Pov Author
The palace gates did not recognize her.
Anna stood before them for a long moment, her gaze tracing the towering walls, the iron-bound doors, the guards who did not even spare her a second glance. Once, she had walked through these gates without question. Once, her name alone had been enough.
Now, she was nothing more than a stranger wrapped in a worn cloak.
She stepped forward.
No one stopped her.
The doors opened, and she entered as though she had never left—and as though she had never belonged.
Inside, the palace breathed with quiet order. Servants moved like shadows along polished floors. The air carried the faint scent of incense and medicine. Nothing had changed.
Except her place within it.
Anna walked the familiar corridors without direction, her feet remembering what her heart refused to accept. Every turn, every pillar, every painted screen whispered of a past that no longer existed.
"…the healer who saved Lord Shou Feng."
The words slipped through the stillness and struck her like a blade.
Anna's steps faltered.
She turned, slowly.
Two servants stood nearby, their voices hushed but filled with admiration.
"They say he would have died without her."
"She hasn't left his side since."
Anna's fingers curled tightly beneath her sleeves.
"…her?" she repeated under her breath.
There had only ever been one healer at his side.
Only one who had refused to leave.
Only one who had dragged him back from death with bloodied hands and sleepless nights.
Her.
The corridor suddenly felt too narrow.
Too suffocating.
Anna moved before she could think, her steps quickening, guided by something sharper than reason. The voices faded behind her as she followed the path she knew by heart.
It led her, inevitably, to him.
The inner hall stood open.
And there—
He was alive.
Shou Feng stood near the center of the room, speaking quietly to a figure beside him. His posture was straight, his presence as unyielding as ever, as though he had never lain on the edge of death.
For a moment, Anna forgot everything.
Relief flooded her chest so suddenly it almost brought her to her knees.
He lived.
That was enough.
It should have been enough.
But then her gaze shifted.
And the relief turned cold.
A woman stood at his side.
Calm. Composed. Close enough to belong there.
Anna's breath caught.
"…who is she?"
The question never reached her lips.
It did not need to.
The answer was already there—in the way the servants bowed, in the quiet respect surrounding her, in the place she occupied without hesitation.
Anna stepped forward.
"Stop."
The word fell into the hall, soft yet absolute.
Shou Feng turned.
His eyes met hers.
Time slowed.
Anna searched his face, her heart pounding against her ribs, waiting—desperate—for something to change.
A flicker. A shadow of recognition. Anything.
But his gaze remained steady.
Calm.
Unfamiliar.
"Who are you?" he asked.
The distance in his voice was sharper than any weapon.
Anna felt it settle deep within her chest.
"You don't remember me," she said.
It was not a question.
Shou Feng studied her for a moment, his brows drawing together slightly, as though reaching for something just beyond his grasp.
"…Should I?"
The words landed quietly.
And broke something that could not be mended.
Before Anna could speak, the woman beside him stepped forward.
"My lord," she said gently, her voice smooth as silk, "she must be mistaken. Perhaps she has come seeking recognition."
Anna's gaze shifted to her.
Cold.
"You speak boldly," Anna said, her voice low. "For someone standing in a place that does not belong to her."
A faint smile touched the woman's lips.
"I stand where I am needed."
The air tightened.
"Enough," the woman continued, her tone soft but edged. "Guards—"
"Don't."
The single word stilled the room.
Anna took another step forward.
Her eyes returned to Shou Feng, unwavering.
"I saved you," she said.
Silence answered her.
"I stayed when everyone else turned away. I held your life together when it was already slipping through my hands."
Her voice did not rise.
It did not need to.
"I am the reason you are standing here."
Shou Feng did not move.
But his gaze sharpened.
"…Proof," he said at last.
Anna went still.
For a heartbeat, the world seemed to fall away.
Then she laughed.
Softly.
There was no warmth in it.
"Proof," she repeated.
As though everything she had given could be reduced to something so small.
A guard stepped forward, hand reaching for her arm.
Anna moved.
It was instinct.
Effortless.
In a single motion, she turned, disarmed him, and sent him crashing to the ground. The sound echoed through the hall, sharp and sudden.
No one spoke.
Power lingered in the air, quiet and undeniable.
Shou Feng straightened.
Now, he was truly looking at her.
"Who are you?" he asked again.
This time, something beneath the question stirred—faint, uncertain.
Anna met his gaze.
And for a moment, the strength she had held so tightly slipped.
"…someone you chose to forget."
At the edge of the hall, unseen by most, a figure stood in silence.
Kiyoshi.
His eyes fixed on her, recognition immediate and unshaken.
"Anna," he murmured, too low for anyone to hear.
But he did not step forward.
Not yet.
Because this moment—this fracture between past and present—was still unfolding.
And once it broke completely—
There would be no turning back
To be continued...