The air is thick. Every step echoes with anticipation as Consort Ivory leads the entourage — nobles, officials, and the Emperor himself — toward the dressing room.
The rustling of gowns. The quiet thud of polished shoes.
Then—A sound breaks through. A moan. Loud. Echoing. Shameful.
The Emperor's expression tightens like a pulled cord. His jaw clenches. His voice slices through the tension.
Emperor (booming): "What the hell is this?"
A pause
"In my palace?"
Whispers scatter behind him like sparks on dry leaves.
Emperor: "Whoever is inside... make sure they are severely punished."
Consort Ivory doesn't move. A subtle smile plays on her lips.
She's won. The Crown Prince is bound to this scandal now — tangled, irredeemable.
She turns to her attendant.
Ivory (firm, triumphant): "Open the door. Let them see."
The attendant hesitates — then steps forward. Hand trembling. She opens the door.
The sound spills out — raw and unmistakable. Gasps ripple through the nobles.
Then—Silence.
Inside the room: Crown Prince Beck, sprawled over a young woman. Clothes discarded. Bodies tangled. A moment meant to be hidden, now fully exposed.
The attendant recoils, then blurts—
Attendant (shocked, triumphant): "Lady Adler... it's over for you!"
The crowd sucks in a collective breath.
Winter, stunned, scans the scene.No — no, it can't be Levi. His chest tightens. He can't look away.
Then—Another door creaks open.
Heads turn.
Levi Rose Adler stands tall at the back of the crowd.
Golden gown gleaming. Eyes cold. Posture flawless.
Levi (calm, cutting): "Did someone call for me?"
Gasps. Confusion spreads like wildfire.
The Emperor blinks. Ivory's smile falters. Just for a second.
Ivory (under her breath): "What…?"
Levi steps forward. Not hurried. Not afraid.
Levi (coolly under her breath): "I wondered how far you'd go."
Pauses.
"But this... This is desperate."
The Emperor turns to her, thunder still in his voice.
Emperor: "What is the meaning of this?"
He spins toward Beck, who finally lifts his dazed head.
Emperor: "Beck. What have you done?"
Beck (slurring): "I... I don't understand..."
The Emperor explodes again.
Emperor: "Get them covered — now! Clean this mess up before it becomes a scandal outside this palace!"
Levi doesn't flinch. Her voice cuts through the noise, low and lethal.
Levi: "The scandal's already here, Your Majesty. The question is — what will you do about it?"
All eyes turn to her.
Levi: "Perhaps... it's time we ask who truly deserves to carry the crown."
Consort Ivory's face turns white.
Winter watches, frozen. Emotions unreadable. Pride. Worry. Something in between.
Levi walks past the crowd. Unbothered. Controlled.As if she planned every second of this.
The court is silent. Shaken. The game has changed.
The Emperor's face remained carved in stone, the lines of his jaw tight, unreadable. His gaze swept the room once more — slow, deliberate — like he was memorizing every corner of the disgrace before him.
Then, a low breath. A throat cleared.
His voice cut through the hush like steel on glass.
Emperor: "Let's return to the business at hand."
The words weren't a suggestion. They were a command — cold, professional, final.
He turned toward Consort Ivory, who hadn't moved. Still staring at Levi. Still reeling.
Emperor: "Consort Ivory... a word. Privately."
Ivory blinked — once, sharply — then nodded. The mask snapped back into place. She motioned for her attendants and left without another glance, the silence behind her echoing louder than any shout.
The message was clear: No rumors. No gossip. Erase the moment. Bury it deep.
As the doors closed behind her, the palace musicians scrambled to pick up their instruments. Soft melodies trickled through the air like a patch over a bleeding wound.
But the nobles? They didn't dance. They whispered.
Eyes flicked to Levi and Winter, their presence now magnetic — impossible to ignore.
At a distance stood Levi's parents, watching.
Her mother's expression was a cocktail of frustration and reluctant amusement. Her lips curved slightly as she flicked a strand of hair behind her ear.
Nola (quietly): "That was bold."
Her father, usually stone-still, let his composure crack — just for a moment.
Henry (under his breath): "Do not think for a moment this won't have consequences."
Levi didn't reply. She didn't need to.
Her gaze stayed steady. Chin high. Eyes cool.
Across the room, the Hayes family slipped out, silent. Shamed. Not a single word left behind.
The ballroom began to shift, returning slowly to its surface-level elegance, but the air was still thick — like the quiet after lightning strikes and everyone's waiting to see what else will burn.
Winter stood still. His expression unreadable. His gaze locked on Levi.
Then, he moved.
The crowd instinctively parted as he crossed the room — the storm in his eyes no longer hidden.
