ニクス

//18+// just a delulu person 💕 ----------------------------- Mostly post Lads Stuff

[nyxserenity0815]

🕹️ ニクス's Profile 🎮

About me

💜 Username: Nyx 🎮 Age: 18+ ✨ Likes : Games, music , movies (thriller and horror) 🌙 Spawn Point: ASIA (SEA)

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🕹 Main Games: Genshin , Honkai Impact 3rd , Star rail , Love and deep space 🔮 Currently Playing: [What You’re Grinding] 💾 Comfort Game: Stardew Valley 🖤 Fav Genre: RPG 👾 Gaming Setup: Tab/Laptop

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📡 Co-Op Mode? (Ask Box): [Link] 🔗 Side Quests (Other Socials): You can find more on my Carrd! [Link] 🌌 Follow for More: Genshin , Honkai Impact 3rd , Star rail , Love and deep space content! I sometimes post random pictures/post!!

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💫would love to be moots with any that is related with the games i mentioned above! Strictly 18+ only!

✨ "Respawning in 3... 2... 1..." ✨

[h4neypot]

lovers rock – leon kennedy

pairing: leon kennedy x reader (ft other re characters) summary: 4 times the team notices something's up with leon and the 1 time they figure it out (spoiler: he's married) genre: fluff

Claire notices the ring by accident.

They’re in the middle of a debrief. Multiple papers are spread across the table, coffee’s gone cold, and Leon is leaning back in his chair with one arm slung over the backrest, listening quietly and absorbing the information seamlessly. He isn’t speaking much, nodding occasionally, eyes flicking between whoever’s speaking.

It’s when he reaches forward to slide a document closer that the light catches on his hand.

Claire raises an eyebrow in curiosity. 

A ring.

It’s a casual band, not decorated with gems. It sits on his ring finger on his left hand. The hand. 

She blinks, certain she’s mistaken. Leon doesn’t wear jewelry. He never has, especially with the type of work they do. 

The conversation flows around her, but she’s no longer following along. Her eyes drift back to his hand, specifically the finger, tracking the movement as he flips a page, as he gestures to a chart as he makes a point. She feels like if she rubs her eyes or looks away for too long, it’ll vanish. 

It doesn’t.

By the time the meeting finishes, Claire convinced herself that she needs confirmation.

Everyone rushes out of the conference room, ready to start working. Sherry’s halfway out the door when Claire catches her wrist, tugging her back into the conference room.

“Did you see that?” Claire asks, lowering her voice. Leon’s hearing is freakishly good. 

Sherry frowns. “See what?”

Claire tilts her head toward the conference room, where Leon is still inside gathering his things. “His hand.”

Sherry squints, trying to follow. “What about it?”

“There’s a ring,” Claire deadpans. “On his left hand.”

Sherry’s expression sparks with curiosity immediately. “No way.”

“I’m serious.”

They both glance back to the man in question. Leon slips his jacket on, rolling his shoulders slightly, trying to ease the tension out of them, completely unaware of the scrutiny.

Sherry leans closer to her, whispering. “Maybe it’s nothing.”

“On that finger?” Claire raises an eyebrow. “That’s not nothing.”

Sherry purses her lips together. “Okay, but if he was married, we’d know, right?”

Claire scoffs. “Would we?”

Sherry frowns a bit at that. Leon’s always been private, sure. It’s a known fact that he likes to keep things to himself. Almost to his detriment. 

Still.

“Maybe the ring only fits on that finger,” Sherry suggests. “Or he doesn’t know the meaning of the finger. Or-”

“Sherry, Leon’s not that stupid.”

They look at each other, then watch as Leon finally walks up to them near the door. He gives them a nod and a small smile only reserved for those closest to him.

“Everything good?” he asks.

Claire nods automatically. “Yeah. Just… talking.”

He raises a brow. He can tell there’s something more, but he doesn’t press. He never does. Instead, he lifts a hand in a casual wave and heads down the hall, footsteps steady as they echo.

The ring glints once more before he disappears around the corner.

Claire exhales slowly, letting out a breath she didn’t know she was holding. Sherry turns to her, eyes wide. “Okay, that’s weird.”

Claire crosses her arms, still staring at the empty space where he stood. “Yeah,” she murmurs. “That’s really weird.”

–

Sherry doesn’t mean to see it either.

She’s leaving a lot later than usual, caught up in paperwork that refused to end, and by the time she finally makes her way out to the parking lot, the sky has already started to darken.

She’s halfway to her car when the low hum of an engine draws her attention.

The Porsche is hard to miss.

Leon’s leaning casually against it, one hand resting on the roof, the other tucked into his pocket. He checks his watch, then glances toward the entrance.

Sherry slows her steps without thinking, curiosity pulling her attention in that direction.

A few seconds later, someone steps out.

It’s a woman.

Sherry frowns slightly, instinctively trying to put a name to her. She doesn’t recognize her from the office, and she’s certain she would remember if she had. The woman moves towards the black car, spotting Leon immediately.

He straightens as she approaches. Sherry notes that his shoulders relax, his lips curve upward, and his attention narrows entirely onto her.

They exchange a few words that Sherry can’t hear from where she stands, but the woman smiles, bright and wide, and Leon mirrors it. Sherry hasn’t seen him smile like that in a while. Then, without hesitation, he opens the passenger door for her.

Sherry’s eyes widen even more.

She watches as the woman slips into the seat, as Leon closes the door behind her and circles around to the driver’s side, as he glances at his passenger one more time before getting in.

The engine hums again, and the Porsche pulls away with the rev of the engine.

Sherry stands there, dumbfounded, for a few seconds. She blinks, shaking herself out of it, and hurries the rest of the way to her car.

–

Chris figures out something’s off when Leon turns him down.

It isn’t the first time they’ve gone for drinks after a long day, and it certainly isn’t the first time Chris has been the one to suggest it. It’s a routine that the two found themselves performing regularly, a way to digest everything they… deal with. Plus, Chris likes that Leon and him have similar tastes in drinks and bar establishments. 

So, when Chris finds himself itching for a glass of whiskey, he doesn’t think twice.

They’re walking out of the building together, the afternoon sun casting long shadows on the pavement. Chris wraps up his story of the most recent mission he went on. 

“Hey,” Chris asks, glancing over. “I’m probably gonna head over to the bar and drink a glass or two. You in?” 

Leon looks at him, but pauses for a second before responding. Chris has never seen him hesitate like this.

Then, Leon shakes his head. “Can’t tonight.”

Chris slows to a stop, circling around to stand in front of Leon. “You’ve got something going on?”

Leon nods, a faint smile pulling at the corner of his mouth. “Yeah. Already made plans.”

Chris just stands there and stares. Leon’s response is… unusual. 

“Alright,” he says, shrugging it off. “Rain check.”

“Definitely,” Leon replies. “Next round’s on me.” 

They reach the parking lot, and Chris watches as Leon veers slightly, heading toward his sleek, black Porsche parked a little further down. 

Chris leans against his own car for a moment, arms crossed, as Leon unlocks the door. There’s a brief pause before Leon gets in and he’s checking something, looks like his phone at a message. Chris swears he sees a glimpse of a smile as Leon slides into the driver’s seat and pulls away.

Chris watches until the car disappears from view.

Plans, he thinks. Leon has plans.

He huffs out a small breath, shaking his head as he pushes himself off the car and reaches for his keys.

“Since when?”

–

Jill would’ve missed it if she hadn’t been paying attention.

Her and Leon stop for a coffee break in between briefings, a rare, small pocket of time. The place is small, a few blocks away from the usual rush of the main streets, and they wait silently in line, comfortable. Whenever it’s just them two, there’s not much chatter. 

It’s their turn to order, and Leon, the gentleman that he is, offers to pay for her drink. When the cashier echoes their total, Leon reaches into his leather jacket for his wallet.

This catches her attention as her eyes focus on his expensive leather black wallet. Jill remembers when Sherry bought him that for his birthday. It’s worn, slightly shedding at one corner, but it’s just proof that it’s well loved. She sees his hand flip open the wallet, reaching for a couple of bills in the pocket. 

That’s when she notices. There’s a photograph tucked into the clear sleeve.

It catches her attention before she can stop herself. 

Leon doesn’t seem to notice. Like it’s always been there. He pulls out the cash, hands it over, thanks the barista, all with the politeness he always has. The wallet stays open long enough for Jill to see the photo. 

A woman.

She’s close to him in the picture, leaning into his side. Leon’s arm is around her shoulders, a curve of his smile. The photo is domestic and warm, she feels like she’s intruding an intimate moment by just looking at it. 

Jill looks away before he can catch her staring, but the warm feeling from the photo stays. 

The baristas call their names and hand over their cups. The warmth radiates through the cardboard sleeve. As they step outside, a breeze goes by, making her shiver at the difference in temperature. 

“Since when do you carry photos?” she asks. 

Leon pauses mid-step, glancing at her. They both know what she’s referring to. “Since a while ago.”

Jill tilts her head slightly. “You’ve been holding out on us.”

He huffs a soft laugh, shaking his head. “It’s nothing like that.”

Jill puts her arms up in fake surrender. She doesn’t push further even though curiosity pulls at her. She knows that in this line of work, there are just some things you want to protect. Keep to yourself.

As they part ways, she finds herself glancing back at him.

Leon slips his wallet back into his jacket, the photograph hidden once more.

–

Grace decides she’s had enough.

By the time everyone’s all in the same room again, the pieces started to come together. Claire and Sherry are big gossips, talking about Leon’s mysterious woman, and Grace, being the FBI agent she is, needs to come to a conclusion. Now.

Leon, for his part, is completely at ease.

He’s seated at the table, flipping through a file, either unaware or unconcerned with the glances everyone’s been giving him. 

Grace leans back in her chair, arms crossed, studying him.

“So,” she coughs, cutting through the low hum of conversation. “Leon, are you seeing anyone?”

The room hushes immediately. Claire and Sherry’s mouths open wide in shock, Chris hides a smirk under his hand, and Jill simply looks up from the paper in her hand. 

Leon looks up, blinking once, caught off guard by the directness. He closes the file, setting it aside on the table.

“Yeah,” he admits.

Claire leans forward. “Yeah?”

Sherry’s eyes are practically sparkling with anticipation. Chris watches with an even bigger smirk, and Jill remains still, observant.

Grace raises an eyebrow. “You want to elaborate on that?”

“I didn’t think it was that big of a deal,” he shrugs.

“It’s a huge deal,” Claire argues. “You’ve been acting weird for weeks.”

“Weeks?” Chris repeats. “Try months.”

Sherry points at him. “You have a ring.”

Jill adds, “And a photo.”

Grace nods. “And apparently a whole secret life that we don’t know about.”

Leon glances between all of them, realizing very quickly that there’s no easy way out of this.

“…I’m married.”

For a second, no one reacts. Leon sees all of the wheels in their heads turning, digesting what he just said. He can physically see the lightbulbs in their heads go off. 

“You’re what?” Claire blurts out.

“Since when?” Chris demands.

“Married?” Sherry echoes, incredulous.

Jill just shakes her head, a small, disbelieving smile tugging at her lips.

Grace leans forward. “You’re telling me you got married and didn’t tell anyone?”

Leon raises his hands slightly, as if to calm the sudden wave of reactions. “It wasn’t exactly planned.”

“That doesn’t make it better,” Claire says. “It actually kinda makes it worse.”

“We would have come,” Sherry trails off, sounding a little offended. “You didn’t even give us the chance.”

Chris crosses his arms. “You kept this from all of us?”

Leon hesitates, searching for the right words. Everyone in this very room is the closest thing he has to a family. 

“We… were in a rush.” he finally answers. “It happened before I left for Wrenwood. There wasn’t time for anything big, and we probably didn’t want anything big anyway.”

Grace studies him. “So you just decided to get married in secret.”

“I thought I was dying, okay?” Leon defends himself. “I just wanted to marry her.” 

Claire exhales sharply, running a hand through her hair. “Unbelievable.”

Sherry shakes her head, though there’s a small smile starting to form. “I can’t believe you didn’t tell us.”

Chris lets out a low sigh. “You owe us a long explanation.”

“And an introduction.” Jill leans back slightly, arms crossing. 

