Mayuri and Agastya : The First Dynasty

She was waiting for a friend.

A monster returned instead.

She still remembers the boy with the gentle smile-the secret companion who would risk the wrath of the palace guards just to sneak her stolen sweets from the royal kitchens. For years, she clung to the memory of his kindness in a world that treated her like dirt. She waited for the day her only friend would finally return.

But the man who steps back into the palace is not the boy she knew.

He is a towering, blood-forged Warlord. His eyes, once full of warmth, now hold a cold, lethal indifference that makes the entire kingdom tremble. He has been carved by war, hollowed out and turned into a ruthless weapon. Looking at this dark, dangerous stranger, she is utterly terrified.

In a world where the line between a royal and a commoner is a boundary drawn in blood, their past connection is a deadly sin. Society demands she stay in the shadows, forcing her to silently endure the crushing cruelty of the nobility without complaint.

She knows she must bow her head. She knows she must fear him just like everyone else.

But what happens when the monster the whole world fears is the only one who still remembers the girl from the kitchens?