Baohe Hall blazed with light.
Prince Chen walked in with Iris at his side.
The chatter around them cut off in an instant.
Heads turned.
Eyes followed.
People stared at the Seventh Prince most of all.
The one who never let anyone near.
And yet Iris stood within half a step of him.
"Seventh Brother."
"That's the… female coroner?"
A drunken voice broke the silence.
The Third Prince swayed over, a wine jug in hand.
His face was flushed.
His gaze dragged across Iris, greedy and unfiltered.
Then the Third Prince looked sideways at Prince Chen, lips curling with malice.
"Everyone keeps their distance from you."
"Only this unlucky girl who plays with corpses all day would stick close."
"Tsk."
"A criminal's bloodline."
"A lowly coroner."
"Made for each other."
Iris's expression barely changed.
But something inside tightened.
Iris glanced at the man beside her.
Prince Chen took the insult without flinching.
His spine stayed straight.
"Criminal's bloodline?"
Iris searched Su Mo's scattered memories.
There was nothing.
Not a single clear trace about Prince Chen's mother.
In a palace like this, a label like that could kill you.
He probably had it worse than her "lowly coroner" status.
System, Iris asked inside her mind.
Why is my database empty on his background?
[Ding! Core background locked.]
[Insufficient clearance. Unable to access "Grade-A Royal Secrets."]
Iris hadn't even processed the words.
The pressure beside her snapped.
Like a dam giving way.
Prince Chen's fingers stopped on the jade ring.
A violent chill flooded his eyes.
The Third Prince, drunk enough to forget fear, reached out.
A greasy hand went straight for Iris's cheek.
"Pretty."
"Come on."
"Let your Third Brother see…"
"Does skin that touches corpses all day feel just as cold?"
Crack.
The sound was sharp and clean.
Before the hand could even graze her, a folding fan struck the Third Prince's wrist bone.
"Ah!"
The Third Prince cried out, his grip shaking.
At the same time, a palace maid nearby "slipped."
A full jug of dark red grape wine tipped toward Iris's head.
It happened too fast.
Iris didn't panic.
She simply stepped back half a pace.
Splash.
The wine poured straight onto the Flowing Light Brocade.
And then something absurd happened.
The liquid refused to cling.
It gathered into perfect beads and rolled off like water on a lotus leaf.
Iris had moved in time.
The runoff hit the floor and burst into red splatter.
It all bounced back onto the Third Prince's boots and trouser hems.
"Damn it!"
The Third Prince stared at his stained clothes, furious and humiliated.
"You filthy servant!"
Nobody reacted.
Nobody even bothered looking his way.
Prince Chen didn't spare him a glance.
He rose slowly.
Then he turned to Iris.
In front of everyone, Prince Chen drew a snow-white silk handkerchief from his sleeve.
Iris blinked.
"Your Highness?"
Prince Chen didn't answer.
One hand pressed down on Iris's shoulder.
The other brought the handkerchief to her left cheek.
Right where the Third Prince had almost touched her.
Prince Chen wiped hard.
Too hard.
Like he was scrubbing off something invisible.
Iris's cheek stung.
"You're going to rub my skin off," Iris muttered, trying to dodge.
"Don't move."
Prince Chen's grip tightened like a clamp.
The hand moved fast, almost a blur.
"Better you lose a layer of skin than let that trash leave his stink on your face."
"Alcohol-induced brain damage," Iris said flatly.
"He's beyond saving."
Prince Chen gave a cold laugh.
"I don't think he ever had a brain."
"Just a barrel filled with cheap liquor."
When he was done, Prince Chen tossed the handkerchief onto the floor like it was garbage.
Then he looked at the Third Prince.
That stare was dark enough to freeze blood.
Prince Chen spoke only one word.
"Dirty."
The Third Prince's face shifted between red and white.
In full view of the court, he didn't dare answer back.
He could only glare at the handkerchief on the floor, hatred burning through him.
"Seventh Brother!"
"You dare insult me?!"
The Third Prince finally snapped.
He ripped a guard's sword free and lunged forward.
"Enough."
The voice was warm.
It wasn't loud.
