been invisible. Safe in my insignificance. Now I'm the Emperor's personal agent with quarters in the imperial wing, and every enemy I've made knows exactly where to find me.
But I'm not defenseless. Not anymore.
I cross to my desk and pull out paper, ink, and the small wooden box I've kept hidden for years. Inside are thirty-seven tokens—each one a different color, shape, or marking. Each represents a servant who owes me loyalty.
Red silk thread tied in three knots: kitchen staff. Carved wooden bird: stable hands. Blue ribbon with silver edge: seamstresses. Brass button: guards.
For twelve years, I've traded favors, kept secrets, helped servants in trouble. A kitchen maid whose brother needed medicine—I found it. A guard whose gambling debt threatened his family—I erased it. A seamstress who was being harassed by a noble—I made it stop.
They think they owe me kindness. They don't realize they owe me information.
Tonight, I'm calling in every debt.
I write the first message in the code Mother taught me—simple enough to look like a shopping list, complex enough that only my people understand:
The winter bird needs eyes. Share what you see. Send word through the usual ways.
I copy it thirty-seven times, each with its corresponding token.
A knock startles me. My hand goes to the letter opener on my desk—not much of a weapon, but better than nothing.
Yuna? It's me!
I relax. That voice I'd know anywhere.
I open the door to find Mina, my best friend, practically vibrating with nervous energy. She rushes in, closing the door behind her.
Are you insane? she hisses. Quarters next to the Emperor? Everyone's talking! Lady Seol is furious I heard her screaming at her maids. Minister Han's son visited her chambers and they argued for an hour. And Prince Daevan
Breathe, Mina. I grab her hands. I'm fine.
You're not fine! You almost died three days ago! Her eyes fill with tears. When they arrested you, I thought... I thought I'd lost you forever.
Guilt twists in my chest. Mina is the only real friend I've ever had. We grew up together in the servant quarters, two orphans clinging to each other in the darkness. She knows about my mother's murder, about my plans for revenge, though not the full extent of my network.
I'm sorry I scared you, I say gently. But something incredible happened. The Emperor sees what I can do. He's given me power, Mina. Real power to finally—
To finally get yourself killed! She pulls away, pacing. You think having the Emperor's favor protects you? His own father was poisoned. His brothers were assassinated. People who get close to power in this palace die, Yuna!
Then I'll be smarter than them.
You can't be smart enough to survive poison in your food, a knife in the dark, or a convenient 'accident' on the stairs! She grabs my shoulders. Please. Just... be careful. These people have been killing their enemies since before we were born.
I meet her terrified gaze and soften. I will. I promise.
She doesn't look convinced but nods. What do you need me to do?
Deliver these. I hand her half the messages. To the servants marked on each token. Tell them to respond through the usual channels—laundry marks, kitchen rotations, whatever system we established.
Mina stares at the messages. You're activating the entire network? All at once?
The Emperor needs information about a conspiracy. I'm going to give him everything.
And if someone intercepts these messages?
They look like servant gossip and shopping lists. Only our people know the real meaning. I squeeze her hand. Trust me.
She sighs but takes the messages. I'll deliver them tonight. But Yuna... whatever you're planning, please don't do it alone. You have me. You have friends. Use us.
After she leaves, I distribute the remaining messages myself, slipping through servant corridors I know by heart. A message left in the laundry room. Another tucked into the kitchen's spice cabinet. One hidden in the stable master's grain stores.
By midnight, every message is placed.
Now I wait.
I return to my quarters to find a different kind of message waiting—a summons from Commander Chen. Training yard. Dawn. Don't be late.
I should sleep. Instead, I pace, too wired to rest.
The first response arrives an hour later. A kitchen maid slips a note under my door: Minister Han met with three military commanders last week. Talked about 'repositioning troops' and 'being ready when the time comes.' They burned all documents after.
My pulse quickens. Military repositioning without the Emperor's knowledge? That's treason.
More notes arrive steadily through the night:
Lady Seol smuggled sealed documents to a courier three days ago. Destination unknown.
Prince Daevan visited Minister Han's private estate last Tuesday at midnight. Stayed three hours.
Servants at Han's estate report lots of late-night visitors. All high-ranking nobles.
Overheard Lady Seol's maid mention 'the hunt' and 'perfect timing.' She got slapped for saying it too loud.
By dawn, I have seventeen reports. Pieces of a puzzle that paint a terrifying picture: Minister Han is building an army of supporters. Lady Seol is his spy inside the palace. Prince Daevan is involved. And something called the hunt is their deadline.
The Imperial Hunt. It has to be. The traditional event where the court travels to the hunting grounds for two weeks.
That's in three months.
