In the study of the Crown Prince's Eastern Palace, a young man in a red official robe stood by the desk, hands behind his back.
Today was Arthur's first day personally instructing the Crown Prince.
Though Prince Allennon was usually bold and carefree, that was only in front of Liliana.
Arthur, being the Grand Minister of Justice and now also the Grand Tutor, was someone whose administrative skills Prince Allennon deeply admired.
So when Arthur came to teach, Prince Allennon treated him with some degree of respect.
Liliana, on the other hand, had a different perspective. Just yesterday, she had only taken a quick glance at the handsome man. She hadn't expected him to walk right up to her today.
Now was the perfect time to admire him.
In this moment, Arthur was different from his usual image on the imperial court, where he was cold, distant, and decisive. Standing at the lecturing desk, a scroll in hand, he looked focused. The late summer sunlight cast a faint cool glow across his face. His voice, while teaching, was crisp and calm.
Liliana, quietly floating in the corner, thought to herself that if her physics teacher had looked like this in her past life, she would've aced every exam.
To Prince Allennon, though, Arthur looked completely different. The Grand Tutor was too strict. Even the slightest mistake earned him harsh corrections. Then there was that little ghost girl sneaking peeks at the Grand Tutor behind his back, getting caught multiple times.
Because Prince Allennon had peeked at the little ghost girl a few times, Arthur assumed he was distracted and made him copy "Quotations for Ruling" five times.
He would definitely scold that ghost girl later. She didn't even look at him, making him lose focus.
When Arthur had first entered the Eastern Palace, he immediately smelled the same cedar scent he had noticed yesterday in the imperial study. It felt oddly familiar. Once he reached the lecturing desk, the scent became stronger.
He paid close attention and realized it wasn't from any incense or typical fragrances used by the Crown Prince.
As Prince Allennon bent over to copy his lines, Liliana boldly floated up behind Arthur. The space between them was barely the width of a fist.
Liliana observed closely. The more she looked, the more attractive he became. Though Cassian and Prince Allennon weren't bad-looking, this man had a kind of calm restraint and graceful dignity that deeply appealed to her.
Arthur felt the cedar scent draw even closer. He quietly turned around and found himself face to face with Liliana, their faces only two fingers apart.
Liliana stared at his face, now much closer, and blushed. It was far too close. She could even hear his heartbeat.
As he leaned in a little more, she suddenly whooshed away, floating far across the room.
Arthur lowered his eyes. Just moments ago, the scent had been all around him. Especially after he turned around, the cedar smell had almost wrapped itself around him. But just as he was about to investigate further, it suddenly drifted away.
Prince Allennon, still copying his lines, noticed some movement nearby. He looked at Arthur, who appeared calm as ever, and then secretly glanced at Liliana.
She was tugging at the edge of her robe with her fingers, head bowed, looking like someone who had just done something bad.
A wave of irritation rose in Prince Allennon's chest. Ever since the Grand Tutor arrived, Liliana had been acting strangely. She was now sitting quietly in the corner, not moving at all. At first, he thought she was trying not to disturb his studies, and he had been deeply touched.
But now he realized she had been staring at the new Grand Tutor the whole time, and they had even gotten uncomfortably close.
Prince Allennon frowned slightly, his brush pausing mid-stroke. He pressed down harder with his writing, almost soaking through the paper.
After class, he would definitely question that little ghost girl and find out what she was up to.
But before he could do that, Liliana had somehow slipped away without anyone noticing.
Sure, the handsome man was very handsome, and admiring him was good for her mood, but Liliana just couldn't bring herself to enjoy what he was teaching.
In her past life, she had died from overworking on research. In this life, Liliana had sworn never to study again. No more effort. She was perfectly fine being a salted fish.
She looked up at the sky. The air in ancient times, untouched by industrial pollution, was truly refreshing.
There was still some time before she had to go to Cassian's palace.
Liliana sighed, wondering if she was doomed to work for others her whole life. Even after death, she still had to clock in like some ghost employee. She couldn't understand what Cassian, the emperor, was thinking. Was he afraid she'd go out and hurt people? As if she had the nerve to do anything dangerous.
Thinking about how the palace was impossible to escape from, especially with the possibility of powerful sorcerers around, gave her a headache. She needed to come up with a way to get past those palace walls.
There's that saying, if life forces you into a corner, and you can't run from it, then just lie down and accept it.
She had some free time, so she drifted around aimlessly, and somehow ended up near the same place where she saw that young eunuch sneaking around yesterday.
She was sure she saw the eunuch's undergarments hanging on the wild man's waist, and the two of them were clearly... doing something. She felt a wave of sadness. Even eunuchs had romance, had love. Meanwhile, she'd been single for 26 years, never even held a man's hand before dying.
She quietly floated through the courtyard wall and arrived at the same spot she had seen them yesterday.
Then she realized what she was doing might be a little creepy. Ever since becoming a ghost, she seemed more energetic and unrestrained.
Feeling like she was being weird, she turned to leave. But just then, something pink caught her eye. A small embroidered pouch with mandarin ducks stitched on it lay on the ground. It was a bit torn, and there were dirty footprints on it.
She wasn't sure if someone had dropped it accidentally or left it there on purpose.
She reached out to pick it up, but then remembered—she was a ghost. She couldn't touch things.
Wait a minute. She had touched Cassian's sleeve yesterday. She tried to recall everything that had happened during that moment, going over the details carefully.
She remembered that it happened in the imperial garden. At the time, it was just her and Cassian, no one else around. Maybe that was the key—being alone, or maybe the garden itself had something special.
With that thought, Liliana got excited and floated quickly toward the imperial garden. Since no one could see her, she went straight back to the koi pond and started inspecting the area carefully.
Cassian arrived at the garden and saw a strange sight. The little ghost girl was bent over, tail up, looking for something with complete focus.
It wasn't a graceful pose.
He waved his attendants away and walked toward where she stood.
"What are you doing here?" His voice came from behind her.
Liliana froze, still leaning over and searching for hidden mechanisms or magical objects.
She turned and saw Cassian standing there, having approached without her noticing.
"I'm... watching the koi fish," she lied without thinking.
Cassian saw right through her. Still, he didn't get angry. Instead, he began thinking. He needed her to fully trust him, from the inside out.
Maybe because she knew her lie was weak, neither of them said anything more, and silence fell between them.
"You dare lie to me?" A sharp voice suddenly rang out from nearby.
Liliana perked up. Maybe something juicy was happening. She looked nervously at Cassian, worried he might get in the way.
So she grabbed his sleeve and pulled him behind a rock formation.
She could touch him again.
—
Arthur: Wife is so close. Wife, come here.
Prince Allennon: Stupid mutt, I'll write you out. I'll write you out of existence.