Illuminate (Jinshi x OC)

Chapter Six: The Need to be Human

Warning: mentions of abuse and assault

Luomiere stared blankly at the men in front of her, following obediently as they led her through the maze of a building somewhere in the rear palace. There were three in total: two of them being Jinshi and Gaoshun while the other was some random soldier whom she had never seen before. He was a warm, robust man with the eyes of a puppy, and according to Gaoshun, his name was Lihaku. Luomiere thought he was young for a military officer, but she didn't dwell on it...no, there was an entirely different question on her mind right now.

Is Master Jinshi really the Moon Prince?

The thought had been reverberating in her mind ever since she got off that unreasonably narrow carriage, hand-in-hand with the man in question. She had considered it a possibility, of course, but now, though? She was quite certain of the truth, regardless of how perplexing it made her current occupation.

She studied the violet-haired noble in front of her, narrowing her eyes ever so slightly. If this man is supposed to be my husband, then why am I his lady-in-waiting? Is he toying with me? No...something tells me that he wasn't the one who gave the order.

And if the Moon Prince himself hadn't given the order, then the decision must have been the emperor's, which meant that Luomiere and Jinshi's current positions as servant and master were absolute for at least the next year. What was the purpose, though? Was it so that the two could become acquainted with one another? Or perhaps the Moon Prince needed convincing? Either way, it didn't explain why the imperial younger brother had been posing as a high-ranking eunuch who oversaw the emperor's flower garden. Had his installment as manager of the rear palace been more recent, then Luomiere might have understood, but Jinshi had been tending to the consorts for a while now; it was obvious by the way Lady Gyokuyou and her party had been so comfortable in his presence—they were familiar with him and had likely been for a long time.

So why is he here? Luomiere questioned, placing her hand on her cheek as she thought.

She knew she was getting ahead of herself; Jinshi's true identity hadn't been confirmed, and the evidence she had was nothing more than mere conjecture on her part. Growing up, her grandfather had taught her and her sister that conjecture wasn't meant to be spoken aloud, but at the moment, Luomiere saw no other possible answer. Jinshi being the Moon Prince explained his evident paranoia and lack of servants, as well as his sacred position as manager of the rear palace. The most damning piece of evidence, though, was what he had said to her earlier.

"This fiancé of yours...it could be that perhaps he likes ill-mannered and erratic women."

The manner in which he had worded it was strange, almost as if he were trying to defend Luomiere's betrothed; however, she had never revealed the name of her future spouse to Jinshi, and the only people who knew of the engagement were the La clan as well as the imperial royal family. For her own safety, Luomiere was assured that her employer wouldn't be aware of the true weight her marriage held, only that it was vital for her to learn how to be a proper lady—something she had forgotten yesterday when she first met the man. She now understood why he had been more interested in her intuition than her marriage, but how was it that Jinshi seemed to know who Luomiere had been referring to, then?

This question is what led her down a spiral of possibilities, and eventually, she came to the conclusion that Jinshi was, in fact, the Moon Prince and the person she was supposed to marry. Why else would he have tried to flatter her, if not to earn her favor as his future wife? That was also why he had never asked for the details of her marriage: he already knew them because he was the other party. There was also last night when she declared her devotion to becoming an ideal wife. It had left Jinshi speechless, if she recalled correctly, but she hadn't said anything so awe-inspiring. She figured he was just taken aback by her being aware of the burden he carried, but what if it was something more than that?