I am dying - it was inevitable. The poison given to me over the course of several months have spread throughout my veins and seep through my bones. I was alone. There was not one single person to hold me, to comfort me, or to cry for me... I am all alone... NOTE from the writer: I'm an amateur writer so please overlook plot holes, grammar issues, or anything else a story is supposed to have. This is my original story so... as the saying goes "if you have nothing nice to say, don't say anything at all".

"You're just my tool. Know your place." It's her duty to follow her master's command. Even at the risk of injuring herself or losing her mind. It's his right to make use of her cold-heartedly. Even discarding her when she had become useless. She was a bird trapped inside a gilded cage, slowly losing her mind in the process. He was the heir of the country, regretting things he had lost in the process of power chasing. Could she ever be saved? Could he get back what he had lost? A love story between an antagonist and a side character. Melancholic Sword Apprentice (hidden shape-shifter) × Cunning Cold-hearted Master of Ivory Manor

To the country she was born to, she is Princess Le-Anne, the king's illegitimate daughter hidden in the shadows. To the empire she is sold to, she is Lady Wei Li Lian, a traitorous spy sent to infiltrate an enemy throne. But who is she really? Gifted with rare beauty and keen intelligence, Li Lian once desired nothing more than a peaceful, ordinary life. She dreamed of traveling distant lands and living freely, far away from politics and power. That fragile dream shattered the moment her estranged royal father finally noticed her existence. To him, she was not a daughter, but a tool. She was given one mission. Enter the enemy empire of Nevoria. Seduce its emperor. Survive the harem. Become empress. And hand the empire to her homeland. From a young age, she trained relentlessly in etiquette, strategy, and deception. She learned how to smile while scheming, how to walk through danger without leaving a trace. She would maneuver through the Nevorian court, evade the vipers of the inner palace, send secret missives in the dead of night, and climb her way to the phoenix throne. It should have been simple. So why did no one warn her? The greatest threat was never the harem, but the emperor himself. Cold, inscrutable, and merciless, he ruled with an iron fist and revealed nothing of his thoughts. Every encounter between them felt like a silent confrontation, where one misstep could lead to quiet destruction. Those eyes of his held no warmth, only sharp calculation, as if he had already seen through every lie she told herself. _____________________________ Cover By Ei_Daisuki