But it held the hall in place.
The Crown Prince entered, surrounded by attendants.
One look.
That was all it took.
The Third Prince went rigid.
"Elder Brother…"
The sword clanged to the ground.
"Third Brother."
"Go sober up."
"Don't embarrass the imperial family in front of Father."
The Crown Prince's tone stayed calm.
The authority behind it did not.
The Third Prince bit down hard, shot Iris a venomous look, and backed away in disgrace.
Once the chaos was contained, the Crown Prince finally looked at Iris.
Iris tensed without meaning to.
But the Crown Prince showed no disgust.
His gaze swept over the Flowing Light Brocade.
Not a drop clung to it.
A faint approval flickered in his eyes.
"Most people would've panicked."
"You didn't even flinch."
"Miss Su."
"That takes nerve."
Then the Crown Prince gestured to an attendant.
The Crown Prince personally lifted a cup of imperial wine and offered it to Iris.
All around them, nobles sucked in a breath.
A cup granted by the Crown Prince was no small thing.
"Your Highness, this…"
Iris hesitated.
"Take it."
The Crown Prince smiled, gentle and steady.
"I reviewed the Ministry's case files."
"The Bones Case in the western district."
"If you hadn't been meticulous, and bold enough to examine the body…"
"Those dead wouldn't have gotten justice."
Iris's heart jolted.
Iris hadn't expected the heir to the throne to notice a coroner's work.
Or to ignore the prejudice wrapped around that title.
"I just did my job," Iris said.
Iris took the cup.
Her impression of the Crown Prince rose with it.
The Crown Prince nodded once.
Then he shifted the topic.
His eyes moved to Prince Chen beside Iris.
Prince Chen stood close, tense like a wolf guarding its meal.
The Crown Prince's gaze softened.
A trace of teasing warmth surfaced.
"Looks like the Flowing Light Brocade ended up with the right person."
He looked at Prince Chen.
"Seventh Brother has always preferred quiet."
"Proud, too."
"He hates anyone getting close."
"In all these years…"
"This is the first time I've seen him let someone stand at his side."
The Crown Prince glanced back at Iris.
"Miss Su."
"You're different to him."
The words were restrained.
But the meaning was unmistakable.
Iris's face warmed instantly.
She glanced down at the distance between herself and Prince Chen.
It was far closer than anything "proper."
Prince Chen turned his head away, clearly uncomfortable.
The tips of his ears were faintly red.
"Elder Brother, don't start."
He forced his tone flat.
"I just…"
Prince Chen paused, as if annoyed with himself.
"I just don't want her clumsy hands ruining good Flowing Light Brocade."
The Crown Prince smiled. He didn't expose the excuse.
Then he looked at Iris again.
This time, the warmth carried something heavier.
"Miss Su."
"Seventh Brother doesn't have many people he trusts in the capital."
"If he's letting you close…"
"Look after him for me."
"Elder Brother."
Prince Chen sounded irritated.
But he stepped forward without thinking.
He placed himself between Iris and the Crown Prince.
"Enough."
"Sit down."
"Father is waiting."
The Crown Prince watched that protective instinct with amusement.
The smile in his eyes deepened.
The banquet resumed.
Music rose again. But it didn't last.
After several rounds of wine, frantic hoof-beats thundered outside the hall.
Then came the panicked shouts of the gate guards.
"Report!"
A messenger soldier stumbled in.
A command flag was strapped to his back.
His whole body was blackened with soot.
The messenger didn't even manage a proper salute.
He collapsed before the throne, voice hoarse with blood.
"Eight-hundred-kilometers urgent dispatch!"
"Crimsonfire City's armory suffered a massive explosion!"
"The flames lit up half the sky!"
"They say ghostfire fell from the heavens…"
"Countless dead and injured!"
"Your Majesty, we beg your decision!"
Crimsonfire City.
The moment Iris heard those three words, her fingers clenched beneath her sleeve.
Her father's sentence from the sketch detonated in her mind.
Crimsonfire City's fire is going to burn.
Now it had.
Iris drew in a slow breath.
Her gaze turned steady.
Whatever waited there, she had to go.