Meiylin had woken just as early as she had the day before. News of the Emperor's return had been spreading since yesterday. Two days earlier, it had been reported that the Emperor would soon arrive, and that alone had turned the entire city upside down.
Meiylin had prepared herself for the occasion with everything money could buy. The most expensive makeup. Rare flower fragrances. A gown hand-sewn by the most talented seamstress in the Empire. Even the finest jewelry shops had delivered samples to her door. Everyone had heard the rumors, once the Emperor returned, there would be a grand ceremony. A wedding. Though no one knew who the bride would be.
In casinos across the city, locals and nobles had placed bets on who would be chosen. Most of them wagered on the Lady of the North, Meiylin.
Everyone knew how much she had helped the Emperor. Their story had spread like wildfire, reaching every corner of the Empire.
People remembered how difficult the Emperor's childhood had been, how broken everyone believed he was. At the time, they had placed far more bets on his failure than on his success. When he was taken to the North after his mother's death, his father already gravely ill, the people in the marketplace had watched him pass with faces full of irritation instead of sympathy.
Not the kind of pity that says "poor boy," but the kind that says "he is ruined." They had believed he would drag the Empire down with him. He was the boy crying after a mother they thought had betrayed them, and they couldn't forgive him for it.
But that same broken boy returned years later as a capable, powerful, and brave young man. And everyone believed Meiylin, the young lady who accompanied him, was the one who had repaired what they all thought was beyond repair.
---
So now, with the citizens convinced she was the most suitable candidate for Queen title, Meiylin was certain of her place in the Empire. She stood at the gates dressed in a blue stone-studded gown, matching sky-blue jewelry, her hair pulled into a neat bun with long strands of silk-like black hair falling down her back.
She looked every bit like a queen already.
She waited the entire day without giving up, staying even as darkness began to swallow the sky.
To Meiylin, this patience was part of her victory. But for Princess Yura, it was something she never signed up for. When it was nearly dark, Yura walked toward the Lady of the North and bowed her head slightly out of respect. Meiylin, meanwhile, did not lower her gaze even for a moment.
Princess Yura didn't think much of it and simply said, "Sister Meiylin, I don't think His Majesty will be coming today. We should head back."
After a long moment, Meiylin turned her head to face the princess, who still stood there unmoving. Far behind them, Hanying and Jing watched. Meiylin walked past the princess, her steps sharp and loud. Hanying instinctively stepped back, but Jing's firm hand pressed her shoulder down, forcing her to kneel. She clearly wanted to resist, but Jing's strength left her no choice. He knelt as well, head bent low.
"Your Highness."
A smile stretched across Meiylin's face, pwide and satisfied. She glanced back at the princess, who looked offended. "I like your male servant," she said lazily.
"He is not a slave," Yura corrected, stepping closer. "None of them are." Her voice carried hidden anger.
Meiylin laughed, raising a silk-embroidered cloth to cover her mouth. A small gesture, but it hit a wound deep inside Yura's chest. When Meiylin looked again, she saw tears threatening to slip from Yura's eyes.
"Oh come on, are you that fragile?" she asked.
Yura turned away, wiping her tears with her bare hands, something no princess from a prestigious kingdom would dare do in public. Even Meiylin looked surprised. She wasn't born royalty, but seeing a high-born princess behave so clumsily made her laugh again.
"I heard many stories about you," Meiylin said. "I used to think my maid exaggerated. But seeing you now…"
'You're such a disgrace to all the fancy girls out there,' she thought as she smiled.
"You seem to enjoy looking down on me, Sister Meiylin," Yura replied softly.
"No, no, Your Highness. How could I?" Meiylin smiled, mocking, sweet, and poisonous.
From the citizens' point of view, it looked like Meiylin was simply being kind to a princess who would one day ruin her life. They couldn't see Yura's expression since her back was to them. They assumed the two women were talking about harmless girl things. They saw Meiylin laughing as she gently touched the princess's shoulder. They saw both women share what looked like a light laugh before the princess waved goodbye.
When Meiylin helped Jing stand and sent him off to follow the princess, the sight broke many hearts. They believed Meiylin truly was a queen material, graceful, composed, hiding her sadness behind kindness. They believed she was brave to welcome the princess, even though everyone knew the princess's arrival meant trouble for her.
...
And then came today.
Once again, Meiylin dressed herself to perfection. Once again, she stood at the city gates from early morning. And when the Emperor's troops finally appeared in the distance at noon, she immediately asked for a horse.
She was going to fetch her man.
As for the princess...well, the crowd chattered loudly enough for her to hear.
"Look at her. How gloomy she looks." The princess didn't know what do now, was she supposed to also go fetch the Emperor? Wouldn't it be another problem too. Two women welcoming the Emperor, who was he going to reach for first? Princess Yura didn't feel like she was supposed to be chosen from others.
For her, she wanted someone who was only hers.