Fate I

C

The days passed by peacefully but unbeknownst to them, turmoil was brewing within the Inner Palace. The noble ladies who had been selected to enter and was abandoned in one corner of the Palace had begun to go mad. All reasoning and logic had escaped from them as their anger was directed at Lucy. The whole reason why they were cooped up in this small Palace and the reason why they weren't able to even catch a glimpse of the Emperor was all because of her. Many eyes were on them since the incident that had happened when a few of them disrespected her. Appearing to be docile on the surface, they were already planning out their schemes. Their schemes to become the Mistress of the Inner Palace.

Among them was a distinguished noble lady, Noble Lady Wei, who was relatively well-known in the capital city of the Kou Empire to be of elegant beauty and well-versed in the arts. But, any talent or beauty that she possessed was quickly overshadowed by the talents and beauty that Lucy possessed. Even her parents could only sing praise for her. Her feelings soon turned into animosity and over the years, the small seed of envy that she bore turned into utter hatred and disdain for Lucy. She couldn't understand why she couldn't measure up to Lucy. She couldn't understand what was so different about them. But upon meeting her, she understood. No matter how hard she tried, she would never be able to reach that level of majesty and grace. Watching her was as if watching the Phoenix itself and that inferiority complex only grew.

She needed to win against her in something. Anything.

And so, what better plan than taking away the one thing that she treasured: the Emperor.

Of course, she wasn't an idiot. She knew just how frightening of a person he was and how much he respected and loved Lucy but, envy and jealousy had already seeped deep into her heart. She had already descended into madness. If Lucy didn't exist, then the position of Imperial Noble Consort would've been hers. If she didn't exist, then it was her that would've won the affection and love of the Imperial family since young. If she didn't exist, then Kouen would've been hers.

"Moreover, I have all these noble ladies as my backing," she smiled sinisterly. "You may have the favor of the Emperor and the backing of the Imperial family but, a woman's envy is not to be underestimated, Lucy-sama."

The women gathered around her chuckled behind their fans as their plans were slowly set into action. They had been planning for this long and there was not a single flaw in their plan. Not even the Imperial family would be able to detect it. Since, in this Forbidden City, there were always a few odd ants in the group that would easily betray their master at a moment's notice when given an opportunity.

"Now then," she smiled an innocent smile. "Let's bring down the Imperial Noble Consort."

Lily Palace~

Tomoyo widened her eyes upon feeling a sudden chill in the air and she glanced up, looking at the cloudy skies overhead. Wu Kong seemed to have noticed a change as well as he stopped from his sword practice. Kuugen laid its head in Lucy's lap, its ear giving a slight twitch. It looked up and out the Lily Palace into the distance.

"Kuugen?" Lucy looked down. "What's wrong?"

Her hand gently patted its pure white fur, stroking along the edge of its tail. There was no unusual change in the air and rather, it seemed like any other normal day. Furrowing its brows, it wondered if it had sensed wrong given how on edge it had been lately. Laying its head back down in her lap, it swished its tail, urging for her to continue. Lucy chuckled and continued to pet him as she continued to enjoy the book in her other hand.

"It seems to be getting cloudy lately," Kuugen noted.

"Summer is approaching after all," Lucy remarked, continuing to read her book. "With it comes the rainy season. It's not unusual."