“Of course,” Leon shrugs. “I figured that was coming.”

Grace smiles widely. “So when do we meet her?”

“Soon.” His expression turns soft, thinking about his wife at that very moment. Everyone in the room can’t help but smile at the sight.  

And this time, no one misses the way his hand lays on top of the table, the ring catching the light, shining bright. 

like this is my FAMILIA yall i love them so bad i kinda had a hard time deciding the title of this actually... may change at some point iDK

[laurefindele]

˙⋆✮ more arranged marriage angst aus

˙⋆✮ pairing: warlord!sylus x non-mc reader part two

˙⋆✮ cw: MDNI! DARK, fem!reader, non-mc reader, warring states period au, historical au, warlord!sylus, second wife!reader arranged/forced marriage, marriage of convenience/political marriage, political intrigue, angst, DDDNE, it gets worse before it gets better, tw pregnancy, tw miscarriage, tw poisoning, tw manipulation, tw death, confinement, tw implied sa (not between sylus and reader), tw gaslighting, tw murder, hurt no comfort (for now), possibly OOC sylus, unbeta'd, unedited.

˙⋆✮ a/n: please mind the warnings, this continuation is going to be DARK. i kind of overdid it and went full game of thrones/historical drama. if i missed a tw or cw, please let me know so i can add them 🥹

Part One | Part Three (Coming Soon) | LADs Masterlist | AO3

six months into your marriage, mei's sister arrives at court.

lingyue carries a portrait of mei everywhere, her eyes perpetually red-rimmed with grief. 

she's delicate, soft-spoken, devoted to her sister's memory. 

she introduces herself as mei’s former lady in waiting and attendant to luke and kieran, apologizing tearfully for still finding it difficult to speak of her loss.

she tells you mei was everything. 

how mei was beautiful, wise, and kind. the boys adored her. lord sylus loved her so much. they were so happy. she looks at you with pity, telling you how difficult it must be, from being a hostage to becoming sylus' second wife, and following such a woman like her sister.

the words land like small knives, each one precisely placed.

you assure her you are not trying to replace mei. she smiles sadly, agreeing that of course you couldn't, how could anyone, she just worries about the boys needing stability and familiar faces. 

you have no reason to refuse when she asks to continue caring for them.

over the following weeks, lingyue is everywhere. at dinners, at the boys' lessons, in the gardens. always with that mournful expression, always mentioning mei.

mei loved chrysanthemums.

mei always wore jade.

lord sylus smiled more before mei died.

it's like living with a ghost made flesh.

but worse are the moments when you catch her watching you with something cold behind her eyes, there and gone so quickly you think you have imagined it.

you also notice how she tries to position herself with luke and kieran. 

telling them stories about their mother, yes, but always with herself at the center.

your mother and i used to do this. your mother would want me to teach you that. when your mother was gone, who took care of you? who stayed?

the boys are polite but distant with her. they don't pull away when she touches them, but they don't lean into her either.

one day you overhear her speaking to them in the garden. her voice is sweet, cajoling. 

you know i love you as if you were my own sons, don't you? if anything ever happened, i would take care of you. i would be here. always.

there's something in her tone that makes your skin crawl. 

luke's response is cool. 

we know, aunt lingyue. but nothing will happen. father is strong and we have our new mother now.

you see something flash across lingyue's face.

rage.

luke and kieran, meanwhile, are slowly becoming yours.

it starts small. 

they ask you to judge their archery competitions. 

you are fair, you do notlet them cheat, and actually teach them proper form.

they are surprised, most adults either let them win or dismiss them entirely.

then they start seeking you out for other things. 

to help with their studies. 

someone to practice strategy games with who actually challenges them. 

kieran brings you a book about military tactics and asks your opinion. 

luke shows you a sketch he made and waits nervously for your response.

you tell them stories about your own brothers.

the eldest who used to sneak you sweets. the second who taught you calligraphy and how to wield a dagger in secret. the third who was always climbing things he shouldn't. 

the twins listen with hungry attention, they have never had anyone speak to them like this. not as the emperor’s heirs, but as children who have lost important people in their lives too.

one afternoon, you find kieran crying in the garden. 

the anniversary of mei's death is approaching. you sit with him. you do not tell him not to cry, you just stay present. when he finally speaks, he says you remind him of her. 

not in looks or manner, but in the way you make him feel safe.

luke overhears. 

says quietly that their mother used to listen like you do. used to take them seriously. 

aunt lingyue is always sad, always talking about how much the have lost, but you talk about what they still have.

you realize with a start that you love these boys, fiercely. 

they may not be your flesh and blood, but they are slowly becoming your sons.  

lingyue notices. 

you catch her watching when luke holds your hand in the garden.

when kieran falls asleep against your shoulder during evening readings. 

her expression is unreadable, it continues to make your skin crawl.

on the other hand, you and sylus continue your careful dance.

he brings you to every council meeting now. 

his generals have stopped looking surprised at your presence or when you speak. 

you have proven yourself competent and insightful. 

you understand both empires, your fallen kingdom and his rising one, and you build bridges between them.

one night, working late over maps and census reports, sylus’ hand brushes yours reaching for the same document. you both freeze and he apologizes, you tell him not to. but he catches your wrist gently. his thumb rests against your pulse point.

he says he should let you go but does not release your wrist. 

you agree but don't pull away.

for a moment, you think he might kiss you. his gaze drops to your lips, and your breath catches, and the air between you pulls taut—

then lingyue appears in the doorway with tea. 

her eyes widen. she apologizes for interrupting. 

sylus releases your wrist like it burned him. 

the moment shatters.

he tells you it's late, that you should rest. 

you flee before he can see the tears burning your eyes.

three months later, you discover you're pregnant.

it happened during one of the nights that duty demands you to partake in your marital bed, both of you trying not to think too hard about what you were doing. 

but now there's a child. 

his child. 

growing inside you.

you are happy. 

maybe this will be a bridge. 

maybe this will make him see you as more than a political necessity. 

maybe he will finally see you as a real wife, not a hostage.

you confide in your maid, asking her to prepare special teas for pregnancy. 

you want to wait a bit longer before telling sylus, you want to be sure.

but then, everything begins to unravel.

it starts small.

mei's jewelry appears in your chambers. 

you do not know how it got there. 

you have never touched her things, but when sylus sees you with the jade bracelet, his face falls.

you try to explain that you found it on your dressing table, that you didn't take it, but lingyue appears with worried concern, suggesting perhaps you were curious, it's natural to want nice things after all.

sylus walks away before you can defend yourself further.

then there are the whispers. 

some servants mention seeing you in the west garden at odd hours. near mei's shrine. 

someone claims you were heard speaking ill of the late empress. 

it's all lies, but they pile up like stones, building a wall between you and any credibility.

lingyue begins visiting you more frequently during this time. 

always with that concerned expression, always bringing tea. 

special blends, she says. to help you stay calm during these difficult times, with all the stress of the growing tension with your former kingdom's loyalists.

you drink it, desperate for any comfort, any kindness in the isolation growing around you.

you don't notice how tired you become. 

how your body feels increasingly weak.

then documents start appearing with your seal. 

correspondence with remaining loyalists from your kingdom. letters suggesting rebellion, betrayal, plans to murder sylus and reclaim your throne. 

you have never seen them before. 

the handwriting looks like yours but it is not.

the seal must have been forged. 

but when the evidence is brought before the council, even you have to admit it looks damning.

sylus' voice is ice when he demands an explanation, his eyes harder than they were on the day he conquered your kingdom. 

you realize with dawning horror that he believes it. 

he actually believes you would betray him.

you insist you didn't write the letters, that someone is framing you. 

he demands to know who. 

who would have access to your seal? who could forge your hand so perfectly?

you don't have an answer. you don't know.

luke and kieran try to speak for you, but they are children. 

no one listens. 

one of the generals actually laughs, suggesting the princes are too young to understand politics, too attached to their new stepmother to see clearly.

worse, envoys from your former kingdom arrive. 

they have heard rumors that you have been living as sylus' whore. 

that you spread your legs for the conqueror to save yourself, not them. 

they are disgusted and ashamed. 

you lose all your hope and your own people won't speak in your defense.

you are confined to your chambers. guards posted outside the doors. 

you are cut off from everyone except lingyue, who visits with false concern, saying she tried to tell them you wouldn't do this, but the evidence seems so damning.

she brings you more tea. 

to help with the stress, she says. to keep your strength up.

you drink it. 

you are so alone, so desperate for any kindness, that you do not think hard about it.

you are alone. 

trapped. 

and pregnant with a child you can't tell anyone about because now it would look like a desperate ploy.

a month passes. 

a month of isolation, of morning sickness you hide, of watching your world crumble through the bars of your gilded cage.

there's a banquet but you are not invited, traitors do not attend court functions. but you hear about it later from whispered servant gossip. how lingyue appeared in stunning robes, how she sat near sylus, how she kept his wine cup filled.

three weeks later, lingyue announces she's pregnant.

you hear it from the servants first, the whisper spreading like wildfire through the palace. then sylus himself comes to your chambers, won't meet your eyes, tells you that needs to explain something.

he tells you about the banquet, he doesn't remember much of it. 

he tells you woke up the morning after and lingyue was there, on his bed, naked. 

it was wrong, dishonorable, but it happened, and now there are consequences.

she's pregnant.

she's claiming it’s nearly three weeks along, which would make the timing match the banquet, though you know enough about pregnancy to realize she should barely be showing symptoms yet.

but no one questions it. why would they? 

mei's beloved sister is carrying the emperor's child.

he's taking her as a concubine. he has to, the council demands it, her family demands it, the child deserves recognition. 

he is sorry.

but his apologies don’t fix anything. 

sorry doesn't change that he's giving her everything you desperately wanted, a child acknowledged and honored, while your own pregnancy, his legitimate child, conceived in your lawful marriage, withers as a secret and unspoken in your womb.

you can not tell him now.

it’s too late

he will think you are lying, that it's a ruse, so you stay silent and feel your heart turn to stone.

lingyue moves into honored quarters for concubines.

she's celebrated, fawned over, treated as the mother of sylus' child.

she continues to play the role of mei's devoted sister perfectly, sighing that mei would have wanted this, that she always said sylus deserved happiness. 

that it's poetic, really, mei's sister giving sylus another child, another heir that mei would have wanted him to have.

and then she begins her political maneuvering in earnest.

she influences the council with careful words and quiet suggestions. 

the empress' territories should be redistributed as punishment for her treason, shouldn't they?

her people cannot be trusted, they raised a woman who would betray her husband. perhaps a harsher hand is needed. perhaps steeper taxes. perhaps mandatory conscription to the army to prove their loyalty.

several council members agree. 

general zhao, who never trusted your kingdom's surrender.

minister feng, who lost his heir during the conquest of your kingdom, felled by one of your brothers. 

others who see opportunity in your downfall.

but there are also voices of caution. 

minister shen points out that the evidence, while damning, deserves thorough investigation. 

general wei notes that the you have proven yourself competent in ruling, would a woman plotting rebellion really work so diligently to improve the empire?

the council is divided.

some hedge their bets, waiting to see which way the wind blows.

but the loudest voices, zhao, feng, and their allies, begin calling for your formal divorce. 

not just confinement, complete dissolution of the marriage. 

you are a traitor, they argue. you have brought shame to the emperor. 

he should cast you aside and marry properly. 

someone worthy. someone like... 

well, if lingyue is already carrying his child...

the pressure builds. 

every council meeting, the same voices. 

divorce her. exile her. 

some even whisper, execute her.

sylus refuses. 

you are still his empress, he says sternly, still his wife. 

the evidence will be investigated fully before any permanent decisions are made.

but you can see the doubt in his eyes. the way he won't look at you during the few times he would visit your chambers and the way his jaw tightens when the council mentions divorce.

he's considering it.

your people face harsher treatment under the new policies. 

you watch your world crumble from your gilded cage, helpless to stop it.

the stress takes its toll. 

morning sickness you can't hide becomes weight loss you can't explain. 

you are exhausted, hollow, dying from the inside out.

lingyue's teas continue. 

she's so worried and so concerned. 

she brings them herself now that you are confined. 

special herbs to help you stay calm, to help you sleep, to ease your troubled mind.

you continue to drink them.

luke and kieran notice you are getting worse. 

they have been trying to visit you, but lingyue keeps them away.

it's not appropriate, she says sweetly, for the princes to visit a woman accused of treason.

but they are stubborn and clever. they sneak past guards, find the servant entrance to your chambers.

they appear one night, twin faces full of worry. 

they announce that you are sick, that they do not believe you betrayed their father, that those letters are lies.

kieran says he knows your handwriting. 

you have been teaching him calligraphy for months. 

those letters are not the same. the characters are similar but the brush pressure is different, the flow is wrong.

luke says he has overheard servants who had claimed to have seen you in the west garden at odd hours are the same servants who started receiving new jewelry around the same time. 

someone paid them. 

you break. 

finally, after months of holding yourself together, you allow yourself to break.

you tell them you are sick. 

that something feels wrong. 

you tell them about the whispers, the planted evidence, the too-perfect timing of everything.

you tell them you suspect someone is framing you, though you have no proof.

you don't mention the pregnancy. you haven't told anyone, not even your maid.

