As the deep cloak of night settled over the palace, a serene and luxurious bath chamber filled with the gentle mist of warm, fragrant waters.
Standing amidst the cascading water, Rehany had just finished her bath, droplets glistening against her skin. She wore only a sheer, delicate white veil that clung wetly to her frame, completely outlining her exquisite and alluring silhouette. Her gaze remained sharp and slightly weary, yet her eyes burned with a fiery, crimson-red intensity a lingering echo of her clash with Kim.
Stepping forward from the shadows of the five assigned attendants, one of the male servants lowered his head respectfully, careful not to meet her dangerous gaze. He looked toward her breathtaking, floor-sweeping hair a massive, ultra-long cascade of striking crimson red and spoke in a soft, cautious whisper:
"My Queen, if you would permit me... allow me to help gather and style your magnificent red hair."Fixing her fierce, glowing crimson gaze on the male servant, Rehany showed not a single ounce of fear or hesitation only a chilling, sharp royal authority. She looked every bit like an untamed predator that refused to be caged, her wild spirit completely unbowed.
Shifting slightly as water dripped from her damp skin, she let her massive, floor-sweeping cascade of crimson-red hair fan out over her back. In a voice that was ice-cold, commanding, and filled with absolute disdain, she snapped at him:
"Who gave you permission to touch my hair? The Vampire King may have unleashed his watchdogs to keep tabs on me, but do not forget your place! Step back and keep your hands to yourself."
The razor-sharp command made the servant shudder instantly. Lowering his head even further, he stepped back out of reach, completely hypnotized by her breathtaking danger yet too terrified to cross the line again. Keeping a safe distance, he answered her with a trembling, low tone:
"Forgive me, My Queen... we do not have personal identities or normal names. We were born from the deepest shadows of the dark kingdom, and obeying Lord Kim's commands is our sole existence. The shadows of this royal palace give us no names; we are merely the reflections carrying out your orders."
Rehany stared at him with a penetrating glare for a moment, fully realizing that these men were nothing more than blind puppets bound to Kim's absolute control. Yet, trapped under constant surveillance, her rebellious heart refused to yield, even for a single second.
A subtle, mocking smirk curved the corners of Rehany's lips. Standing amidst the soft steam of the bath chamber, her piercing, glowing crimson gaze locked onto the trembling servant. Tilting her head slightly, she responded with a tone of cold, biting ridicule:
"How strange! I didn't ask for your life history, your bloodline, or a standard name assigned to you! I asked if you have a name you chose for yourself one that someone might actually know you by, or that lets you think of yourself as an independent human being? Or has that vampire king bought your very souls along with your flesh and bones, stripping away even the smallest shred of a personal identity?"
Her sharp, sarcastic words made the servant shrink back even further. Lowering his head, he trembled and whispered in response:
"We have no right to personal desires or choices, My Queen... Ever since we were born in the shadow of Lord Kim, our only truth and identity have been his commands."
Then Rehani says you are a transgender.
Caught completely off guard by Rehany's blunt and unexpected words, the servant froze, his body trembling violently as if the floor beneath him had suddenly vanished.
Swallowing hard, he stammered in a quivering voice:
"My Queen... what are you saying? We... we are merely the ordinary shadows of Lord Kim's palace..."
A mix of sharp mockery and pity flickered in Rehany's crimson eyes. In a calm yet biting tone, she continued:
"Imprisoned in the vampire king's palace, you have surrendered both your manhood and your independent existence. You dance like puppets at his slightest whim, yet you don't even possess a name of your own. A life like this is no different from having no life at all!"
Completely bewildered by Rehany's bizarre and biting mockery, the servant stood frozen, having no idea how to react. Too terrified to utter a word, he simply kept his head bowed in silence.
A mischievous, mocking smile curved Rehany's lips as she stepped a little closer. A strange blend of curiosity and playful defiance glinted in her glowing crimson eyes. Arching an eyebrow, she issued a bizarre command with a teasing edge:
"What is it? Why aren't you speaking? If not even a leaf dares to stir without Lord Kim's command, where is the harm in saying a simple phrase? Let me hear it pretend you're standing before Lord Kim and whisper it out loud: 'Ahhhh... Take it easy, it hurts!' Let's hear how that sounds!"