He stopped before her.
Winter (softly): "Levi."
She met his eyes — that unreadable flicker behind hers still burning.
Winter: "May I have this dance?"
A pause. Everything stilled.
Levi tilted her head, the faintest, knowing smile tugging at her lips.
Levi: "I suppose a dance is the least we could do… after all this chaos."
She extended her hand. Graceful. Intentional.
He took it.
They stepped onto the floor as the music swelled — something slow, something deceptively gentle. The world around them faded to a hush, like even the room knew not to interrupt.
They moved in sync, close but careful — a war wrapped in silk.
Winter(low, murmured): "You're fearless. I can't tell if I should admire you… or be worried."
Levi (sharper smile): "Both would be wise."
They said nothing more.
But in the spaces between their silence, something simmered — a tension not yet named. Power. Fury. Respect. And maybe, somewhere far beneath the fire and strategy — the faintest pulse of something else.
The Emperor stood off to the side, his gaze fixed on Levi and Winter as they danced. His expression was unreadable — a mask of authority laced with calculation. Around them, the ballroom swelled with quiet awe. Applause rang out like a finely tuned orchestra, yet the true music was in the tension between the pair: subtle, sharp, and invisible to all but them.
Levi moved with perfect control, her form flawless, though a faint tension in her shoulders betrayed the storm within. Winter's expressions shifted between cool composure and a flicker of wariness. They were a striking pair — not merely elegant, but electric. The room couldn't look away.
As the dance reached its graceful end, they executed a synchronized bow. Applause swelled, thunderous and sustained, the crowd captivated by what they thought was a moment of harmony. But beneath the surface, something more dangerous stirred.
Then, the Emperor stepped forward.
The applause tapered into silence as he raised his hand, the air sharpening with anticipation.
Emperor: "I have an announcement to make,"
His voice with a rich blend of authority and intent.
Every eye in the ballroom turned to him. The earlier scandal — still a whisper in the walls — faded beneath the weight of his presence.
Emperor: "This ball was originally held to honor Lady Levi Rose Adler and Duke Winter Swann Verlice,"
His eyes flicking between them.
"Their courage and leadership during the recent plague have saved countless lives. Their actions have proven their loyalty and worth to the Empire."
The crowd erupted into applause again, standing now in respect. Levi remained composed, her expression unreadable. Winter's shoulders eased slightly, though his thoughts were no less guarded.
Emperor (stronger, colder): "As a token of gratitude, I am pleased to bestow rewards upon them worthy of their service."
A servant stepped forward, presenting a velvet box.
Emperor: "Each of them will be granted ownership of a diamond mine — a gift to secure their future prosperity."
Murmurs of approval rippled through the room, but the Emperor wasn't finished. His gaze sharpened.
Emperor: "And the true gift..."
Drawing out the moment,
"...is one of unity — a bond between two of the Empire's greatest families."
A beat of silence fell.
"It is with great pleasure that I announce the engagement of Lady Levi Rose Adler and Duke Winter Swann Verlice. Soon the official imperial decree will be sent."
The ballroom froze — stunned into silence — before erupting into wild, ecstatic applause. Nobles stood, clapping and cheering, their faces glowing with delight. It was the perfect political union — powerful, beautiful, unshakeable.
Except for the two people at the center of it.
Levi felt the words slam into her like ice water. Her spine remained straight, but her blood ran cold.
Levi: "Engaged? Just like that?"
Winter's mind reeled. He looked at her, stunned.
Levi: "This is happening? I barely know her."
The applause was deafening, but for them, time slowed. Between them: shock. Frustration. A rising awareness of the cage that had just shut around them.
Levi's expression was razor-sharp, her voice silent but screaming,
Levi: "I just escaped one trap... only to fall into another."
Winter's jaw flexed. Outwardly calm, inwardly boiling.
Winter: "I was just beginning to understand her — now I'm bound to her?"
The Emperor, satisfied, turned to the crowd with a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes.
Emperor: "Let this be a testament to the strength of our Empire. Long live the unity of the Adler and Verlice families."
With a final gesture, the music resumed.
Nobles surged forward to offer congratulations, their words a blur of smiles and strategy. Levi and Winter stood amid it all — statues in a storm — hearing everything, feeling nothing.
Across the room, Levi's parents exchanged a glance: part smug satisfaction, part warning. They hadn't expected the announcement to come so soon — but they'd always known it was inevitable.
Winter's parents, meanwhile, had already begun to calculate. This was power — leverage — and they intended to wield it.
And in the middle of it all stood Levi and Winter, not as partners, but as pawns in a game that had just reset its board. Neither of them had been given a choice. But now, they had no choice but to play.