It's still too early, too precious, too terrifying to speak aloud when everything else is crumbling around you. when you still don’t know who is framing you.

but you tell them you are frightened. that you feel trapped. 

that you don't know who to trust anymore except them.

they listen with identical expressions of fury.

kieran says they will help. 

they will find proof.

luke's voice is cold, colder than you've ever heard from a ten-year-old, when he says they do not believe you are a traitor. they know you. 

they will prove your innocence.

they promise to find the truth. for you. for justice.

but the next morning, before they can begin investigating properly, you wake in a pool of blood.

the baby is gone.

you lose your child alone in the dark, with only a frightened maid to help you. 

the girl is loyal, at least. she doesn't run for the guards or the physicians. 

she brings you sheets, holds your hand, cries with you.

the physical pain is nothing compared to the emotional devastation. 

you have truly lost everything.

your family, your kingdom, sylus's trust, and now your baby. 

the one thing that was purely yours and his, the one hope you had of a bridge between you.

gone.

you didn't even get to tell anyone. 

not even sylus. 

the baby is just gone.

you make the maid swear never to tell anyone. not the guards. not the physicians. not even the emperor.

no one can know. 

they will think you are lying, making it up for sympathy. or worse, they'll use it as added evidence that you are unfit to continue being the empress, that your womb is barren and weak.

the maid promises through her tears. 

she'll burn the bloodied sheets, she'll say nothing.

your secret will die with the child who never got to live.

when lingyue visits the next day, her expression of concern is obscene.

she mentions hearing about your unfortunate health troubles. 

how the servants noticed you were unwell last night. 

how she hopes you're recovering.

she brings you the same tea. 

says it will help with the pain, help you rest. 

you stare at the cup.

something feels wrong.

you can not explain it nor can you put it into words. 

but there's something about the way lingyue is looking at you. 

something about how insistent she's been these past weeks that you drink the tea she brings. 

how she always watches to make sure you finish it. 

how she always takes the cup away with her when she leaves.

you remember the taste. 

slightly bitter beneath the honey and herbs. 

how you have felt increasingly weak, increasingly tired after you started drinking it. 

after she started giving it to you.

you do not know anything for certain. 

you have no proof. 

but your instincts, the same instincts that helped you survive the fall of your kingdom, that helped you navigate sylus' court, are screaming at you.

don't drink it.

you tell her you are not thirsty. that your stomach can't handle anything right now.

lingyue's smile doesn't waver, but something flickers in her eyes. 

she sets the cup down beside you. you should try, she says gently. it will help you heal.

when you still don't reach for it, she sighs softly. 

as you wish. rest well.

she leaves, taking the cup with her.

you stare at the door long after she's gone, heart pounding.

you don't know what's in that tea. you don't know if your suspicions are real or if the stress and grief are making you paranoid.

but you're not drinking it again.

not ever.

two months pass.

two months of slow recovery. two months of continued isolation. 

two months of hearing lingyue grow more confident, more secure in her position as the emperor's favored concubine carrying his heir.

two months of luke and kieran sneaking to your chambers, bringing you small comforts, whispering that they are still investigating, that they are doing their best to prove your innocence.

two months of lingyue bringing you tea you never drink, her eyes growing colder each time you refuse.

then lingyue also loses her baby.

you hear the wailing from your chambers. 

servants rushing, physicians called. the whole palace in uproar.

she claims she lost the baby, and this time, she blames you.

she sobs to the court that you sent her poisoned sweets. 

that despite being confined, you somehow managed to smuggle poison to her chambers. that you were so consumed with jealousy and hatred that you murdered her innocent child.

you are brought to the council chambers immediately, confused about the accusations that lingyue has thrown.

general zhao demands your immediate execution. 

minister feng calls for torture to extract a confession. 

the voices from the faction that opposes your continued existence as the empress despite your supposed treason, grow louder and more vicious.

but sylus, for the first time since this nightmare began, hesitates.

he looks at you. 

truly looks at you. sees how thin you have become, how you have lost your color, how utterly broken. sees the guards posted at your door, the isolation, the complete lack of resources.

his voice cuts through the chaos. 

how? he asks. how could she have done this?

the council falls silent.

how could a woman confined to her chambers, with no visitors except lingyue herself and a handful of loyal servants, with no allies, no resources, no freedom, how could she possibly smuggle poison to the concubine's quarters?

general zhao sputters. 

she has loyalists, she must have—

sylus's gaze is ice. 

he asks him to name one. 

name a single person who has access to both the empress's chambers and the noble consort's quarters. 

name one servant who could have carried poison without being searched by the guards he personally stationed.

silence.

minister feng tries. perhaps youhad poison hidden from before—

sylus cuts him off. 

the empress has been confined for months. her chambers have been searched three times. every gift, every item, every scrap of fabric examined. where exactly would she hide poison? and how would she get it to lingyue without any contact?

the logic is inescapable.

minister shen speaks up from the cautious faction. 

he suggests investigating lingyue’s claims as thoroughly as they have investigated the empress's alleged treason.

murmurs of agreement from some council members. not all, zhao and feng's faction still push for your punishment, but it is enough to make sylus pause.

you watch something shift in sylus's expression. 

doubt. 

not doubt in your guilt for the original treason charges, the forged letters still seem real. 

but doubt that you could have done this. 

doubt that lingyue's convenient miscarriage is what it appears to be.

it's not exoneration. 

not yet. 

but it's the first crack in lingyue's perfect facade.

lingyue sees it too. 

you watch panic flash across her face before she buries it in tears, claiming the trauma has confused her, perhaps she was mistaken about the sweets, perhaps it was just the stress of being a concubine.

she's elevated to noble consort anyway, a compensation for her loss, protection from future harm. 

but sylus's eyes linger on her with something new.

suspicion.

the trap is still set. 

lingyue still has her rank, her position, the council's support, though not unanimous anymore. sylus is still bound to her politically. 

you are still the disgraced empress who allegedly committed treason.

but the seeds of doubt have been planted.

and luke and kieran are still investigating.

while you recover from the miscarriage, body healing even as your spirit remains shattered, luke and kieran work in the shadows.

they are ten years old and brilliant and determined and furious.

they whisper one night that they have found something. 

inconsistencies in lingyue's stories. 

dates that do not match. 

servants who remember her in places she claimed not to be.

she was in the kitchen months before their mother died. the head cook remembers because she was asking about herbs, specific herbs, wanting to know their properties. medicinal uses. toxic doses. 

the cook thought it strange but lingyue said she wanted to understand what the physicians were giving mei.

your blood runs cold. 

they think lingyue killed their mother. and now she's trying to take her place, and yours.

it's almost too horrible to believe. 

but it makes terrible sense. 

mei died suddenly of mysterious illness. 

lingyue insisting to continue staying after, a worried sister caring for her sister’s family, her children, her husband.

she's been here ever since, weaving herself into the fabric of sylus's household, waiting for her chance.

you tell them you need proof. real proof. their father and the council would not believe suspicions. 

they nod with grim determination, promising to find it.

the proof comes from an unexpected source.

one of the palace physicians, an old man who served under mei, comes forward. 

he's been troubled for years by mei's death. 

the symptoms didn't quite fit natural illness, but he had no proof. 

sudden deaths are not uncommon but these things happen.

until lingyue made a mistake.

she came to him, claiming pregnancy symptoms. morning sickness, fatigue, tender breasts. but her descriptions were wrong. slightly off. a woman who had never been pregnant, trying to fake the experience based on things she had heard or read.

when lingyue is elevated as a concubine, the physician lurks in the shadows, he observes, time had passed but her belly was still flat, her face had not changed, no other physical symptom that would prove the pregnancy's existence.

when he suggested an examination to ensure the baby's health, she became flustered, said it was too early, she would call for him if there is anything to report.

she never did. 

then the miscarriage happened and she confined herself to her chambers after the incident at court, she refused to see palace physicians and let them tend to her, to examine her.

this pushes him to investigate further, loyal to sylus’ house, the family who had sponsored his education, the family whom he served since his apprenticeship. 

he starts with quiet inquiries. old records.

he found the herbalist who had sold lingyue some herbs, the man had fled the capital years ago but the physician tracked him down, paid him for the truth.

he found the midwife lingyue bribed to provide evidence of pregnancy, who claim she'd examined lingyue and confirmed that she was with child.

he found the servants who'd been paid to plant evidence in your chambers, to spread rumors, to lie about seeing you in places you'd never been.

and then, going through the records of your confinement, he found something else.

servants noting you'd been unwell one night.

bloodied sheets that were quickly burned. 

a maid who'd been given extra coin, he'd assumed for silence about some minor embarrassment.

but when he questioned the maid privately, she'd broken down.

you had been pregnant, she says sobbing, you had lost the child, the emperor's heir, while being imprisoned in your chambers. you had made her swear never to tell anyone. 

the physician's hands shake as he compiles his final report.

the empress had been carrying the emperor's child. and she had lost it, almost certainly due to the stress of false accusations combine but there must be something else as well, he needs to know more.

but he brings his initial findings to luke and kieran first, knowing the princes have the emperor's ear even if you no longer don't. 

believing that a father might dismiss an old physician but would never dismiss his own sons.

the boys read the report about your miscarriage and go absolutely still.

their father had lost another child, their sibling, their little brother or sister. 

they lost another member of their family, this time someone they never had the chance to meet.

you had lost a baby alone in the dark, believing yourself disgraced, unable to even speak its existence aloud.

they bring everything to sylus.

you watch it unfold from your chambers. 

hear the shouting, the running footsteps. 

watch lingyue dragged from her rooms by guards, screaming about how she loved sylus, how she deserved to be his wife, how you were never good enough.

sylus' voice carries through the palace, cold with a rage you have never ever heard before. 

he is demanding answers. 

he is demanding the truth.

lingyue is brought before the full court with every noble, every general, every servant who spread her lies.

your maid, the same one who burned the sheets who kept your secret, helps you out of your chambers to witness what's happening.

sylus makes her confess. 

publicly and in excruciating detail.

the physician testifies first, his voice heavy with old guilt.

mei's death looked sudden.

one day she seemed well, the next she was burning with fever and convulsing. 

dead within two days.

but it wasn't sudden at all.

he'd been reviewing his old notes, records he kept of mei's health over the years. 

the fatigue mei complained about in her final months. the occasional fevers. the unexplained weakness. he'd attributed it to stress, sylus was planning major military campaigns, preparing to conquer new territories. the palace was tense, busy. of course the empress was tired.

he was wrong.

lingyue had been poisoning mei for at least six months before her death. small doses, carefully calculated. building up in her system. weakening her gradually.

the timing was deliberate.

sylus was planning his conquests. 

preparing to expand his empire. he would need an empress by his side, a strong one, a healthy one, one who could manage the palace while he was at war, who could bear more children to secure the succession.

lingyue saw her opportunity.

mei was tired from raising twins, managing a kingdom about to go to war. 

if she seemed weak, seemed unable to handle the pressure...

if she died at just the right moment... 

sylus would need to remarry, quickly. 

maybe someone close to the family.

he already has his heirs, he has freedom to choose his second wife.

 maybe someone who already knew the children, knew the household.

someone like his late wife's devoted sister.

the physician's hands shake. 