At this sudden and confidential confession from the servant, the air in the bath chamber suddenly grew heavy. His face turned pale with terror, his lips trembling violently. No longer able to hold back his fear, he blurted out the raw truth in a low, panicked whisper:
"My Queen... what you are thinking or what you've heard is not a lie. The true Lord Kim is the most ruthless ruler of the dark realm... his lust knows no boundaries, and whether male or female, no one escapes the reach of his distorted and cruel power. We who were born in his shadow are nothing more than the helpless victims of his dark desires!"
Upon hearing these words, the glowing crimson fire in Rehany's eyes flared with an even more intense fury. The phoenix fire and the cold serpentine wrath within her threatened to erupt all at once
The apocalyptic fury inside Rehany froze over like ice in an instant. A strange, cold, and enigmatic smile curved her lips. She glanced for a moment at the terrified, pale face of the servant whose words had just exposed the dark, ugly truth of Kim's empire.
Yet, instead of being unnerved by that horrific reality, Rehany's proud mind found a fierce, new resolve. She understood that no matter how tightly this palace was bound by shadows, she would never allow herself to be reduced to an ordinary victim.
Withdrawing her glowing crimson gaze from the servant, she stepped back slightly. As water dripped from her damp skin, she gave her instructions in a calm, indifferent, yet regally commanding voice:
"Alright... that's enough. Don't be afraid anymore. Come forward and style my hair."
The servant blinked, momentarily stunned by her abrupt shift in mood. The sudden whiplash between her razor-sharp interrogation, his dark confession, and now this casual command left him frozen for a second.
Stepping forward with trembling hands, he reached out cautiously toward the cascading waterfall of crimson hair. His fingers, still slightly shaking from fear, began to gently gather and braid the heavy, striking strands, careful not to trigger her unpredictable temper.
In the dim, steam-filled sanctuary of the bath chamber, Rehany stared straight ahead into the mirror's reflection. Her glowing crimson eyes burned with a cold, calculating fire every terrifying detail she had just learned locking securely into place as new ammunition for her ultimate rebellion.
As the servant's hesitant fingers carefully worked through her long crimson hair, the silence in the chamber grew thick with unspoken tension. Every pull of the comb, every gentle twist of the strands served as a stark reminder of the caged reality Kim had built around her—and the absolute rot at the heart of his empire.
Reflected in the polished bronze mirror, Rehany's expression remained an unreadable mask of cold composure. Beneath the surface, however, her mind was racing, weaving together the pieces of the puzzle. The confession she had just wrung from the servant wasn't just a confirmation of Kim's depravity; it was a weapon. A vulnerability. If Kim's cruelty and indiscriminate predation had alienated even the shadows bound to his service, it meant his foundation was far more fragile than it appeared.
Her crimson eyes narrowed slightly as she watched the servant's reflection, noting the lingering terror in his posture. She didn't want blind obedience from these creatures; she wanted doubt. She wanted fear of Kim to slowly curdle into a desire for escape or better yet, betrayal.
Tilting her chin up just a fraction, Rehany broke the silence, her voice a soft, low murmur that carried effortlessly across the room, laced with a quiet danger:
"Tell me... when he breaks them, do they ever try to fight back? Or do they simply wait for someone else to burn it all down?"Then Rehani said, "I know for sure how old you are, tell me."
The servant's hands trembled again, causing him to pause styling her hair and lower his head even further. In this dark palace, no ordinary servant would ever dare speak of Lord Kim's age; the ruler's lifespan and origins were a heavily guarded, forbidden mystery.
Yet, trapped under the compelling weight of Rehany's glowing gaze, he could not stay silent. Trembling visibly, he answered in a hushed, terrified whisper:
"My Queen... it is impossible for ordinary shadows like us to know Lord Kim's true age. We only know that he has existed long before the creation of this dark empire. His lifespan transcends time itself he is an immortal, ancient power well over a thousand years old..."
