Yuna's POV
I've spent three years learning their secrets. Tonight, everything changes.
My hands don't shake as I pour wine into Lady Seol's crystal cup. They never do. A good servant is invisible, hands steady, eyes down, mouth shut. That's what I've perfected for three years while my half-sister sits in silk and jewels, never recognizing the bastard daughter serving at her elbow.
The Moon Festival banquet glitters like a jewelry box come to life. Hundreds of candles cast golden light across the Hall of Celestial Harmony. Nobles laugh and gossip, their voices mixing with music from the imperial musicians. I move between tables like a shadow, refilling cups, clearing plates, gathering secrets.
Did you hear Minister Han bought another estate? Lady Park whispers to her neighbor, loud enough for servants to hear but quiet enough to pretend we don't exist. Third one this year. Strange for a minister's salary.
I file the information away. Minister Han, embezzling. Add it to the list.
The Emperor looks particularly cold tonight, another lady murmurs, and I can't help glancing toward the imperial table.
My breath catches.
Emperor Kael Dravenhart sits on the raised platform like a statue carved from ice. He's younger than I expected, maybe twenty-eight with sharp features and eyes that miss nothing. They call him the Winter Dragon, and I understand why. Even from across the room, his presence freezes the air. He surveys the banquet with the expression of a man watching potential assassins, not guests.
Beautiful. Terrifying. Untouchable.
I tear my eyes away before someone notices a servant staring.
More wine, Yuna, Lady Seol snaps her fingers without looking at me. She never looks at me. To her, I'm furniture that pours drinks.
Yes, my lady. I refill her cup, keeping my face blank while rage simmers in my chest.
This woman murdered our mother. Stole my birthright. Forced me into servitude for twelve years. And she doesn't even remember my face.
But I remember everything.
I remember Mother's body hanging in the servant quarters, staged to look like suicide. I remember being twelve years old and powerless. I remember every cruel word, every slap, every humiliation Lady Seol has dealt me since.
I also remember every secret she's whispered in this room, thinking servants are too stupid to matter.
Lord Daevan, you're positively wicked, Lady Seol giggles, leaning toward a handsome man in expensive robes. Prince Daevan, the Emperor's cousin. Also her fiancé's cousin, which makes this flirtation particularly stupid.
Just honest, my lady, Daevan's smile doesn't reach his eyes. Unlike some people at this court.
Interesting. I move to the next table, ears sharp.
The trade agreements are finalized, Minister Han says quietly to another official. Gray-haired and dignified, he looks like everyone's kind grandfather. I know better. Once they're signed, the funds will be... redirected appropriately.
The other minister nods. And the other matter?
Being handled. Loose ends eliminated. Minister Han's eyes flick toward someone across the room. Some threats need permanent solutions.
My heart pounds, but my hands stay steady as I pour wine for a duchess who doesn't acknowledge my existence.
Three years of this. Three years playing the perfect invisible servant while building a network of informants among the palace staff. Kitchen maids who hear nobles' private conversations. Guards who see midnight meetings. Seamstresses who find documents in pockets.
Half the servants in this palace owe me favors. The other half owe me loyalty.
And tonight, after three years of patience, I'm finally ready to
Yuna! Lady Seol's sharp voice cuts through my thoughts. Lady Min needs wine. Now.
I turn toward the imperial concubine's table. Lady Min, the Crown Prince's favorite, sits surrounded by other concubines. She's beautiful and kind, one of the few nobles who says 'thank you' to servants.
I approach with the wine pitcher, but something feels wrong.
Lady Seol watches me with an expression I can't read. Minister Han's son—Seol's actual fiancé—whispers something to her, and she nods almost imperceptibly.
My instincts scream danger, but I'm already at Lady Min's table.
Wine, my lady? I offer.
Oh, thank you, dear. Lady Min smiles warmly. You're Lady Seol's maid, aren't you? Yuna?
Yes, my lady. I pour carefully into her cup, the red wine catching candlelight.
Lady Seol is fortunate to have such a capable Lady Min stops mid-sentence. Her smile freezes. The cup slips from her fingers.
My lady? I reach for her, but she's already falling.
Lady Min crashes to the floor, convulsing. White foam bubbles at her lips. Her eyes roll back.
The banquet hall erupts in screams.
Poison! someone shouts.
Call the physicians!
Guards!
I stand frozen, the wine pitcher still in my hands, as nobles scatter and guards rush forward. Physicians swarm Lady Min's seizing body.
My mind races through what just happened. The wine. I poured the wine. Into a cup I just... served...
Ice floods my veins.
Seize her! A guard points at me. That servant poisoned Lady Min!
No I start, but hands grab my arms.
I saw her pour the wine! Lady Seol's voice rises above the chaos, perfectly shocked. My own maid! I trusted her!
Search her quarters, Commander Chen orders, his scarred face hard as stone. He's the Emperor's personal guard, terrifying and absolutely loyal.
Commander, I didn't
The merchant who sold her the poison has already been found, Minister Han's son announces, producing a scroll. Receipt in her name. Rare poison. Purchased two days ago.
My blood turns to ice. They planned this. Every detail.
I was so focused on gathering evidence against them, I never saw them moving against me.
Multiple witnesses saw suspicious behavior, another guard reports.
The frame is perfect. Too perfect.
Across the chaos, I glimpse Lady Seol's face. For just one second, our eyes meet. She smiles—cold and victorious. The smile of someone who's won.
Then she turns away, dabbing false tears.
They're not just framing me for attempted murder. They're eliminating me before I can expose them.
Yuna, servant to Lady Seol Velashen, Commander Chen's voice cuts through the pandemonium like a blade. You are under arrest for the attempted assassination of Lady Min, Imperial Consort of the Third Rank.
His hands close around my wrists like iron shackles.
The crime is treason, he continues, and my stomach drops. The penalty is public execution.
The banquet hall spins. Three years of planning, of building networks, of gathering evidence—all ending in a dungeon cell and an executioner's blade.
I meet Commander Chen's eyes, trying to find words that might save me.
Then I see him. Emperor Kael, standing now, watching everything with those cold, brilliant eyes. For one heartbeat, our gazes lock across the chaos.
He's analyzing. Calculating. Seeing something others miss.
Take her to the dungeons, Chen orders, but he's looking at the Emperor, waiting for something.
Kael's expression reveals nothing. He turns away.
My last hope dies.
Guards drag me toward the doors. Nobles whisper and stare. Lady Seol dabs her eyes with a silk handkerchief.
You're under arrest for attempted murder! the proclamation echoes through the hall.
As they haul me into the darkness beyond the golden banquet hall, one thought burns through my terror:
I survived twelve years of hell for this revenge. I'm not dying now.
Not before I drag them all down with me.