mei likely didn't even realize she was sick. just thought she was tired. overworked. getting older. 

the final dose, administered the night before mei's sudden illness, was massive. 

it triggered the acute symptoms everyone witnessed. the fever, the rapid decline.

it looked sudden because the final attack was sudden. 

but mei had been dying slowly for months.

he should have seen it. should have tested for toxins and poisons. 

but who would suspect anything? 

the court is silent, horrified.

sylus’ face is carved from stone, but you see his hands clench. 

he had thought mei died of natural illness. 

swift, tragic, but natural.

in truth, she was murdered. 

slowly. 

by someone she trusted, by someone she loved.

by her own sister.

but the physician continues. 

there's more, he says.

they found lingyue's private journals when they searched her chambers. 

plans. strategies. written in her own hand.

if luke and kieran could not be molded to love her as a mother, if they remained loyal to mei's memory, if they rejected her, she would arrange accidents. 

tragic accidents. 

children fall from horses. children eat poisoned sweets meant for someone else. 

children disappear during hunting trips.

then her own child, the one she planned to have with sylus, would become the sole heir.

the court erupts in horrified shouting.

luke and kieran sit frozen, faces pale. 

they are ten years old and just learned their aunt planned to murder them.

sylus' hands are shaking with barely controlled rage. 

not only did lingyue kill his wife, she also planned to kill his sons.

you feel sick. 

you had saved them without knowing. 

by becoming their stepmother, by winning their love, 

you had made them too visible, too beloved. 

lingyue could not touch them without suspicion falling on her.

so she had tried to destroy you instead.

the herbalist testifies next. 

tells how lingyue came to him years ago, asking about poisons. slow-acting ones that mimic natural illness. he had sold her what she wanted, he needed the money, did not ask questions. did not suspect anything.

the midwife admits she was paid to lie about examining lingyue, to confirm a pregnancy that never existed.

the servants confess to planting mei's jewelry in your chambers, to spreading rumors, to claiming they saw you near the shrine at odd hours. 

they beg for mercy, saying lingyue paid them, threatened them, they were afraid, they are only servants and easily disposable.

then the physician presents his final piece of evidence.

the report about your own miscarriage. 

the court goes utterly silent as he reads it aloud.

the empress had been pregnant. approximately two months along when the accusations began. she lost the babe during her confinement. the maid who attended her was sworn to secrecy, the empress believed no one would believe her. she was afraid.

every eye in the court turns to you.

you feel exposed. violated. your most private grief now public knowledge.

sylus doesn't look at you.

he can't look at you. 

his hands are white-knuckled on the armrests of his throne.

the physician's voice is heavy when he concludes. 

based on his investigation, the miscarriage was caused by a combination of extreme stress of the accusations, of the confinement, and the poison lingyue had been secretly administering through the teas she brought you.

the same poison she used on empress mei, but in smaller, more measured doses.

the court explodes into chaos.

lingyue is forced to confess the rest. 

everything.

she admits she forged the letters.

bribed the servants. 

planted mei's jewelry.

spread rumors through your former kingdom. 

she admits drugged sylus at the banquet, there was no child, could never be a child because sylus did not touch her, did not dishonor her, nothing happened between them that night and she faked it all.

and why did she cause your miscarriage instead of stealing your baby as she had originally planned?

the court goes silent, waiting.

lingyue's voice is bitter. 

because sylus would not exile you despite everything she did.

because he would not cast you aside even when most of the council is pressuring him to.

because he refuses to dissolve your marriage. 

you were still there, still visible, still technically empress. 

she could not steal a baby from a woman who was confined but not gone. 

there are too many potential witnesses, too many ears, too much risk.

so she made sure you lost it. 

the teas she brought you, gentle poisons, enough to weaken you, to make your body unable to sustain a pregnancy under the stress she was orchestrating.

she made sure your baby died.

and then she staged her own loss, blame it on you to gain more power, a higher position, protection. 

If she became noble consort, she would be untouchable, and sylus would be forced to share her bed as the laws dictate. 

her plan was perfect, with that rank and the council's support, sylus could never set her aside. and with you branded as a traitor and unfit mother, then he could never risk another child with you. 

the council would never allow it.

she had won or thought she had.

until luke and kieran brought proof of her crimes.

the court sits in stunned silence.

minister shen, emboldened by the confessions, demands to know. 

why? why would mei's own sister do such monstrous things?

lingyue's mask finally shatters completely.

she screams that she saw sylus first. 

she loved him first. 

she was fifteen and sylus was the most magnificent thing she had ever seen, strong, dangerous, beautiful. 

she attended a border negotiation with her father, and there he was.

she fell completely.

but when marriage discussions began two years later, sylus only had eyes for mei. 

mei, the legitimate daughter. 

mei with her grace and beauty and proper birth. 

mei who could be a real empress, not the bastard half-sister born to a concubine.

lingyue was never even considered. 

not for marriage. not for anything. 

just the illegitimate daughter, useful for nothing.

and mei knew, she claims.

mei knew lingyue loved sylus, and she took him anyway. 

flaunted her happiness. bore his children. became his empress. 

mei took everything while lingyue watched from the shadows, the eternal bastard sister.

so when sylus was preparing his conquests, when mei was tired and stressed and vulnerable, lingyue saw her chance. 

if mei couldn't handle being empress during wartime, if mei died when sylus needed someone strong...

the legitimate daughter had her turn. 

it was time for the bastard to take what should have been hers from the beginning.

the court is stunned into silence.

this wasn't about devotion to a dead sister. 

it was about jealousy, obsession, and a bastard's rage at being overlooked her entire life.

sylus looks like he's been struck. 

he never knew. 

never knew lingyue had been in love with him. 

never knew she harbored such hatred for her own sister.

you understand something in that moment. 

lingyue did not love sylus. she loved the idea of what he represented.

the legitimacy, power, being chosen over mei for once in her life. 

she wanted to take mei's place not out of love, but out of spite.

and she had been willing to murder everyone in her path to do it.

then lingyue's eyes find yours across the throne room.

her voice turns vicious, hysterical.

and you. 

you were just another obstacle. another woman who would get what lingyue was owed. 

it’s so much worse that you are a princess, the sole surviving royal blood from your kingdom that sylus had conquered.

it's so much worse that you are of marriageable age. 

so perfect, so noble, quickly winning over his sons, earning his respect in council.

 she had to destroy you before you became what mei was. 

beloved, secure, and untouchable.

she said that she should have just killed you outright. that she should have used stronger poison in that tea. that she should have slit your throat in your sleep instead of being patient, being careful.

and she should have killed mei’s precious sons too when she had the chance.

her eyes are wild, manic. she didn't expect this. didn't expect her downfall to come from children. 

ten-year-old boys who were supposed to love her, accept her, see her as their new mother.

instead they moved behind the shadows, they investigated. they found proof. they destroyed everything.

for you.

if she'd killed sylus's sons when they were smaller, easier targets, there would be no heirs left to challenge her own children. 

no one to question her story. no one clever enough to find the evidence. no one brave enough to do this for you.

her voice rises to a shriek. 

you ungrateful little beasts! i raised you! i cared for you after your mother died! after i killed her! and this is how you repay me?

guards have to restrain her as she lunges toward the boys.

luke's face is pale but his voice is steady. 

you killed our mother. you tried to kill our new mother. you planned to kill us. why would we ever love you?

kieran adds quietly. 

you were never our aunt. you were just a murderer wearing her face.

lingyue screams. 

a sound of pure rage and frustration and defeat.

she should have killed them, she continues to scream, should have killed all of you. should have burned the whole palace down rather than let sylus be happy with anyone but her.

the court continues to watch in horrified silence as she completely unravels.

this is a woman consumed by jealousy, entitlement, and obsessive rage. 

a woman who murdered her own sister, framed an innocent empress, planned to murder children, poisoned an unborn baby, and would have destroyed anyone who stood between her and what she believed she was owed.

sylus' face is stone. but his hands shake where they rest on his sons' shoulders protectively. 

you see the exact moment he understands the full truth of what almost happened. 

his wife, his real wife, his empress, nearly executed for crimes she didn't commit. 

his sons nearly murdered in their beds. his unborn child poisoned before it ever had a chance to live. 

his empire nearly handed to a madwoman who saw people as nothing but obstacles or tools.

all because he believed lies. 

because he trusted the wrong person. 

because he failed to see what was right in front of him.

sylus does not execute her quickly and does not grant her the mercy of a swift death.

first, he has her paraded through the capital in chains. 

every street, every market, every corner where she spread lies about you. 

heralds announce her crimes. treason. murder. fraud. attempted murder of the empress. conspiracy to murder the imperial heirs. poisoning the unborn heir.

the people throw garbage. rotting vegetables. stones. worse things.

lingyue screams the whole way. 

screams about how she deserved to be empress. how mei stole what was hers. 

how you are nothing but a conquered whore. 

how sylus' sons should have died with their mother.

by the time they drag her back to the palace, her voice is hoarse, her face bruised from thrown rocks, her fine robes filthy and torn.

then he strips her mother’s family of their titles. her aunts, uncles, and cousins who had helped in her schemes, who also wants her to be elevated, who also wants a fraction of power that she had wanted to gain.

he confiscates their lands. 

exiles them to the furthest borders of the empire, where they will live in disgrace for the rest of their lives.

for lingyue herself, he orders a public execution.

but first, the full trial. three days of evidence, testimony, witnesses. 

every detail laid bare.

on the third day, sentence is passed.

death by the same poison she used on mei and you.

not the slow accumulation mei suffered, lingyue doesn't deserve that much time. 

but the final dose. 

the killing dose. 

the one that burns and destroys in hours instead of months.

she's given it in wine, before the full court.

death takes six hours. 

fever first, climbing until she's delirious. then convulsions. difficulty breathing. her heart failing in stages.

the imperial physician monitors it all, documenting symptoms. 

this is medicine too, understanding how the poison killed, so it can never be used again. 

so physicians will recognize it if they ever see these symptoms again.

you attend the trial but leave before the execution begins. 

you have seen enough of her.

luke and kieran stay, not to watch her die, but to witness justice for their mother. 

they are old enough to understand. old enough to need this closure. 

sylus stays with them.

when it's over, lingyue's body is buried without honors in an unmarked ground outside the city walls. not in the family tombs. not anywhere sacred.

just dirt and shame.

her name is struck from all records except the criminal annals, where her crimes are preserved as warning.

you feel nothing but a hollow sense of finality.

mei can finally rest.

and maybe, finally, so can you.

Zayne's Ver | Caleb's Ver (being rewritten/edited) | Xavier's Ver (Next) | Rafayel's Ver (Coming Soon)

˙⋆✮ a/n: first of all, thank you so much for all the support for part one. i am so nervous about this. i think i mentioned in one of my fics that i am a huge game of thrones fan and i also enjoy historical dramas (there's a lot of got references i have added and lingyue and mei are also partially inspired by shin and lihua from the apothecary diaries). i love the schemes, court politics, and drama a lot that i may have went all out and added too much for this. i hope it is not too dark.

if i missed a tag for the cw, please please let me know!

Please let me know what you think and yes, there's going to be part three.

thank you once again for all your support and i hope you enjoyed reading. T_T

˙⋆✮ tag list: @seraphineash, @loreleis-world, @fruitymoonbeams-blog, @lazypostfandomer, @cutelilygarden, @inzanekillian, @kingraspberry12-blog, @txtworlddom, @aranarum, @mermaid-crystal69, @bloomingbirdiez, @wondermilka, @peachmartini, @suhsun4, @valiantchaosvalkyrie, @vellihor, @zop8zop, @emneedshelp, @haydeesgarden

tag list is open, please dm, comment, or send ask

[nyxserenity0815]

(˵¯͒〰¯͒˵)

[nyxserenity0815]

Omg omg main story branch gonna be updated!!!! Sylusssssss

[leighsartworks216]

Sitting on a swinging bench with Sylus, leaning against his side, head on his chest. You're fast asleep, but even still he keeps humming. Gentle fingers, hands that have murdered and hurt and killed, playing with your hair. Deep red eyes that terrify, softened as he watches over you

Soft petals dance on the wind and land in your hair. He chuckles softly as he brushes them aside, stirring you awake. Your face scrunches up, consciousness starting to set in, but Sylus shushes you and pulls your head back in against his chest and tells you to go back to sleep. A minute of his humming, and you're slipping away again

Your child has slipped away from the Twin's babysitting, running barefoot over to the bench. Sylus has to gently shush them, too, telling them to be quiet, it's your naptime, as he helps them up into his lap. They curl up against him, staring at you and the round swell of your belly. They look up at him, pointing at it

"My new baby brother is in there?"

