Emperor's Bloom (Yandere!Emperor! x Female!Reader!)

04: The Fateful Sake

"I guess so."

"Well, I hope this doesn't offend you, but I feel like something is off with you," Xiaodan states boldly, his gentle locks of starlight swaying as his face turns to look at you. "I can't quite put my finger on it, but it feels as though you're different from everybody here. And I know that from my first impression it may seem like I'm trying to flatter you, but truly, why is your presence so unalike to the rest of these people?" He questions, crossing his arms as those slender eyes of his focused on your body.

Slightly taken aback by his sudden accusation, you feel yourself take a cautious step backwards as you insist: "No, not at all," you begin, "I think it's because I come from a different region, that's all. Actually, I feel quite foreign here. But you have to tell me, how did you end up here?" You press, attempting to switch the topic.

He pauses, pursing his blush lips before looking away and pondering for a brief minute, thinking back to what he was all about. "Maybe the universe decided to lead me here to meet you, my lady. I used to love painting, acting and singing but I lost my love for all those things. Now I'm here at the palace, as a scholar that makes sure people in all classes know what is morally right. I preach kindness and make sure anybody that works hard, no matter their class, gets what they deserve. When I put it that way, I wonder if my sacrifice was worth it. On another note, I'll drop by breakfast tomorrow."

"Well, you surely have a way with words. If I may ask... why did you lose interest in the things you love?" You ask out of curiosity as Xiaodan approaches you with slow footsteps, only pausing several inches away from you.

"I guess that's a story for another time. I can't let you know everything about me yet, I need something to keep you interested," Xiaodan teases, his hand raising upwards to pat the top of your head as he walks past you, his other hand reaching forwards to open the sliding door. "See ya!" He exclaims as he abruptly takes his leave, ditching you in the comfort of your room.

It seemed as though the people here really were peculiar. While you accepted by now that you didn't have a clue how you got here, you realised that you still had a lot of knowledge from whoever's body you were in. You could understand the language, and knew some basic things, though not a lot. It was also incredibly energy-draining to try and remember any memories clearly from this person's life before you inhabited their body.

You sort of felt like crying, or at least you couldn't help but feel upset about your current situation. You tried not to focus too much on anything besides adjusting here for now before you got back. Surely you were here for a reason, or for a mistake. Whichever thing it was, whatever happened surely had a solution. But until then, there really isn't much you can do except try and not get killed. At least, things made it out to seem as though you would be living a very relaxing life.

As your thoughts lingered on, they quickly were cut off as your [E/C] orbs gleamed at the painted set of sake cups on your low-lying table. You had spent a great amount of yesterday painting the sake cups, but now that they were done you felt as though they were not fit for an emperor. They were originally just plain white but now were finished with delicate illustrations of grass and coral-toned blossoms, glossed over with a clear varnish.

Deciding that it was best to just keep the set for yourself, you also decided that you deserved a drink. Without wasting another second, you went over to your wardrobe and pulled open one of the smaller drawers, which was revealed to contain a small bottle of rice wine, the seal still perfectly intact. Picking up the bottle, it was cold to the touch and you struggled for a moment before the seal came loose and the top opened. You lifted it to your nose for a brief moment and took in a whiff of a fruity yet floral scent, which indicated to you that the sake had not gone bad yet.