I stared at him with dumbfounded eyes.
No, scratch that — I stared at him like a rabbit caught in the middle of a royal hunting competition, except the hunter was floating in the air, dressed in all black, and probably didn't need arrows to end me.
Somehow — somehow — I'd been found out.
I didn't even know when my veil had slipped off. At some point in my frantic roof-jumping escape, it must have flown away into the wind like my dignity. And now here I was: in a palace maid's frilly dress, my actual face fully exposed, and staring at a nightmare dressed in flowing black robes.
Perfect. Just perfect.
I couldn't see his face beneath that creepy smiling mask, but I could feel his gaze crawling over me — slow, deliberate, as if he was peeling away every layer of my thoughts.
And then… he laughed.
A low, chilling sound that slid down my spine like ice water.
Not the kind of laugh you share over tea.
The kind of laugh people hear before they disappear forever.
The fact that he was floating in midair while laughing made it a thousand times worse. His long robe moved in the wind like it had its own mind, and every shift of the fabric whispered "I could drop you off this roof for fun."
I forced my brain to function. "Uh… h-hello?"
Smooth, Xiao Zhen. Very smooth.
He tilted his head, the smiling mask catching the moonlight in a way that made it look even more alive. "So… you were listening."
I opened my mouth to deny it, but the words that came out were, "I was… sightseeing?"
Yeah. I'm amazing under pressure.
His laugh came again, softer this time but somehow even colder.
My survival instincts screamed at me to run, but my legs were too busy arguing over which direction was least likely to get me killed.
Somewhere deep inside, I started wondering if this was how my first palace infiltration was going to end — not with glory or treasure, but with me dying in a maid dress while a creepy floating man laughed at me.
"So… you were listening."
That voice. Low. Heavy. The kind of sound that makes the air feel thicker.
I swallowed. "Sightseeing?"
The smile on his mask didn't move — it couldn't — but somehow, it felt like it got wider.
Wind swirled around us, tugging at his robe, making the fabric hiss like whispers in an empty hall. From this close, I could see faint, delicate patterns embroidered in black thread along the robe's edges — not decoration, but something… symbolic.
He took one slow step forward in the air. In the air.
"You shouldn't be here."
That simple sentence landed heavier than a royal decree. My instincts were screaming Run. Hide. Pretend to be a cabbage.
I tried a shaky smile. "Well, I didn't see a sign saying—"
"Do you know," he cut in, "what they do… to those who hear things they shouldn't?"
I went very still. My mind flicked through every possible answer. Most of them ended with me headless.
"I, uh, don't suppose they… give them tea and cake?"
Silence. The kind that felt like a hand closing around my throat.
He drifted closer, robes swaying, and for a heartbeat I thought I saw the faint gleam of an ornate clasp at his chest — gold, worked into the shape of something I recognized but couldn't quite name.
Very important people wear things like that. Very dangerous people keep them hidden.
He stopped just close enough that the tips of his boots — if he was even wearing boots — hovered above the roof tiles in front of me.
"You look… amusing."
And then he tilted his head ever so slightly, as if filing away everything about me into some secret ledger.
"Don't… vanish."
Before I could even ask what that meant, the air around him rippled — like the surface of disturbed water — and he was gone. Just gone.
I stood there, heart pounding, staring at empty air and wondering which was worse: the fact that he'd found me… or the fact that he apparently wanted to find me again.
And somewhere deep down, I knew this man wasn't just anyone.
He was someone.
By the time I made it back to my room, my legs felt like someone had replaced them with hollow bamboo.
I shut the door, leaned against it, and let the silence settle in.
The room wasn't cold, but my hands wouldn't stop trembling. I could still hear that laugh in my head, see that mask hovering against the night sky. The way he looked at me — not like I was a nuisance to swat away, but like I was something worth remembering. And that… that scared me more than I could admit.
I sat on the edge of my bed, pressing my palms together. My breathing slowed, but my chest still felt tight.
And then, without warning, my thoughts drifted home.
To my mother, humming in the kitchen while she stirred the soup pot, smiling without even realizing it.
To my two older brothers — one serious to the point of obsession, the other always quick to ruffle my hair like I was still a child.
Even to my father… who was gone more often than he was there, but whose rare visits always brought an air of stability I never fully appreciated until now.
I didn't know why the memory of that man made me think of them. Maybe because for the first time in years, I felt like I might never see them again.
And that thought… hurt.
I pressed my face into my hands, trying to shake it off. Fear was a heavy thing, and it had settled into my bones tonight.
The door slammed open.
"Zhen! You alive in there?"
I looked up just as a round, cheerful face popped in — cheeks pink from the night air, eyes practically glowing with mischief.
I straightened quickly. "Of course I'm alive. Why wouldn't I be?"
He grinned and stepped inside. "Well, knowing you, you could've gotten eaten by wolves or fallen into the royal moat by now." He threw himself onto my bed without asking, making it dip under his weight. "Brought snacks! …Well, ate them on the way, but I brought myself. Same thing, right?"
I gave him a flat stare. "You're the worst friend I've ever had."
"And yet you keep me," he said smugly.
His ridiculous chatter slowly chipped away at the heaviness in my chest. He teased my hair, my posture, even the way I breathed until I finally let out a reluctant laugh.
For a moment, the fear faded. Maybe things here wouldn't be too bad.
Then my thoughts wandered — to Elena.
The last time we met, she'd been alone, her eyes shadowed with something I couldn't name. But when she saw me, she'd smiled. She always smiled when she saw me.
Tonight, though… she'd been different. Cold. Distant. Not the Elena I knew.
"What are you thinking about?" the chubby guy asked.
I answered without thinking. "Princess Elena."
He froze mid-grin. "That's… random. Why?"
"Just wondering," I said quickly.
He leaned back, folding his arms. "You know her reputation, right? Cold, distant, sometimes downright ruthless. She doesn't smile at anyone."
My lips curved faintly. "She smiles at me."
That made him stare. "What did you say?"
"Nothing... I just want to meet her once." I smiled again.
Before either of us could say more, a knock came at the door. A maid stepped in, bowing slightly.
"You are both required in the training area. Immediately."
So much for a quiet night.