He smiles, nods. "Or baby sister."

They stare again. "How does it fit?"

"They're very small right now," he whispers. "You were once that size."

"Really?" they gasp

"Mhm."

You stir with a small sound of discomfort. Sylus holds you closer, rubbing soothing circles over your bump. He feels the source; this baby has been restless, kicking his poor dear so often you don't get to sleep at night

Your child frowns in worry as they watch on. "What's wrong with mama?"

Sylus kisses their head reassuringly. "The baby is moving around. It can be uncomfortable. Do you want to feel it?"

They nod excitedly. He takes their little hand and guides it over the last spot he felt it. They wait a moment together. Then- kick! Your child jolts a little in surprise at the feeling, pulling their hand back with a gasp that has Sylus chuckling to himself. He reacted much the same way the first time he felt them kick in the womb. You'd laughed at the concern on his face, just before another kick knocked the wind out of you. He smiles fondly at the memory, at the joy of being new parents

You stir again, and he returns to comforting you. He taps your child on the back. "Run along and play now," he says. "Mama needs to keep resting."

They nod and slip off his lap. They look at you and your swollen belly a moment longer, before running off, back to tormenting the Twins

Sylus gently rocks the swing back and forth, back and forth, humming a song once more. It's one you'd introduced him to, though you'd never recognize it. You haven't cared for a long time about that, though; you just like the way his voice sounds

The spring afternoon passes in peace

[lighting-and-shadow]

Ikigai, Part 5

Summary: You’re desperately in love with a man who already belongs to another.

Ikigai (n.) (Japanese): "A reason for being," the thing that gets you up in the morning.

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 6

You awake to Sylus next to you. You aren’t cuddled up in his arms like you were a few days ago. Rather, he cradles one of your hands in his. It’s surrounded in his warmth.

You’re half tempted to keep it that way, to soak in this little moment because you know that odds are you won’t be getting many of these in the near future. You ignore that part of you and carefully remove your hand from his.

He tries to resist, even while in deep slumber (the man’s always slept like the dead since you started regularly sleeping in the same room). It’s adorable, like he can’t bare to let you go so much that it shows up in his sleep. You smile down at him drowsily.

You move your other hand to stroke his hair. Sylus thankfully doesn’t stir awake. You need this moment to yourself. Because while you’re still hurt by his words, you’ve missed his touch. You’ve missed the quiet moments of intimacy the two of you would have with each other daily.

Somedays you’d curl up on one of the couches as you’d read a book to him, either because he was being lazy that day or because it was in a language he didn’t speak (you learned many languages during your time in the auction and wandering about). Others you’d just sit in the living room together, him disassembling and reassembling a gun while you cut a jewel he got you from a client. On rare occasions, you’d dance with him and the twins early in the morning playing some obscure vinyl record.

Small moments were what made up you two’s relationship. Small moments that mean the world to you. You twirl a lock of his hair on your finger, just letting yourself relax.

Sylus’ stirring shatters the quiet scene. You jerk your hand away as fast as possible. Seeing those crimson eyes again just reminds you of what he said.

“Have you awaken, sleeping beauty?” You tease.

Your voice is hoarse. And Sylus quickly moves to grab you some water. You take small sips, surprised by how abused your throat feels.

I wasn’t asleep for that long, was I?

Sylus, sensing your confusion, whispers, “You were screaming before you passed out.”

You flush at his words. Screaming? You don’t remember doing that.

You stare down at the cup in your hands. Despite Sylus’ gentle tone and expression, you couldn’t help but be embarrassed. Having a mental breakdown was bad enough. But screaming your lungs out to the point of hurting your voice? That was just pathetic.

“Maybe I finally cracked under the weight of my foolish boss and his many messes?”

Your words are meant to be light-hearted; they do the exact opposite. Sylus’ face falls, and you watch his thread thrash like a wild animal. It’s alive with a storm of emotion. And you caused it.

The more vengeful part of you is satisfied by this. He’s caused you so much turmoil over the past few days. A little pain could do him good. He’s lied to you, and broken your heart. Not that he knows the latter or how deep the former goes.

Because despite working and being with Sylus for so long, you’ve never told him the truth. Not about your abilities nor about your past. Sure, you’ve told him bits and pieces, little stories about your childhood and what you did for work before Onychinus. But not the hard stuff.

You’ve never told him about the depth of the abandonment, of the betrayal of so many. You’ve never told him how far your loneliness runs. You’ve never told him that you have no soulmate. You’ve never told him what you could see.

You’ve wanted to. Many times, in fact, have the words almost slipped past your lips. But you’ve never let them truly fall out. Because why would you tempt history repeating itself?

“You changed my clothes?” You break the tension with a silly question.

The large, fancy black shirt smells of him. Of his cologne, and the unique scent that is Sylus. It clings to your skin. You love it.

“We both know mine suit you better, Gamayun.”

His voice isn’t as steady as usual. It trembles.

“Are you insulting my preferences?”

You turn to him.

“No. Just saying that mine will always be better.”

He looks at you with a soft expression. His hands drift to yours, fingers encircling your wrists and allowing the rest of your hands to sit on his palms. His eyes never leave yours during this. He’s studying you for any discomfort or any sign of you not wanting his touch. As if you ever could.

When you accept his touch, his eyes light up. The smile he gives you melts your heart.

“Keep telling yourself that foolish man.”

It’s a beat of silence between the two of you.

“I’m sorry, Gamayun,” you almost don’t hear what he says. “I’m so sorry.”

Sylus’ head is bowed to you. He looks so small at the foot of the bed. You want to reach out and hold him, cradle him in your arms and let him be safe there. Just like you did the first time you two got drunk together and just talked about your pasts.

You think that was the moment you started falling for him: when you realized there was someone just as lonely and broken as you. Him, the last fiend, and you, the only person to ever be born without a soulmate. Him, blessed with the power to see people’s desires, and you, cursed to see the love which you can never have.

It’s poetic. And it hurts. It hurts how perfect you are for one another, but the universe decided against you two.

The feeling of Sylus’ eyes on you reminds you that you haven’t responded to his plea. He doesn’t reach out to touch you. It feels strangely empty. But you suppose it’s best you get used to this now rather than later.

“I don’t accept,” you force out.

You turn your head away from Sylus. Seeing whatever expression he has on his face now will weaken your resolve.

“Oh,” the small sound Sylus lets out is beyond painful.

“Yes, “oh,”” you dig your heart’s and your relationship with Sylus’ grave further with each word out of your mouth. “Did you think a simple apology would make me happy?”

Under normal circumstances, yes. If Sylus had said practically anything else to you during your argument, than an apology probably could’ve soothed you. But he said those words, those cursed words. The words that’ve torn through so many of your relationships. The words that rendered promises meaningless and time worthless.

He said those words. And thus, you don’t have it in your heart to forgive him.

“You can’t smooth this over like usual.”

Sylus wilts the more you speak. The large, imposing, figure he stouts shrinks upon your every word. You keep your eyes away from him, as if ignoring him will make the pain of what you’re doing soften.

“You’ve betrayed my trust, Sylus,” you say his name firmly as a reminder to yourself and him to not waiver and keep the boundary you’ve set up. “You’ve betrayed it in such a way I didn’t think you of all people could.”

Saying it aloud makes the hurt fresh all over again. It makes you go back to all the times where you’ve been in this position. All the times where people you thought cared for you hurt you the second they found their soulmate.

And the more it hurts, the more you laugh at yourself. You knew this would happen. You knew the second you fell in love with him this would happen.

But you still act like a victim. You still hurt the man you love because he committed the simple crime of loving his soulmate instead of you.

“I just need you to trust me on this. Please. This will all be over soon.”

Over because he’ll leave you, that dark, annoying, voice in your head whispers. Over because he’ll abandon you like all the rest.

“It is you who doesn’t trust me, Sylus. That’s how this all started. You didn’t trust me, which caused my trust in you to waver. I do not need to do anything for you.”

“How can I fix this?”

“Telling me the truth would be a start.”

He says nothing. You fall apart every second he doesn’t speak.

Why? Why are you so willing to protect her?

You ask the question despite knowing the answer: because soulmates are everything. You’ll never compare to her.

“Than can you even say you’re truly sorry? Or are you just trying to appease me?”

“Of course not. You know I never say anything I don’t mean.”

“So you meant to use those words exactly? You meant to shut me out? You meant to permanently warp our relationship?”

“That’s not what I—“

“Than what did you mean, Sylus?” You spit out his name like it’s poison; he flinches like you stabbed him. “Because that’s what I think you meant. We had a deal when I came to work for you, with you. And you broke it.”

Sylus whipped to face you. He has a wild look in his eyes, and his lips begin to quiver. It’s as if he can guess your next words.

“You gave me your word that you’d never lie to me. You promised me. And yet you’ve done exactly that.”

You take a shaky breath before you land the death blow, “I have every right to walk out of here, right here, right now.”

Sylus’ hand zip out to grab you by the shoulders. He forces you to face him. You could almost cry from how scared he looks. There’s an almost feral glow in his gaze, like the dragon he once was is bleeding into view again but just through his eyes. As if you’re some important piece of his hoard and someone’s trying to take you.

It burns you to do this to him. Because abandonment and loneliness is something the two of you bonded on. But broken trust is also something you bonded on. And he broke yours. And he’ll continue to break it for her.

“You either tell me the truth, or….”

“Or what?” Sylus sounds choked up, as if he’s about to cry.

“I don’t know yet. Maybe I’ll leave. Or maybe I’ll just stop being your Gamayun. I haven’t decided yet.”

You try to breath to steady yourself, your entire body vibrating with that one inhale, before finishing, “But none of that will happen if you just tell me the truth.”

“It is the truth. What I have with her and what I have with you cannot be compared.”

You say nothing more. You knew that; by God, you knew that. But it still hurts.

Why?

Why is he so willing to go so far for the woman who killed him? He’d risk you, his partner, for her. Lie to you. Hurt you. Betray you.

Leave you, a voice in your head says.

But not her. Not his killer. He’ll protect her no matter the cost. But you? You’re nothing. You’re nothing compared to the woman that he let take his life. Would he do such a thing for you?

No.

He knows she killed him. Murdered him. Shoved a claymore deep into his chest and ripped his life from him.

But he still loves her.

How could you possibly compete with that?

You quickly sit up further in Sylus’ bed to swing your legs to side of it. You needed to get up. You couldn’t stew in these thoughts any longer.

“Where… where are you going? Why are you running off?”

“And what would telling you accomplish? You have your secrets, I have mine.”

Sylus pulls back as if you’ve burned him. It’s a low blow, sure, but you’re no longer in a state to care. You just need to get out. So even though all you wear is his shirt, undergarments, and loose shorts, you leave the room. A brief glimpse of the closet you share with him reminds you that you’ll have to move your stuff soon.

Wouldn’t do good for Miss Hunter to see that. She’ll misunderstand.

Just like you’ve misunderstood. You’re not his. He’s not yours.

Author's Note: sort of comfort (?) next chapter. Not from Sylus though...

I'm so fucking mean.

Taglist: @eolivy, @rafayelridesfisheatsfish, @animegamerfox, @jasperjokester, @schrodingerskimdokja, @just--crys, @snowdynasty, @shi-thats-kiera, @mansonofmadness, @dwuclvr, @ameilli, @katiedoesstuff101, @everythingistaken00, @napa-the-yappa, @hanaluxx, @lovesick-sylus, @tenaciouszombiewombat, @ladyparamount, @applepi405, @midnight-reverie, @69-gojos-wife-69, @bellagrayson-wayne, @phisen, @idkmanimjusthorny, @munchychuusy, @autumn2534, @poptrim, @sillyfreakfanparty, @zaynesfirefly, @flamedancer13, @thissmartdumbass, @mrsllawliet, @jeondyy, @ssetsuka, @dels-page, @that-lost-one, @johnnysactualgf, @mariquitas-en-verano @toelady, @sinnamon-bunn, @yesbiaswrecked, @doggyteam2028, @little-rays-of-darkness, @albatrossblue, @vyntheria, @silverianni, @browneyedgirl22, @tiklestar, @beaconsxd, @pepperushia

[lighting-and-shadow]

Ikigai, Part 6

Summary: You’re desperately in love with a man who already belongs to another.

