Calin Ricci scrolled lazily through her social media feed. When Yeri Zhi's clarification post against the bullying case appeared on her screen, her lips curled into a sharp, cold smile.
"This vixen really knows how to play her hand," she muttered, her perfectly manicured nail tapping the screen.
Calin had been waiting, no, expecting Yeri to be crushed under a tidal wave of public ridicule, sleepless nights gnawing her confidence until she broke down. That was the fate Calin herself had once endured, and she wanted Yeri to choke on it too. But from the looks of things, she had been far too lenient.
Instead of drowning, Yeri Zhi seemed to be floating quite comfortably, if not gathering a little sympathy. To make matters worse, speculations about her and Shin Keir were multiplying like a virus.
Calin clicked her tongue.
She expected Yeri Zhi to deny everything immediately. That was the normal, logical thing to do.
After all, Shin Keir wasn't someone just anyone could claim ties with. He was untouchable, regal, an existence admired from afar. And if someone dared covet him, especially someone the public deemed unworthy, the netizens would drag that person to hell until nothing but scraps of reputation were left.
Shin's fans, with their delusional and sometimes frightening devotion, would do the rest.
That was how the world worked.
And yet Yeri Zhi… hadn't denied anything.
"Shameless little fool," Calin sneered, although her stomach twisted uncomfortably.
Shin Keir's popularity surpassed even that of most A-list celebrities. Even the reigning Movie Emperor, with his legions of fans, couldn't compare. Shin had it all: the looks, the status, the authority. No one could rival him in the public's eyes.
Otherwise, Calin herself wouldn't be obsessed with him, would she?
But she was different. She wasn't like those other women who screamed and cried for a single glance from Shin Keir.
She was Calin Ricci, the only daughter of the Ricci family, with both status and beauty to match him. She had worked hard over the years, refining her career, her reputation, her image, molding herself into the perfect woman fit to stand at his side.
Future Madam Keir. That was her rightful title.
Yeri Zhi? She was nothing but a sickly girl trying to fish in the ocean where she didn't belong.
Calin smirked to herself. Surely Yeri was deliberately leaving the public to assume things, thinking she could cling onto Shin Keir's reputation for her own benefit.
How naïve.
She would let her enjoy this fleeting moment of fantasy before reality crushed her.
After all, Calin had already done her homework. She knew Yeri Zhi's background: a girl often bedridden, socially invisible, living in a bleak little bubble.
Of course she would cling to a man like Shin Keir, her very own knight in shining armor, the prince of her daydreams.
"Delusional," Calin murmured, but her eyes glittered with contempt.
"Calin, why are you standing here by yourself?"
The voice jolted her from her scheming thoughts. She quickly pocketed her phone and pasted on a smile.
It was her mother who had dragged her along to a charity auction gala. Apparently, Calin had looked like she needed some air, though in truth she'd only needed a distraction from her irritation.
"It's been a while, hasn't it? What have you been busy with lately?" one of the socialites asked as she approached, her pearl necklace glittering under the chandelier lights.
Calin accepted a glass of wine from a passing waiter, sipping elegantly before replying with a weary sigh. "I took a month off. I've been working nonstop these past years, project after project. I finally felt the exhaustion catch up."
The socialite nodded knowingly. "Rest is very important. But really, must you work so hard?"
The implication hung in the air: as the Ricci heiress, Calin didn't need to exhaust herself. She could live in luxury without lifting a finger.
Calin only smiled faintly, unwilling to explain that hard work wasn't all done by her but it kept her relevant. That relevance kept her standing in Shin Keir's world.
Another socialite suddenly joined them, her eyes sparkling with gossip. "Have you heard? Someone beat Hadi Keir half-dead. He's still recuperating in the hospital."
Calin frowned slightly. She had no interest in Hadi Keir, that wastrel.
Still, the other two women leaned closer, clearly intrigued simply because he was a Keir.
Before Calin could excuse herself, however, the atmosphere shifted. A ripple of murmurs spread across the crowd, excitement sparking like firecrackers. Guests craned their necks, gasping and whispering as they glanced toward the entrance.
"What's going on?" one socialite whispered.
The crowd parted, like water before royalty.
"Oh my god!" the other gasped. "I didn't hear anything about Shin Keir and Tristan Felan attending tonight."
Calin's grip on her wineglass faltered, the liquid trembling dangerously. Her heart slammed violently against her ribcage.
Of course she saw them. Shin Keir, impossibly composed, drawing every gaze without even trying. Tristan Felan, standing beside him like a casually smiling butterfly.
The socialite clutched her pearls. "Could it be there's some rare treasure tonight? A groundbreaking antique? Famous art? Rare jewels?"
Calin didn't care. She needed the restroom. Immediately. With a practiced excuse, she slipped away to check her reflection, smooth her hair, and add a touch more gloss to her lips. She would not appear rattled before Shin Keir.