A sharp, curious smile touched the corners of Rehany's lips at the servant's words. Staring at her own reflection in the mirror, she asked in a cold, steady voice:
"An ancient power over a thousand years old, yet completely devoid of rules or boundaries! Tell me something in all this unimaginably long, immortal life of his, is there anyone he spends the most time with? Is there a favorite woman or a companion he keeps close? As far as I know, he has never married before, so is there someone special he keeps by his side like a shadow?"
This sharp and direct question rattled the servant even further. Trembling with dread, he frantically shook his head and whispered:
"Marriage? No, My Queen, what you know is entirely true! Lord Kim has never acknowledged anyone as a wife, nor has he ever wed. But... but that doesn't mean he lives alone. Over these long millennia, he has made countless men and women the victims of his desires, casting them aside whenever he pleases. However..."
The servant paused, casting a fearful glance around the room as though invisible eyes in the shadows were watching him. Then, dropping his voice to an even lower whisper, he continued:
"However, for the past few centuries, no one has stayed at the center of his attention long enough to be genuinely cared for or spent time with. To him, everyone is merely a plaything or fleeting entertainment. And that is precisely why... the moment you were brought unexpectedly into this palace by his own hands, the ancient shadows of this domain began to tremble with fear because Lord Kim has never shown such bizarre and profound interest in any prisoner before!"
At Rehany's shocking and bizarre claim, a mask of sheer bewilderment froze over the servant's face. His hands stopped moving entirely, and he stared at her reflection through pale, wide eyes, his mind struggling to process what he had just heard.
He simply could not reconcile the terrifying, unyielding truth of Lord Kim who had never bound himself to anyone in marriage across the long centuries with this audacious claim dropping so casually from the lips of his newest prisoner.
Swallowing hard against the sudden knot of terror in his throat, he stammered out in a breathless whisper:
"M-marriage... with Lord Kim? My Queen... please, you must not joke about such things. The shadows... the very walls of this palace will tear you apart if they hear words like that. No one has ever dared to call themselves his wife!"
Just as the servant was trembling with rising terror, the heavy door of the bath chamber silently parted a fraction. Stepping out from the shadows of the corridor came Nikotama
Rehany's fiercely loyal bodyguard.
His physique was striking; though of moderate height, his body was powerfully built, muscular, and sharply defined. Coupled with a strikingly handsome and captivating face, he stood out amidst this grim, grotesque palace like a flash of moonlight in the dark. In his sharp, piercing gaze lay absolute devotion and a chilling readiness to plunge into any danger at a moment's notice.
Entering the chamber, Nikotama lowered his head, addressing Rehany in a calm, solemn voice:
"My Queen, the situation within the inner palace is currently quiet. Kim's personal guards haven't suspected anything yet. Are you prepared?"
The servant gasped, stumbling backward a step as Nikotama stepped fully into the light of the bath chamber.
Towering at an imposing six feet, Nikotama's broad shoulders and powerful frame completely dominated the space. Despite his massive, intimidating stature built like a warrior carved from stone his features possessed a striking, razor-sharp handsome elegance that felt entirely out of place in Kim's decaying realm. He looked less like a standard palace guard and more like an executioner carved from marble, radiating an aura of lethal competence and absolute, unyielding devotion to Rehany.
The shadow-entity servant shrank away, trembling uncontrollably at the sight of the giant warrior standing so casually in the private sanctuary.
Rehany didn't even blink. She watched Nikotama's reflection in the mirror, her crimson eyes flashing with cold satisfaction. Her grand deception was taking root, her psychological warfare on the servants was working, and her elite muscle had just arrived right on schedule.
Lifting her chin, Rehany rose gracefully from the edge of the bath, water shimmering off her skin as she turned to face her bodyguard. Her voice cut through the heavy steam, calm and laced with lethal intent:
"Let them stay blind a little longer. Everything is falling into place."