Ikigai (n.) (Japanese): "A reason for being," the thing that gets you up in the morning.

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5

The mess inside your head is interrupted by noise. Noise coming from the entrance and sounding suspiciously like the twins. And you smile. Dealing with them and whatever nonsense they’ve gotten themselves into will provide a great distraction. So you pick up the pace and hurry to them.

The sight before you is a bit comedic: Miss Hunter and the twins. Or rather, Miss Hunter walking towards the exit of the base with the twins snickering behind her.

“Luke. Kieran. Whatever in the world are you doing?”

All three of them turn to face you. Miss Hunter has a brief look of relief on her face before it shifts to guilt.

“I… can explain?”

“Are you asking me or telling me?”

You laugh a little at her startled expression; you just couldn’t help teasing her. The way she freely expresses herself is adorable. You can read her like a book. And she provides something to take your mind off Sylus, despite being his soulmate.

Stop that. Don’t go there.

You shake off your thoughts as you watch Luke waves what appears to be a pen behind Miss Hunter.

“Apparently this was meant to be a new dangerous weapon made by the Hunters’ Association. Mean ole Miss Hunter here threatened us with it, so we had no choice but to bring her here, Lady Boss.”

Normally, any threat to the twins would set you off. And judging by Luke’s smug attitude, he expected as much. Kieran just walks over to you while shaking his head at his twin’s actions.

You just laugh. Not a full belly laugh, but a small one. Luke pouts (not that you can see his face, but you can just tell). Kieran tilts his head at you, and it reminds you of Mephisto. You imagine he’s somewhere observing this interaction.

And Mephisto means Sylus. And Sylus means heartbreak, the exact thing you came out here to avoid.

You chastise your thoughts, straighten your back, and face the chaos before you.

“What?” Miss Hunter’s so flustered you can’t hold back a smile. “I wanted out.”

“You could’ve just called for me. I told, I’d let you go anywhere. No questions. No fuss. And no “dangerous” new hunter weapons needed.”

The twins snicker. You take the pen from Luke, and pretend to look at it carefully.

“Wherever did you get such a “weapon” anyway?”

“You’re asking me where I got a pen?” She’s incredulous.

“Yes. Luke and Kieran don’t tend to carry them. And there certainly isn’t any as dastardly as a pen lying around the base.”

The twins snicker more. Miss Hunter’s cheeks puff out before she huffs.

“Oh. You’re making fun of me.”

“Am I? I’m genuinely curious.”

Miss Hunter just stares at you. You stare back, smile on your face and twirling the pen between your fingers.

“I had it on me,” she finally coughs out.

“Ah. I see.”

You walk up to her, and slip the pen into her pocket. Miss Hunter just gives you a look.

“What? I’m returning your weapon to you.”

“Are you ever going to stop with that?”

Her tone doesn’t match the smile that threatens to cross her face. She even turns to face you more, relaxed and open, even with the glares she occasionally shoots the twins. Said twins are just cackling behind you.

“The pen is mightier than the sword, my friend. Or, I guess gun would be more appropriate for you. You don’t seem like the sword type.”

Miss Hunter playfully shoves you. And you briefly wonder what it is you did to get her to be so… normal and fun with you.

Maybe some good can come from my little episode earlier.

Your throat still tightens at the thought. The sword in Sylus. Your own feelings of desperation. The way the world seemed to squeeze and chain your lungs.

It’s not something you’ll be forgetting any time soon.

A familiar sound thankfully brings you out of your thoughts. You’re not so thankful for it once your brain registers what’s causing it. Or, rather, who.

Sylus leans against his motorcycle at the entrance. Your eyes skim over his appearance. He’s far more put together than he was just a few minutes ago. And his face is hard, completely void of the pain and worry he had earlier.

One second, you two are locked in some strange staring contest. The next, his Evol is wrapping around Miss Hunter and pulling her away. You reach out for her. She just shakes her head at you, so you stop.

Sylus tosses a helmet at Miss Hunter. He looks at you with pleading eyes, as if searching for your reaction. You ignore him and instead try to comfort his struggling soulmate. You do deign to give Sylus your gaze like he clearly wants. But you only do so to give him the coldest look you can muster.

He flinches. The twisted side of you is happy. He gets to feel a fraction of the hurt you’ve been carrying.

“We’re going out,” he turns to face the twins as he forces her onto his motorcycle “We’ll be back soon.”

Sylus doesn’t even spare you a glance before they speed off. You stare at the place they once stood with a wistful expression.

“Um… Lady Boss?” Kieran taps his hand on your arm cautiously, his brother fidgeting beside him.

“Hmm?” You respond, heading back inside and towards Sylus’ room.

“Are you and Boss-man fighting?” Luke asks this time.

His words make you falter. While it isn’t entirely surprising that the twins would notice something is up between you and Sylus, it still messes with you. They have to suffer because of your issues. They’re affected by the adults in their in lives not getting along.

And here I thought this would never happen.

The boys have known nothing but instability and pain before you took them in. And you vowed to make sure they never experienced that again. Yet here you were, scrambling for the right words to convince them that everything is fine and nothing was wrong.

“Luke!”

“What? They’ve been acting weird for a while.”

Kieran puts his head between his hands, a gesture not unlike the one you do when Sylus says or does something especially stupid. Luke ignores him, much like Sylus does when you put your head in your hands because of his stupid actions.

“How so?”

Luke and Kieran look at each other for a moment.

“Normally you two can’t your hands off each other. Now, you can’t even stand to be in a room with Boss-man for long.”

You wince at Luke’s words. Kieran elbows his twin before he turns to you.

“You make us sound like trashy romcom couple.”

“You are,” they both say.

You chuckle at them, “We are not.”

Silence falls between you three for a moment. Then, Kieran speaks up.

“Doesn’t change the fact that there’s something go on between the two of you.”

He and his twin both step closer to you. Even Luke has dropped the joking atmosphere. So you do too, ready to convince them.

You mean lie to them, the annoying voice in your head says.

“Why do you say that?”

“I just told you Lady Boss: you avoid Boss-man like the plague.”

Because he is one, you almost say, clinging to the usual banter and silliness you have with the twins. But you stifle yourself before the words come out.

“Give me examples, boys.”

“You don’t sleep in the same room,” Luke says.

“You don’t eat off each other’s plates,” Kieran speaks this time.

“Boss-man isn’t standing right beside you right now,” the two speak together now.

“So something’s up,” Kieran concludes.

“Alright, alright. You got me.”

The boys puff out their chests in pride. You smile.

“But in case you haven’t noticed, we have a unique guest in our house at the moment. And I don’t want to give the poor woman the wrong impression of my relationship to Sylus.”

“Why’s that?” They both ask.

Because she’s his soulmate. Because she’s everything to him, and I’m just his business partner that’s tragically in love with him.

“Because I need her to trust me. You three fools already kidnapped her. Nothing good will come out of her thinking she’s all alone with no one to support her.”

“Okay. That makes sense.”

You almost let a sigh of relief pass your lips. But Luke’s question stifles it.

“But than why is Boss-man groveling to you?”

“Groveling? He has not been groveling.”

“He makes your favorite meals more often,” Luke says.

“He plays your favorite records,” Kieran speaks up.

“He stays out of fights,” they speak in sync again.

Your hear warms at their words, little reminders of what Sylus has done over the past few days. He’s always been weirdly doting of you, even when your partnership was new. When you got closer, it got more intense.

Random days off. Card games and wine at 3 am. Karaoke and dancing that he swears he hates but does because it makes you smile. Him giving you new gems and equipment to make whatever piece strike your fancy. The list goes on and on.

It’s been more intense since your fight. Any business you have is up to your discretion to attend. He results to violence only when absolutely necessary, and not when he’s bored. He does the boring parts of his job: paperwork, meetings, the works.

He tells you everything, even when you don’t ask. The smallest detail and the biggest plans are all things you know. He talks to you despite the fact that you don’t say anything to him. He texts you even though all you do is leave him on read.

He just won’t broach one subject: Miss Hunter. It’s as if he’s trying to make her disappear from your life.

“We had a fight about Miss Hunter,” is all you can think of to say.

The twins go silent at that. And you regret your words instantly.

Stupid, stupid, stupid.

“What exactly did he do? Because if he upset you, we can avenge you.” Luke, the chaotic boy that he is, has an eager voice when he suggests this.

“Yeah. Boss-man won’t know what hit him.” His brother, while more calm, is just as eager.

“He’ll be begging for mercy,” they say together.

You imagine the sparkle in their eyes as they say this. You imagine it, and you mouth widens from the smile that image causes.

The twins look at you expectantly. They’re waiting, hoping, for you to say something. To tell them what happened. To let them help you as you’ve helped them.

You almost tell them. You almost tell your boys about the words Sylus told you and the pain they caused. They’d understand. As two people who grew up with no one but each other to rely on, they’d understand.

But the more you look at them, body language telling you that they’re desperate and want to help you, the more you shove that feeling down. You couldn’t do that to them. So instead you do something else.

“Your mask is crooked,” you adjust Luke’s mask as you speak, patented smile on your face; Luke lifts his own hands to cover yours, something he and his brother have seen Sylus do to you multiple times.

It gnaws at. Claws and scrapes like the talons of the bird the mask is based on.

That simple touch reminds you of why starting over this time would be so hard: the twins. Luke and Kieran respected and listened to you more than Sylus at times. You were the one to save them. You made them their masks. You helped them pull their first prank. You bandaged them up after their first job.

The twins were your family far before you loved Sylus. And they’ll be your family far after he abandons you for his own love.

That’s why you say, “Everything is as it should be between me and Sylus. Things have just been a bit hectic with Miss Hunter’s arrival, and it caused a bit of an argument. Everything’ll be back to normal in no time. I’ll even go right now and make something for a new prank you can pull when it does.”

It’s a lie. A cruel and unjust lie. The “normal” of you and Sylus’ relationship has been shattered.

But a slower transition is needed.

You can’t just go cold turkey; your heart won’t handle it, and the twins will just ask more questions otherwise.

With your plan in place, and the twins satisfied for now, you leave. You pass by the room Miss Hunter’s staying in, and a thought occurs to you. And you make mental sketches of your plan on your way to your destination.

Alone in your workshop crafting a gift for Sylus’ soulmate isn’t a position you thought you’d ever be in. When you first came to work for him, his soulmate was the last thing on your mind.

When you began to get closer to him, you vowed to make the two of them happy no matter the cost.

When you began to have a crush on him, you selfishly wished for all your heart that his soulmate would never appear.

When you fell in love with him, you cried yourself to sleep knowing that once again you’d have to break your own heart for someone else’s happiness. And that this time, you’d do it with a smile on your face, with no regrets. You’ll play your part in their love story, and then you’ll leave.

But how?

Because unlike all the other times you’ve packed up your life, you’re needed here. As a business partner and for the twins. They deserved better than you walking out simply due to a falling out between you and Sylus. And, judging by your conversation from earlier, they already sensed something was off. They already feared the worst.

Your hands remember the grip they both had on them. Strong and unwavering. Much like the grip they had the first night they stayed at the base. Much like they still do to this day when you had solo missions. Sure, they worked for Sylus, but they were your boys.

You gave them their masks when you found out they were afraid of their own reflections. You built them all their tools and gadgets, even the more outlandish ones you knew were solely for pranks. You gave them their freedom.

So how in the world could you just leave?

As you stare at the earrings you’re making, an idea hits you. Miss Hunter. She’ll be your protege.

She’s already taken my place in Sylus’ heart. Why not extend that?

You smile to yourself as you set the jewels. It’s a grim and hopeless smile you haven’t had for quite sometime. But you cling to it all the same. You need this smile. Just like you need to leave your family behind. Again.

Tears fall down your face, but you ignore them. It’s what you do best.