Whatever they're planning, it happens at the Hunt.
I'm organizing the reports when Mina bursts in without knocking, her face pale.
Yuna! Emergency!
What happened?
One of our network—Jin, the stable boy—he was caught carrying one of your messages. She's shaking. Someone intercepted him. They're questioning him right now in the guard barracks.
My blood turns to ice. Does he know the full network?
He knows at least ten names. If they make him talk
They'll arrest everyone and trace it back to me. I grab my cloak. I need to get him out before he breaks.
How? You can't just walk into the guard barracks and
I'm the Emperor's personal agent now. I have authority. I pray that's enough.
We run through the pre-dawn palace. The guard barracks are on the eastern edge, separate from the main buildings.
We're fifty feet away when I hear the scream.
Jin. They're torturing him.
Mina grabs my arm. Yuna, wait. Think. If you rush in there, you expose yourself. Maybe we should—
Another scream, worse than the first.
I can't wait. Jin is sixteen years old. He's loyal to me because I saved his sister from a predatory noble. He's suffering because of me.
I burst into the barracks.
Six guards surround Jin, who's tied to a chair, blood running from his nose. The guard captain—a man I don't recognize—holds a hot iron.
Stop! I command, channeling every bit of authority I can muster. By order of His Imperial Majesty, release that boy immediately!
The captain turns, sneering. And who are you?
Yuna, personal agent to Emperor Kael. I have authority to question anyone below noble rank—which includes you, Captain.
Personal agent? He laughs. You're just the maid he's bedding. You have no authority here.
The other guards laugh too.
My heart sinks. I overestimated my power. These men don't fear me. They don't even respect me.
Last chance, I say quietly. Release him, or explain to the Emperor why you're torturing his agent's informant.
The Emperor doesn't care about servant gossip, the captain says, turning back to Jin with the iron. This boy was carrying coded messages. That's espionage. He'll talk, or he'll burn.
Jin meets my eyes. He's terrified but trying to be brave. I don't know anything, miss. I swear—
The iron touches his arm. His scream is agonizing.
I lunge forward, but two guards grab me.
Let me go!
Take her to the cells, the captain orders. We'll question her next. See what the Emperor's 'agent' knows about spy networks in his palace.
They're dragging me toward the prison cells when the door explodes open.
Commander Chen stands in the doorway, and he looks absolutely murderous.
Release her. Now.
The guards freeze.
Commander Chen, we were just
I said NOW! His voice cracks like thunder.
They drop me instantly. I scramble to Jin, checking his burn. It's bad but not deadly.
Chen crosses to the captain in three strides. You dare lay hands on someone under the Emperor's direct protection? You dare torture a boy without trial or evidence?
Sir, we found him with coded messages
Did the Emperor authorize this interrogation?
No, sir, but
Then you've committed treason. Chen's voice goes deadly quiet. Harming the Emperor's agent is harming the Emperor himself. The penalty is death.
The captain's face goes white.
Chen looks at me. Take your informant and go. I'll handle this.
I help Jin to his feet, Mina supporting his other side. As we leave, I hear Chen behind us: You're all under arrest. His Majesty will decide your fate personally.
We get Jin to my quarters. Mina treats his burn while I pace, mind racing.
I'm sorry, miss, Jin whispers through his pain. I didn't tell them anything. I swear on my sister's life
You did perfectly, I assure him. You're brave, Jin. Rest now.
After Mina takes him to the healing ward, I collapse in my chair, shaking.
I almost lost everything. If Chen hadn't arrived when he did...
A knock. I open the door expecting Mina.
Instead, it's Kael.
Commander Chen reported what happened, he says, stepping inside. Are you hurt?
I'm fine. Jin
Will receive the best medical care and a promotion. His eyes search mine. You ran into danger to save a sixteen-year-old stable boy.
He's my responsibility.
He's a servant. Most nobles wouldn't risk themselves for— He stops, something shifting in his expression. You really do care about them. Your network isn't just information sources. They're people you protect.
They're loyal to me because I'm loyal to them.
He studies me like he's seeing something unexpected. Something that draws him.
The moment stretches, charged with something neither of us acknowledges.
The guard captain was working for Minister Han, Kael finally says. Chen found proof. Han has been placing his people throughout the palace guard—soldiers who answer to him, not me.
My stomach drops. If Han controls the guards...
Then he can kill me whenever he wants. Kael's voice is grim. This conspiracy runs deeper than we thought. Which means, Yuna, you're in more danger than ever. They know you're investigating now.
As if summoned by his words, my window shatters.
An arrow embeds in the wall—exactly where my head was moments before.
Attached to the arrow is a note:
Next time, I won't miss. Stop investigating or die. A Friend