8

The miasma infecting the Camelia, that was hanging over it like storm clouds on the horizon, was coming from the Lord of the Camelia itself.

It was worming its way out of his very skin, thousands upon thousands of tiny tendrils pouring out of him every second.

He was a walking, talking biological weapon Eirian realized, horror sprouting to life in her mind.

This young man with the oddly gentle, exhausted eyes.

Who was so desperate to protect his estate, and the people in it hopefully, that he'd bought a wife, sight unseen, from the capital for the price of a small country.

And he'd chosen her solely based on her reputation??

It was kind of flattering and seriously concerning all in one go.

How was he still functioning?

Never mind that, how was he still alive?

That much poison should have killed him in seconds and there was no way his body was hosting it without damage. Even if he was getting healing sessions from the best in the kingdom every day, he still should have been dead by now.

...But it took decades for this kind of poisoning to reach the levels she'd seen from the cliff side. 

It would have had to start long before he was even born.

So how was it coming from him?

***

She was staring at him so intently that Ye Chenzhou started to fidget, caught himself, and straightened until his spine hurt.

She wasn't what he'd been expecting. 

She was tiny, for starters.

Well, maybe not tiny. But she was shorter than he'd imagined...especially given what he'd heard of her reputation.

A wealthy young woman of leisure who spent her time indulging her passions that ranged from art to warfare and was known for the sharpness of her mind as much as the sharpness of her tongue. She was the closest surviving female relative of the king, baring the Queen herself, and until recently, had been the only child and heir to the second most powerful house in Sorrow.

Ye Chenzhou had been expecting, and willing, to pay far more than he had.

He cared little for the rumors of her many lovers, of her plots and games with her peers in society, or her volatile, rebellious nature.

Even the mass of hair the color of the yellow moon and eyes that were a vicious, unearthly green that seemed to glow when she was angered and her magic roused, wasn't what he'd expected, but it wasn't enough to change his plans.

He needed someone who understood that capital and how to keep the Camelia relevant after….

He needed someone who would care for it after, but that had the clout in the capital to keep it from being brushed aside or just given away to whoever was in favor at the moment, regardless of their qualifications.

Eirian Soliel fit that bill and everything he'd seen so far, at least in the last hour, proved that.

She'd stormed in ready for a fight, unafraid and angry, but not ruled by it. There was calculation in her eyes and her words, as impulsive as they may have been at times. 

Obviously, he'd need more time to know for sure, but so far… so far it looked promising.

Maybe there was reason to hope the Camelia had a future ahead of it.

He was already making preparations for Anna, just in case Soliel was opposed to her remaining in the Camelia after he was gone. But given the way the court in the capital operated, run by the Queen but with an abundance of mistresses in valued positions and that Anna was quiet and preferred to stay out of the official business of the Camelia despite having been by his side for almost ten years now, he hoped there would be a need for her to leave her home.

If he had more time, he would have worked harder to find a way to marry Anna and have her inherit the estate and the Army, would have fought the council harder, but it's so hard to summon the energy these days.

And he's already made it so much longer than he ever expected too.

He'd been born to tragedy. His mother lost her life bringing him into the world and his father had followed only days after he'd taken his first steps. He'd been born weak, sickly all through his childhood despite the best healers in Sorrow working on him.

They'd never discovered what was wrong with him. Even now, almost three decades in and no one had any idea why he lost his breath walking at any pace beyond a snail's. Why he coughed up coagulated blood in the mornings and fell into bed so dizzy he could barely tell which way was up at night.

There were days he couldn't even muster the strength to life his sword and he was supposed to be the leader of the Camelia.

The First Blade of the Empire.

How pathetic he was. That he had failed to carry on the family line. That he'd had to buy a bride from the capital.

That he would have to leave the Camelia in the hands of a stranger long before he was ready to.

He'd never marry Anna. 

He would never have children of his own.

He would never see Yuze fall in love. His best friend since birth. The only child that hadn't minded that Chenzhou couldn't play outside with the rest of them and instead had spent hours playing cultivator vs demon in his room. Now Yuze was his right hand and a terribly skilled spy master who'd turned the tide of battle in the Camelia's favor more than once.

He'd supported Chenzhou's decision to find a wife in the capital, but after meeting Soliel in person, he wasn't sure they'd get along. Yuze was always cautious and controlled and Soliel was…clearly not.

Would he be able to go peacefully if the two people he loved most were forced to leave their home?

~ tbc