Inside the auction hall, Shin turned to Tristan. "You're sure that ring will be auctioned here tonight?"
Tristan smirked. "Doubting my sources, are we? Relax. This pink diamond ring is three centuries old. Once worn by a noblewoman, it symbolized grace and beauty. Later it was passed down until the late Duke of Thalia used it to propose to his wife as a symbol of his eternal love."
Shin scoffed quietly. Jewels from this world couldn't compare to those in the demon realm. What a pity he couldn't yet cross back and retrieve them. Yeri Zhi deserved to be adorned only with the rarest treasures.
Still, if he was to propose, he would give her the best this world had to offer.
"You said there was a faint dimensional crack last time. Have you tracked it?" Shin asked suddenly.
Tristan's expression stiffened. He hadn't forgotten that day when Shin Keir awakened and nearly tore reality apart.
"No," Tristan said firmly. "Whatever you're thinking, it's not possible. Forget it."
Sealing a dimensional crack wasn't child's play. And the idea of Shin slipping back into the demon realm was dangerous. Potentially catastrophic.
Shin let it drop as more people swarmed them with greetings.
Then, like a carefully rehearsed act, Calin Ricci appeared, her gown shimmering as she glided forward. "Brother Shin, Brother Tristan… what a pleasure to see you here."
Tristan raised a brow and offered her the politest nod possible. Shin mirrored the gesture, expressionless. He never wasted emotions on irrelevant people.
Still, to the eager eyes of the crowd, Calin's presence beside them painted a different picture. Whispers stirred immediately:
"Shin Keir and Calin Ricci look really good together."
"They match perfectly—status, looks, everything."
One bitter voice scoffed, "Match? Calin Ricci is first-tier at best. If Shin Keir is to marry, it should be someone from the Jie, Neri, or Song families."
Another chimed in, "Neri doesn't have a daughter, and the Keirs hate the Songs. So that leaves… opportunity for others."
Golden Path.
The phrase rippled through the crowd. With no eligible ladies from the three greatest families available, the path was wide open for any ambitious young lady. Whoever reached Shin Keir or Tristan Felan's side would ascend effortlessly.
Calin's lips curved. Perfect. Let them all see her standing here with Shin Keir.
But her triumph was short-lived. Other first-tier daughters soon crowded in, eager to seize their chance.
Calin almost couldn't compose herself, but she had forgotten one simple truth: no one waits when opportunity is right in front of them.
Just because she was a Ricci didn't mean the other elite ladies would line up politely behind her, waiting for their turn until she was finished.
Besides, it wasn't only the women. Businessmen, investors, and other elites were equally eager to speak with Shin Keir and Tristan Felan.
Before Calin could think of a way to impose herself, the auction began. Everyone was ushered to their assigned seats and exclusive suites.
Shin and Tristan entered one of the suites as well.
The auctioneer introduced each item with gusto. A painting from a renowned master was presented, and Tristan casually placed a bid.
Shin glanced at him expressionlessly.
Tristan's mouth twitched, he could already guess what Shin was thinking, that he wanted the painting as a gift for some woman.
"Don't look at me like that. It's not for a woman. Your father asked me to pick up a masterpiece if I saw one."
Shin said nothing. He knew well his father's love for art.
But then Tristan added casually, "And…I might have accidentally told him you're about to propose. He said he wanted to send a gift to the Zhi family."
Shin's gaze turned bone-chilling.
"Can't you mind your own business? When did your mouth become so loose?"
Tristan shrugged. "Since your father cornered me for tea every time I passed by. If you'd talk to him for even one minute, I wouldn't be dragged into it."
Shin: "…"
Even before Shin regained his past memories, he had always been a man with walls so high and cold it seemed the end of the world wouldn't stir him.
Now that he had awakened, he was worse. His world revolved around one person alone—Yeri.
Tristan sighed. "In case you've forgotten, you're Shin Keir, a human being. Humans socialize and often they get along with their families. You can't just revolve around Yeri. She may have no memory of her past, but she has her own family now, her friends, her hobbies. Don't be too clingy. This realm is different from ours, she's no longer your empress who existed solely for you."
Shin said nothing, but deep inside he knew: Yeri would always be his empress, and she would always belong to him.
Tristan exhaled heavily. If he hadn't convinced Shin Keir to seal most of his consciousness back then, the mad emperor inside him would have ignored every law of humanity and abducted Yeri, whether she agreed or not.
Then the next item was revealed ending their conversation.
Gasps erupted.
Onstage glittered the large pink diamond ring, vivid and mesmerizing.
Its brilliance seemed to pulse, capturing every gaze and igniting desire. Ladies sat forward eagerly, hearts pounding. Men sharpened their focus, calculating, ready to bid.
The battlefield was set.
And Shin Keir's gaze never wavered from the ring.