"The fight was amazing," Yat-sen told me animatedly as we walked down the corridor. It was after dinner time and I had bumped into him when I was venturing the halls.

As he spoke, he waved his hands around and talked about Atreus's and Nikator's movements during their battle, his eyes bright and his tone chipper. I had come to realize that although Yat-sen hadn't been here at the base that long—he had come with Meilin—he was terribly lonely. Though he would sometimes sit and talk with Fang, and maybe even Bohai, there wasn't much for him to do but spar with other soldiers. Meilin didn't allow him to participate in any battles, so he was left to do nothing. Although I knew Meilin was doing so to ensure Yat-sen was safe while also giving him experience, I understood Yat-sen's boredom and loneliness.

Yat-sen didn't have friends among the soldiers and so he was left alone, save for the moments with Fang, Bohai, Meilin, and a few other commanders. Those moments with the other men were, however, fleeting, since they were all busy participating in the war.

"Aunt Daiyu?"

I blinked and turned to the youth, smiling apologetically at him. "I'm sorry, what was that?"

"I was just saying that we've reached General Fang's room," he said as he pointed at the door. I had asked him to lead me to Fang's room since I wanted to know how he was doing, so I could relay everything back to Jia, who would no doubt be worried about him.

"Thank you for escorting me, Yat-sen," I said kindly as I gently rested a hand on his shoulder. "You're a great help to me and it's always lovely talking to you."

The smile he gave me broke my heart and made me want to embrace him. "Anything for you, Aunt Daiyu," he said with a short bow that was unnecessary but done out of respect.

He left me and I knocked on the door, waiting for General Fang's reply. When he gruffly said to enter the room, I slowly opened the door before stepping inside.

"Pardon my intrusion," I murmured as I entered.

Fang was sitting on the bed of the room, his arm in a sling and his skin color pallid. He looked worn out and pained, but relatively well. From what Yat-sen had been telling me, his condition was steadily improving.

"General Fang," I said with a curt nod. "I wanted to see how you were doing."

"Lady Daiyu," he said. "Thank you for coming to visit me."

"It's no problem," I said with a small smile. "Jia is a dear friend of mine and since I'll be leaving to the palace soon, I know she'll want to know how you're doing."

One thing I took notice of him was that his long hair was gone and instead was cut messily, still long enough to cover his forehead, but much shorter than before. It suited him and made him look younger.

His usual stoic and sullen expression cracked at the mention of his wife, his eyes, for a split second, showing longing and sadness, before his impassive and intimidating expression overtook his features. "Jia is worrying over you and me," he said softly as he leaned his head against the bedpost. "She's been writing letters nonstop."

"She was very worried when she heard that you had been injured."

"I'm almost healed by now. It was much worse at the time, but it's been a few weeks."

"That's good to hear. I'm sure Kang and Jia can't wait until you're fully healed and back home." He was silent for the longest time and right when I was about to turn around and leave, he spoke. "Lady Daiyu, it may not be in my place to say this, but has Meilin been sleeping?"

I blinked back at him, staring blankly. Meilin had taken a short nap yesterday night and hadn't returned to bed, but then again, ever since I came to the base, I was sleeping alone on the bed, no trace of Meilin in sight. In fact, I had only seen him take two naps during my stay.

Was Meilin honestly not resting at all?

He sighed loudly when he saw my expression. Raking a hand through his hair, he glowered at his lap. "He always does that. Overworks himself and doesn't care that he has us all worried. Did you know that at one point during the war to win the throne, he hadn't slept for four days and he almost fell asleep on the battle field? How much more of an idiot can he be?" Fang rubbed the side of his face. "He needs to sleep and he needs to take care of himself. Bohai and I sometimes aren't able to tell him and force him since we're also so busy, but . . . I was wondering if you could try to take care of him."

