Three weeks went by like I was living in a beautiful dream.
Everyone in the palace waited for the emperor to get bored of me. They waited for him to send me to the Cold Palace or cut my head off. The rumors were crazy.
"She bewitched His Majesty with southern magic..."
"No, she's giving him special medicine every night..."
"Wait until the Empress Dowager hears. The villainess won't live another month."
But nothing happened.
Every morning I woke up to gifts outside my door... jade hairpins, silk ribbons in my favorite colors, books of poetry, sweet red bean cakes still warm. Never a note. Never needed one. I knew.
Every afternoon Taehyun took me walking in the plum gardens. Guards followed far behind. We talked about everything. He told me about growing up as a prince, about his mother who died when he was seven, about the war in the north when he was sixteen. I told him about... well, not about transmigration. But about loving books, about wanting to see the ocean, about hating carrots (he laughed so hard at that one).
He never asked about the poison again. But I saw how he watched people around me. Like a dragon guarding treasure.
Then came the night of the full moon.
I was in my room brushing my hair when the hidden door opened without knocking. Taehyun slipped inside wearing plain black clothes, no crown, no robe. Just a simple tie in his hair.
I stood up fast. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing," he said. He was smiling. "Get dressed. Dark colors. We're leaving."
My heart started racing. "Leaving where?"
"You'll see. Hurry."
Ten minutes later I was dressed in black hanbok and soft boots. He grabbed my hand and pulled me into the secret tunnel behind the wall. It was dark and narrow. I held onto him tight so I wouldn't fall.
We walked for what felt like forever. Sometimes up stairs, sometimes down. Finally a small door opened and... city air.
Real city air. Not palace air.
We were outside the walls. Normal streets, normal people, food stalls, lanterns everywhere. The noise, the smells, the life. I almost cried.
Taehyun pulled a straw hat low over his face and gave me one too.
"No one will recognize us," he said.
He bought me everything. Hotteok dripping with honey and cinnamon. Grilled meat on sticks. Sweet rice drink in paper cups. I laughed so hard honey went up my nose. He wiped it off my face with his sleeve and laughed too.
We walked until my feet hurt. Then he found a small hill outside the city. He spread his cloak on the grass and we lay down to watch the stars.
The moon was huge and bright.
"This is where I used to run when I was a boy," he said quietly. "When the palace felt too small. When everyone wanted something from me."
I turned my head to look at him. Moonlight painted silver on his cheekbones.
"Why bring me here?" I asked.
He was quiet for a long time.
"Because when I'm with you... I don't feel like the emperor," he said finally. "I feel like just Taehyun. Like I can breathe."
My chest hurt in the best way.
I reached out and touched his face. "You are Taehyun. To me, you always will be."
He turned and kissed my palm. Then my wrist. Then he leaned over and kissed my lips.
It started soft. Careful. Like he thought I would pull away.
I didn't.
I kissed him back harder. My hands went to his hair. His arms pulled me close until I was half on top of him. The kiss turned deep and hungry. I forgot we were outside. I forgot everything.
When we finally stopped, we were both breathing fast.
"Seo-Hwa..." he started.
"I know," I whispered. "It's impossible. I'm the villainess. You're the emperor. Everyone will hate us."
"I don't care," he said fiercely. "Let them hate. Let them try to stop me."
He kissed me again. And again. Until the moon moved across the sky.
On the walk back we held hands the whole time. Even in the dark tunnel.
When we reached my room, he didn't leave right away.
He stood in the doorway looking serious.
"I have to tell you something," he said.
My stomach dropped. "What?"
"I found the Ghost Blade."
Everything went cold.
"And?"
"He's in the dungeon. Won't speak. But the red cord... it came from the Empress Dowager's palace. Someone stole it from her rooms."
I swallowed hard. "So she wants me dead?"
"Or someone wants us to think she does," he said. "I don't know yet."
He stepped closer and cupped my face with both hands.
"Listen to me carefully. Whatever happens next... whoever is behind this... I will protect you. Even if I have to burn the whole palace down. Do you believe me?"
I looked into his storm eyes and nodded.
"I believe you."
He kissed my forehead one more time.
"Sleep now. Tomorrow everything changes."
After he left, I sat on my bed for a long time.
Because I realized something that scared me more than any assassin.
I was in love with Emperor Taehyun.
And in the original novel, love was the most dangerous thing of all.
I had to become stronger. Smarter. Faster.
Before the real villain showed their face.
And before my heart got us both killed.