@eolivy, @rafayelridesfisheatsfish, @animegamerfox, @jasperjokester, @schrodingerskimdokja, @just--crys, @snowdynasty, @shi-thats-kiera, @mansonofmadness, @dwuclvr, @ameilli, @katiedoesstuff101, @everythingistaken00, @napa-the-yappa, @hanaluxx, @lovesick-sylus, @tenaciouszombiewombat, @ladyparamount, @applepi405, @midnight-reverie, @69-gojos-wife-69, @bellagrayson-wayne, @phisen, @idkmanimjusthorny, @munchychuusy, @autumn2534, @poptrim, @sillyfreakfanparty, @zaynesfirefly, @flamedancer13, @thissmartdumbass, @mrsllawliet, @jeondyy, @ssetsuka, @dels-page, @that-lost-one, @johnnysactualgf, @mariquitas-en-verano @toelady, @sinnamon-bunn, @yesbiaswrecked, @doggyteam2028, @little-rays-of-darkness, @albatrossblue, @vyntheria, @silverianni, @browneyedgirl22, @tiklestar, @beaconsxd, @pepperushia

[nyxserenity0815]

Sylussss oh mah goddd.

[nyxserenity0815]

Sylussss oh mah goddd.

[nyxserenity0815]

Aughh he's so lover boy coded

[harblkun]

Not explicitly a birthday phone call but I don’t care.

Happy birthday, Sylus. (*´꒳`*)

[lunaekalenda]

The Heir's Favorite

warnings for the series: smut (only part two), mid violence (generally not explicit)

warnings for this chapter: referred violence. mentions of decapitation (non explicit), suggestive, kinda manipulation from sylus? i swear the fluff comes on the next

part one - part two - part three

You keep your head low, eyes fixed on the luxurious floor, decorated with golden flowers and red jewels. All this luxury, the velvety curtains the guards made to a side for you to enter, the shining of a golden vase in a near rich wood table, the scent of the most aromatic vanilla, makes you dizzy. You can't hear steps, you can't hear nothing, as if the whole chamber became silent to make your heartbeat even more noticeable. The guards that brought you here less than half an hour ago are also silent, as they were while you spent time on the Harem with the rest of the concubines. After dressing up, a strong voice called you, your name, out of all the concubines. All the chats from the room became silence, as all the concubines looked directly at you. You were called. You were summoned. You.

It's well known it's been almost a year since anyone was called. Sylus - the Imperial Prince, the Crow, the Heir. - has been on his title since the coronation of his own cousin, the actual Emperor, the one that started the Harem you got into by chance. And, since that last night the Emperor called a couple of you, you've been living quietly. Never stressed over the fact he would call you, after all, not even the Emperor spent a night with you once. You don't think it'll be different with the Heir.

Maybe you're too shy, too laid back, too silent. Maybe your hair is not the length he likes, or your hips the size of his hands. Maybe he's not particularly interested in you. But then, it happened, and now, here you are, kneeling on the cold floor of the palace, in front of the Heir's throne, waiting for him. Your heart beats fast, faster than ever before, as you hear the metallic sound of the blades against the floor. Quiet, serene steps approach you from behind.

"For some reason, my dear cousin loved to keep track of every single concubine he ever had." the voice is deep, harsh, strong. It sounds behind you, but also in front. It's so powerful it seems to be everywhere. "Yet your name was never mentioned. Not even once." the steps sound dangerously close to your head. "I found it, though. Wrote on rough letters, on a paper hidden between the rest. You were the last to enter the Harem, and the only words of my cousin were that your shyness kills your beauty." The crack on wood indicates you he is now sitting on his throne. "If that so, lift up your head."

You feel your palms sweaty against your dress, and your cheeks feel hot when you lift your head up slowly, to meet the most attractive man you've ever seen. His red eyes are intense, fixed on you, and you feel like he can read every thought passing through your mind. His angles are sharp, and his white hair falls elegantly on his forehead. He tilts his head, giving you a side smile. "Indeed, very beautiful." he murmurs, in low voice. His words make your face heat up, and his brow raises slowly, amused by your reaction. Your eyes move from his face back to the floor, before searching the courage to speak.

"Thank you, Your Highness." your voice trembles as you speak. His steps are heard again, walking around you. You fear he'll kick you from the Harem. It's not the life you've dreamt of, that's true, but you can eat hot and sleep warm.

His steps stop suddenly behind you, before you hear the rushed ones of the guards, who leave and close the big ornamented doors of the main entrance. Now you're alone. You wait, patiently, but with your heart racing against your chest. After what seem ages, he speaks.

"Do you fear me?" he asks, voice even lower. He's still behind you, and you're still too nervous to take your gaze up. But, do you really fear him? Until now, he has only been a shadow around the Imperial Palace. Nothing more than a man surrounded by guards, nothing more than a name. But, still, your life always depended on him. Your stance at the Harem, your food, your bed, your body. Everything you are, everything you have, belongs to him. The mere thought of making him angry terrifies you. You've seen enough swords beheading fellow Harem members to risk being next. You take air.

"I do, your Highness." you confess. He walks again, until you're able to see the tip of his shoes in front of you, before he kneels. His hand takes your head, softly, so sweetly, it doesn't match with him, with his fierceness, his hardness. Your eyes find his, and he seems to freeze, his eyes turning softer for a second, before he raises a brow. Anything you saw on his expression is suddenly gone.

"Good. Fear assures loyalty." His thumb caresses your cheek, dangerously close to your lips, before he talks again. "You're interesting." his eyes scan your face, your eyes, your lips. They keep going down, your jaw, your neck, your collarbone. He moistens his lips with his tongue, quietly, and all the blood rushes to your cheeks. Oh, goddess. He chuckles. "Something happened? Your face became hot to my touch." His palm leaves your cheek, but his fingers dance on your skin, sweetly, softly, caressing from the corner of your lips down to your neck. "My cousin might have found you too shy to enjoy." he whispers. His chest rises when he takes air, getting dangerously close to you, with your knees between his. "But, I'm not him."

You understand what he implied with that sentence. Will you be called as the rest of the Harem is? Will he summon you to his chambers from time to time? Will you - maybe - have to join another Harem member?

You want to cry. Why? You've been safe all this years, between the shadows of the Harem, unnoticed, untouched. Why does he have to put his eye on you?

"Although, there's something no one in the Harem can do, and I'm sure you'll think about it. Something no one can offer." He stands up. He asks you to do the same with a movement of his fingers, more an order than a request. He walks towards his throne with fluid motion, where he sits, hand resting on his temple. You stand in front of him, looking down at your own shoes, unable to look at him. The room is too silent, and you feel too little between the big dragon pillars and the enormous seat he's occupying. "Promise me loyalty." his question makes you look up violently, your eyes colliding with his. His posture on the throne - relaxed, stretched. - makes him even bigger. "Promise me loyalty as your Prince, and I'll do so as my concubine." your face shocks with his words. He moves his hand, asking you to get closer to the throne. The open-mouthed jade dragon on top of it welcomes you when you arrive. Less than a step away from him. His eyes shine with something dangerous. "Move from the Harem to this palace. I'll make sure you'll have everything you need. Food, baths, a bed." All his promises are sweetening your ears. "Offer me your loyalty and I can make you my queen." You stand there, frozen, confused. One answer he doesn't like, and your head will be the price to pay for your mistakes. Is he offering? Is he demanding? You find yourself nodding out of fear, although, the promise of a better life draws you to say yes.

"Say it." are his only words.

"Yes, your Highness. I offer my loyalty, myself and my body." You try to sound convincing, and he smiles.

"Interesting. I will keep my part of the promise. I expect the same from your side." He reclines back into his throne, still looking directly at you. "You may leave now. Gather your things on the Harem and I'll send two guards to bring you to your new place." With a quick nod, you leave the throne room as fast as you can.

When you arrive to the Harem, you feel the change in the air. They're no longer workmates, they're enemies. Their hateful gazes and the whispers you can hear while taking your things indicate so. You ignore all of them, quickly putting all your things in a tiny chest, just in time for the guards to pick you up. Walking between the rest of the Harem with your belongings, you feel targeted. You're not another concubine; you've been chosen personally by the Heir. You follow them at a normal distance, your room silent when you arrive, way too good for only you. "The Heir awaits you for a nocturne game of Mahjong. New clothes are on the bed. Don't be late, he doesn't like to wait."

The guards leave you in the silence of your new room, as you scan the bed. Between the new clothes - all of them of the highest quality." you find yourself attracted to a red gown, the color of blood. You change into that and walk in the labyrinthine corridors before standing in front of the golden gates of his chambers. Catching your breath, you knock. His voice sounds deep from inside.

"Enter."

And your destiny is sealed while you push the golden dragon knob, entering the Heir's room.

taglist: @i-am-silver @strawbunnydrop22 @princess-harvey @houmi

[aomiiine-deactivated20260202]

age gap (20’s-30’s), creampie, finger sucking, spanking, fem!reader

DILF! sylus who’s your newly moved neighbour that you simply can’t stop being curious about. The moment you saw him at the house warming party you went to with your family, you couldn’t stop yourself from catching repeated glances at him, often mentally reprimanding yourself to stop gawking at him. But another part of you couldn’t resist to, taking in his defined features into your memory. His sculpted nose, striking sharp crimson eyes narrowed to slits by default that you noticed softened a fraction whenever he looked at you. His older age seemed to play no factor in his looks, more so his well kept body which you could very well see from the fit clothes he often wore beneath his coats.

DILF! sylus who simply couldn’t resist chuckling beneath his breath whenever you ran off when he caught your gaze from a distance, the sight of your flustered expression urging him to follow after you. He had to play a good host and make sure his guest was well, after all. What kind of host would he if one of his guests are even the slightest bit in discomfort?

DILF! sylus who intends on relieving your discomfort by bending you over the arm of his couch, keeping a hand over your mouth from behind while cooing reassurances and praise, reminding you with a reasonable spank on your plump rear whenever you got too loud that the rest of the guests out in his courtyard might hear. He would never call your eager hips fucking back onto his cock slutty, nor your moans. But his actions would certainly make sure you’d feel it, utter erotica that brought you shame which only fuelled your pleasure. Alternating fingers past your lips and making you suck on them, choke on them to purposely have you whine louder.

DILF! sylus who’d make sure he’s bullying his girth inside your tight channel with long, deep strokes, putting his free hand to use by grabbing and squeezing the curve of your ass relentlessly, undoubtedly leaving crescent marks and slaps that would leave their own remnants the next morning. He’d tug you closer against him, tilting your head up with the hand he kept over your lips, making sure your sobbing expression would be exposed for anyone to see would any of them enter the living room. But that wouldn’t happen, he’d be balls buried inside your spasming pussy first, dick pulsating as jet and jet of scalding hot cum painted your womb, triggering your own inevitable orgasm that would leave you limp and quivering in the aftermath.

Don’t worry though, DILF! sylus would be there to take care of you, nurse you back to health and bring you back home before anyone could suspect a thing. Then he’ll be able to pursue you correctly—maybe even introduce you his daughter.

[sylusslittlekitten]

30 Days of Sylus: Birthday Advent Calendar - Luke and Kieran Style

Hosted by ©Sylusslittlekitten - All rights reserved

Crack Post Masterlist here

Presented by Luke and Kieran

LUKE: Welcome to what may or may not be the most intense emotional hostage situation of the year—also known as Sylus’ Birthday Month.

KIERAN: That’s right. We don’t know when the man was born. Could be today. Could be tomorrow. Could’ve crawled out of an ancient crater. Who’s to say?

LUKE: So instead of not celebrating, like normal people, we decided to take the completely rational route and throw him a birthday... every single goddamn day.

KIERAN: You’re welcome.

LUKE: Some say it’s overkill. Some say it’s harassment.

KIERAN: He deserves to be celebrated. Loudly. Repeatedly. Until he admits which day it is. Or files a restraining order. Whichever comes first.

LUKE: From surprise parties to emotionally destabilising photo albums, we went all in—because subtlety is for people who don’t cry when Sylus says “thank you” under his breath.

KIERAN: Scroll down. Witness the madness. Pick your favourite day of mayhem. And remember:

LUKE: Every day could be Sylus’ birthday. KIERAN: But every day should be a reason to love him harder.