I bit my lower lip. Although I wanted to help Fang and Bohai, I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to control Meilin like that and force him to do something. From what I knew of Meilin, no one could force him to do something he didn't want to do.

"He works too hard and he doesn't care about his wellbeing," he continued. "He needs to sleep and eat properly. Speaking of eating, has he been eating? Sometimes he forgets that too."

"He sounds like a child," I mused.

"He is," he said with a huff. "He's so dumb."

I couldn't help but laugh softly. "I can't make any promises, but I will see what I can do. I'll ask him right now if he wants to spend time with me."

"Will you really?" He gave me the first smile I had ever seen on him, surprising me with how charming he looked when he wasn't scowling. "Thank you. Bohai and I would very much appreciate that."

"You three are very close," I noted as I returned the grin.

He didn't say anything to that and only bobbed his head.

What was it about Meilin that caused his men to love him and respect him so much? How could they look past his rage and cruelty? After all, I also needed to look past all of that if I was going to spend the rest of my life with him peacefully. My problem was figuring out how to handle all of him—the good and the bad.

As I walked down the halls and past soldiers, who bowed and showed respect, I couldn't help but tingle in anxiety at the thought of disturbing Meilin at whatever he was doing. He clearly wouldn't be pleased at me bursting through and asking for his time.

"Excuse me," I said to one of the soldiers that was jerkily marching about.

He halted in his tracks and gave me a low bow. "My lady."

"Do you know where the emperor is?" I asked him.

"He is his office, I believe," the man said.

"Can you take me there?"

"Certainly." The soldier walked down one of the halls and led me around and up a flight of stairs before he reached a door and bowed down.

"Thank you."

With that, he left, and I was alone to face Meilin and whoever was with him. Hesitating by the door and rethinking my choice to see him, I was about to turn and scamper away, but remembering Fang's smiling face when I told him I would take care of Meilin stopped me from doing that. Breathing in through my nose and rallying all my courage, I lifted my fist and knocked on the door. A few moments later and I heard an annoyed reply to enter.

I gulped in air, the pit of my stomach swirling in anxiety. Already he sounded annoyed at being disturbed, I could only wonder how much I would be able to accomplish with him. Meilin didn't seem like a man that would listen to just anyone.

I opened the door slowly and entered the room, licking my lips nervously and glancing around the small study. There were shelves with scrolls on them, a big window on the right, a long couch to the left, a giant desk encompassing the center of the room, and stacks of papers strewn on top of it. Meilin was sitting behind the desk staring intently at one of the scrolls lain in front of him. His bangs were slightly messy from having run his hands through them so much.

He paused in what he was doing when I stood in front of the desk. "Daiyu," he said calmly, watching me with questioning eyes. "Is there something you need?"

I fiddled with my sleeve and tried to hide the apprehension I was feeling. My entire body was taut with tension. "I-I was wondering if you would like to spend some time with me."

He stared at me for the longest moment, making me squirm under his scrutiny.

He pushed the scroll he had been looking at away from himself and rose to his feet. "I rarely hear a request from you," he said as he placed his hands on the desk and tapped one of the scrolls that was sitting rolled up and unopened. "What is it you want to do?"

"You haven't rested much and I was wondering if you wanted to relax," I said quickly. "And maybe eat something as well, if you haven't already eaten dinner."

"I've already eaten," he said. "But resting? Did Bohai put you up to this?"

"N-No."

"Fang?"

I didn't say anything.

"I'm really busy right now—" he started.

"B-But you should still rest," I said forcibly, biting my lower lip as I stared up at him. Although Fang had told me to help Meilin, I also didn't like the idea of him not sleeping. He was fighting a war right now and the thought of him falling asleep on the battlefield or passing out from overexertion was a thought that surprisingly worried me. As much as he terrified me, I had grown to care for his wellbeing.

"I don't—"

"Please," I cut in.