Day 1 - Cake in the Face

Kieran shouts “SURPRISE!” and absolutely obliterates Sylus with a strawberry sponge.

Sylus: “...You’re cleaning that.”

Luke: “It’s symbolic. Like rebirth. Through cake.”

Day 2 - “Pin the Knife on the Target” Party Game

Actual knives. Actual target. It’s Luke.

Kieran is crying with joy. Sylus is annoyingly accurate.

Luke: “I saw God, and she said ‘do it again.’”

Day 3 - Custom “Best Boss” Mug

It’s hideous. Glittery. Spells “Slay Boss” on the back.

Sylus drinks from it every morning now.

Kieran faints from pride.

Day 4 - Choreographed Dance Battle

Kieran in sequins. Luke is wearing cargo pants and shame.

Music: "Toxic" by Britney Spears.

Sylus walks away. They follow him. Still dancing.

Day 5 - Themed Breakfast: “You’re My Favourite Mistake”

Black coffee. Toast burned into the shape of a gun.

Eggs scrambled like their emotional state.

Kieran made pancakes shaped like Sylus’ face. They’re terrifying.

Day 6 - A Dramatic Reading of His Texts

Luke performs it in Shakespearean dialect.

Kieran plays a violin out of tune.

Sylus: “If I murder you, is that still birthday behaviour?”

Day 7 - Surprise Parade

Three bystanders. One stolen marching drum.

Banner reads: “Happy Maybe-Born Day, Our Brooding Boss”

Sylus vanishes mid-parade. Leaves behind confetti and contempt.

Day 8 - Hot Springs Trip

Kieran books the whole place. Luke forgets towels.

Sylus sulks in the water but secretly enjoys the quiet.

Kieran wears a crown made of loofahs. No one asks why.

Day 9 - 10-Minute Therapy Session with a Goat

Kieran swears animals are healing.

Goat headbutts Luke. Kieran cheers.

Sylus feeds it quietly for 20 minutes.

Day 10 - Airhorn Wake-Up Call

At 10pm.

Luke records Sylus' scream. Makes it his ringtone.

Kieran bakes an apology pie shaped like a crow.

Day 11 - DIY Spa Night

Sylus gets cucumber eye masks and absolutely nothing else.

Luke nearly burns down the bathroom with scented candles.

Kieran offers a massage. Sylus threatens dismissal.

Day 12 - “Dress Like Sylus” Day

Luke wears all black. Kieran wears less and claims it’s accurate.

They follow him whispering, “Brooding is power.”

Sylus vanishes. Again.

Day 13 - Personalised Gun Range Session

Targets: Luke’s face.

Kieran writes “Emotions” on a target.

Sylus shoots it clean through.

Emotional breakthrough? Maybe. Everyone cries anyway.

Day 14 - Emotional Support Plushie Gifted

It’s a tiny plush dragon holding a dagger.

Luke: “It’s you, but huggable.”

Sylus: sleeps with it tucked under his arm. Never mentions it again.

Day 15 - Birthday Lullaby, Screamed

Kieran sings. Luke plays backup on a kazoo.

Neighbours file a noise complaint. Sylus bribes them to let it continue.

Day 16 - Mystery Box Day

Every hour, a new box. Could be a trinket. Could be a live crab.

Sylus opens 16 before he gives up. Luke opens the rest.

The 18th contains coffee. Sylus smiles.

Day 17 - Midnight Confessions

Luke: “You intimidate me but also I’d die for you.”

Kieran: “You’re not hard to love, Sylus. You’re just scared.”

Sylus: doesn’t speak for five minutes. Then says, “Thanks.”

Day 18 - Dragon-Themed Birthday Ball

Kieran wears wings. Luke is shirtless with red glitter.

Sylus is dragged in wearing a red, velvet suit and quiet rage.

He dances with them anyway. No one brings it up again.

Day 19 - “Things You Never Say But We Know Anyway” List

53 entries.

“You check on us even when you say you won’t.”

“You love deeply. That’s why you stay distant.”

Sylus reads the whole thing in silence. Folds it. Keeps it.

Day 20 - Mock Trial: Is Sylus Capable of Love?

Luke plays prosecution. Kieran defends.

Jury is plushies and Mephisto.

Verdict: Absolutely, tragically yes.

Day 21 - "Unsolicited Compliments Hour"

Every 5 minutes.

Kieran with a megaphone: “Your eyes look like murder. I’d die in them.”

Sylus: “I will break that megaphone.”

Kieran: “So strong. So alpha.”

Day 22 - Custom Fragrance: “Gunpowder & Longing”

Actually smells so good.

Sylus wears it. Kieran notices. Writes fanfic about it.

Luke sells bootleg versions.

Day 23 - Build-a-Weapon Workshop

Kieran bedazzles his. Luke chooses an axe.

Sylus forges a blade in silence.

It glows. Everyone agrees not to ask why.

Day 24 - Silent Movie Night: “The Tragedy of a Man Who Feels Too Much”

They reenact it live.

Sylus is portrayed by a potted plant with a stern expression.

He claps once. That’s the highest praise they’ve EVER received.

Day 25 - Spontaneous Hug Ambushes

Kieran tackles. Luke distracts.

Sylus fights them off to start.

After the 35th one, he reluctantly accepts every single one but growls during.

At the end of the day, he initiates one.

Day 26 - “Interview With the Birthday Boy”

Questions include: “Do you think you're loveable?”

Sylus: “No.”

Kieran: “Wrong. You lose. Try again.”

Day 27 - Late Night Drive to Nowhere

No plan. Just music, stars, and long silences that mean everything.

Kieran falls asleep on Sylus’ shoulder.

Luke drives. Sylus doesn't move an inch.

Day 28 - Surprise Photo Album

Polaroids. Stolen moments. Smiles he never knew he made.

One of him asleep with the new plushie.

Caption: "Proof: He does rest."

Day 29 - Night Under the Stars

They lay on a rooftop.

Luke points out fake constellations. Kieran holds Sylus’ hand.

“We don’t need to know the date,” he says. “You were born. That’s enough.”

It's awkward.

Day 30 - No surprises. Just peace.

No glitter. No screams. Just coffee.

Sylus wakes up to a quiet room.

A note: “You are loved. Even when we’re quiet about it.”

He doesn’t throw it away. Sticks it to the fridge in the armoury.

Hosted by ©Sylusslittlekitten - All rights reserved

Crack Post Masterlist here

[asteroshearts]

Postpartum Confinement

[Zayne (Li Shen 黎深 ) + Sylus (Qin Che 秦彻)]

In Chinese culture, mothers stay and rest for a month or more after giving birth to properly recover (zuo yue zi).

Zayne (Li Shen 黎深 )

Now, while you do go on your postpartum confinement period, Zayne is a doctor and can't help but ramble about the superstitions and old wives' tales that the zuo yue zi is built on.

"There's no need to take all of these rules seriously," he couldn't help but mutter lowly. Pushing up his glasses, he said, "Currently, there is no hard scientific basis on why postpartum women shouldn't shower or bathe. However, I can see where this superstition arose. Historically, clean, hot water was very difficult for the common woman to obtain, and bathing with cold water after giving birth—"

What he does entirely believe in is that the mother of his child should be stress-free and have as much rest as possible.

Vets the Yue Sao (postpartum care nannies) like crazy.

Many of the interviewees leave thinking that it was one of the hardest job applications they've ever done.

He's a bit crazy here: looks through all of their credentials, researching the programs they've graduated from, asks for references, etc.

In the end, he agrees on a middle-aged woman with over fifteen years of experience as a Yue Sao and is a mother of three herself.

He chose her because she aligned with his thoughts of science, she didn't lean too much into traditional medicine, and had a casual personality while being firm. He knew she wouldn't push you into doing anything you didn't want to do.

For the first time since he got into medical school, Zayne Li took a complete pause from work. No emergency calls, no midday meetings. He even left his pager and work phone in his office and Akso.

Surprisingly, he doesn't go stir crazy.

Instead, he dedicates his time to learning from the Yue Sao and taking care of your baby.

You would think he's studying for another medical exam with how he asks questions, takes notes, and looks over her shoulder as she's cooking you a meal, nodding along to her instructions.

He sat beside you as your nanny did your belly binding for the first time, staring with analytical eyes while your baby was rocking in his arms.

Then, when he tried to do the belly binding on you, his first attempt ended in failure as you kept on giggling, ruining your progress. You couldn't help but mess him up, you were too busy staring at the father of your child with such love in your eyes.

However, he does have one insecurity. Traditionally, the mother should prevent herself from being cold as much as possible, bundling up, and covering her feet and shoulders.

Zanye couldn't help but think that with his Evol—he might cause you or the baby long-term health issues. He'll wear gloves, a hat, and scarf indoors if you want him to—

Just tell him that it's silly. How could a man like him ever hurt you or your baby?

Every day you wake up well-rested, with the chores done, with someone looking after your baby, and carefully planned, cultivated meals laid out on the table.

He may be the Head Cardiac Surgeon at Akso Hospital, but here, he takes a backseat. He would never speak over a woman who was a mother, and there's a lot to learn.

He tries not to step on either of your toes, but if there's one thing he wouldn't let your Yue Sao do, it's make you red date tea.

He was the one who made you red date tea even before you got together, and he isn't going to stop now :)

Sylus (Qin Che 秦彻)

Books you the nicest room in the most upscale confinement center/hotel you could find for as long as you want.

All confinement centers come with doctors and nurses at beck and call, baby care, and meals, but he made sure yours was five-stars, with physiotherapy, massages, facials, hair treatments, and classes.

He even has his own men secretly upping the security of the building for your stay.

Although he took parenting classes with you, read some books in his free time, he can admit he's not knowledgeable, so he does what he does best: shuts up and listens to his woman 😌.

Some men are allowed to stay, like the father of the child or male relatives, so of course, he's with you and the baby the entire time.

It's a bit nerve-wracking when the staff take your baby away for a checkup or bath and he's silently standing over them with his dark red eyes.

You might be resting and napping throughout the day, but he'll be awake and following your baby around when the nannies or nurses take care of them or taking the parenting classes the center provides.

He's so annoying though!!!!!

Lays his huge body in your bed, sinking the mattress, and follows you to all your spa treatments. The hotel is thinking of charging you double!! (Not like he cares, money is no object.)

He loves annoying you and clinging to you as much as he loves, well, you.

Tried to rock your baby to sleep and sing to them once while you were napping and upset your baby so much, your sweet baby cried until you woke up.

The hotel had to send him an email politely asking him not to do that again.

You're tired all the time, and while the care center offers spa treatments, what kind of husband would he be if he didn't bring you your personal skin care from home, applying it on your face for you while you lay in bed?

Everything seemed perfect; everything was taken care of.

You thought there was something wrong with you, and maybe it was the hormones, but somewhere in the middle of your confinement period, you couldn't help but feel so ugly. You felt so undeserving of this treatment.

Your belly didn't look the way it used to, your hair wasn't the same texture as it was, and your breasts hurt. (Of course it wouldn't, of course it did. You knew this, but for some reason, you couldn't help but be so upset.)

You were his little Dragon Li, spoiled to the ends of the earth, and now you were crying because throughout all of this, even though he and the rest of the facility had gone above and beyond, you were upset that your nail polish was overgrown.

Something so little, but you couldn't help it. You just felt like you were never going to be the same again.

Sure, he could call your nail guy to come by and give you a fresh pair of nails, but if there was one thing Sylus took seriously, it was your health. He didn't know what kind of contaminants your nail guy could bring to you or your baby.

While you were napping and your baby was resting with you, you wondered what Sylus was doing to occupy his time.

After all, even before you were pregnant, he made it seem like he couldn't last a day without you by his side.

He thought you were glowing like an angel, but if his kitten was crying to him, pouring out your insecurities, he knew words meant nothing if he didn't prove them.

So when he sits at your bedside, pulling out a complete and fully-sanitized nail kit, you can't help but stare in awe as he pulls out the exact nail color you had been wanting, in the most non-toxic formula he could find.

Yes, he had taken nail tech classes while you and the baby were resting, and if you were upset with no one to help you, he was going to step up and do it himself.

[nyxserenity0815]

Infold you trying to stab me rn