He was taken aback by my outburst and outright stared at me, blinking and watching me with those dark, unreadable eyes of his. His blatant stare caused my cheeks to stain with color, my embarrassment slowly taking over and what little confidence I had around him to crumble and fall.

Right when I thought that he would refuse me, he drew near me and touched my chin. "Since you've asked so sweetly, little rabbit, I can't deny."

My shoulders dropped from all the tenseness I had been feeling, and although I was still anxious around him, I was relieve d that he had agreed.

"Sit down on the couch," he said.

Not exactly sure where he was going with this, I listened and sat on the edge of the simple couch, moving a few cushions around. Meilin sat in the middle of the couch and repositioned himself until he was lying down, his booted feet propped up on the armrest and what took me by surprise was that he rested his head on my lap.

"I'll rest like this," he said with an arrogant tilt of his mouth, his dark eyes so close to me.

I sat rigid in my seat, my stomach tight and my breaths coming very slowly. My heart was palpitating to a erratic beat and I couldn't tear my gaze away from him. It was all too much of a shock for me, touching him so suddenly and having his head on my lap.

He closed his eyes and relaxed his shoulders, his breathing slowing down. With such a serene look on his face, I had an urge to run my fingers through his hair and see if it was really as soft as it looked. I also wanted to trace the three scars on his jaw until I stopped at where they stopped, down to his collar bone.

A blush as deep and red as roses overtook my cheeks at that thought, all the blood rushing to my face.

"The first time I saw you, I knew I would make you my bride," he said softly, his eyes still closed. "You were so terrified and you looked so beautiful. I wanted to tease you."

That moment where we had first met seemed forever ago by now. That little scene had changed my life.

"But," he said calmly. "I've come to realize that it's not fair for you to have to . . . marry me."

I stopped breathing and he opened his eyes to stare at me, his expression indecipherable.

"My mother was forced to be with my father and although he didn't . . . rape her to conceive me, she was forced nonetheless." He closed his eyes once more, but I had seen the flash of pain that had momentarily crossed his obsidian colored eyes. "I can't do that to you and I can't force you to be with me. If you—"

I touched his hair shyly, my fingers trembling. I didn't ever want to see that pained expression on his face or that look in his eyes. For some reason, my heart shook with unease when I saw him look like that. His voice was so sad that I couldn't stop from trying to soothe him. "Please stop," I whispered. "Don't talk like that."

His eyes widened ever so slightly for a split second.

"I'm not burdened by this marriage," I said carefully, brushing my fingers through his hair and feeling the silk like texture. I closed my eyes and thought back to Heng, my first love, and how I had deeply cared for him. The feelings I had for Meilin at this moment were similar to the feelings I had held for Heng, but they weren't exactly love. I had loved Heng, and although I cared for Meilin, I didn't love him like that. Still, I cared for his wellbeing and I knew that I could somehow find a way for this marriage to work.

I continued to comb my fingers through his hair lightly, watching as his facial expression relaxed more and more and his shoulders lost their tautness. In a few moments, Meilin fell asleep, his breathing coming softly and slowly, the familiar rhythm of someone fast asleep. His expression was calm and as I ran my fingers through his hair, my heart bloomed for him. Right now, with his soft tone and his well-thought out words, I couldn't help but feel something towards him.

He had clearly thought over his words about our marriage and the way he spoke so sadly told me that it wasn't a decision he had lightly thought of. He truly was willing to dash the marriage if I said no. His action alone was enough to tell me that there was more to the fearsome Dragon than he let on. He wasn't a good person, that much was for sure and my experience with him proved that, but there were parts of him that I was slowly warming up to.

What crazy and merciless ruler would not take what he wanted? With that much power, he could keep me regardless of my feelings towards him, but he chose to release me if I so wished.

There was a gentle side to Meilin, and I wanted to unearth it and figure him out myself.

When he was like this, I wondered that if perhaps he had grown up peacefully and under good circumstances, he might've been a good person, someone with a gentle heart and a warm smile.