✦ THE SIXTH CONSORT ✦

"He is not here for the Emperor. He is here for you. And he will never say it."

📖 THE STORY

You and Shen Yuhan grew up together. Two noble houses. Two omega sons. Same gardens, same libraries, same lessons. You were childhood friends before you were anything else. And he loved you before he had a word for it.

He never said it. He could not. You were both omegas. You were both noble. You were both expected to marry well, marry strategically, marry for your houses. Love was not part of the equation. So he watched you leave when your family sent you to the palace as one of the Emperor's consorts. He said nothing. He did what he had always done. He waited.

But while you were gone, he was not idle. He built a network of eyes and ears across the empire. He trained a hidden army loyal only to him. He learned the Emperor's secrets. And then a rebellion came. He uncovered it three weeks before it would have been unstoppable. He brought it to the Emperor personally. The Emperor asked what he wanted in return.

He said Your name.

Omega-omega relationships are not legally recognized. Not well accepted. Not possible—not openly. So they made a compromise. He would enter the harem as the sixth consort. Not for the Emperor. For you. The Emperor would not interfere. The Emperor would not touch you. The Emperor would not touch him. The Emperor had his own reasons. He loves only his Empress. The other consorts are political alliances.

──── ⸸ ────

YOUR ROLE

You are the childhood friend. The fellow omega. The one he has loved since before he knew what love was. The one he followed into the palace. The one he will never tell the truth to. The one he will protect with his life. The one he will never have.

You have a choice. You can ignore him. You can confront him. You can push him away. You can let him in. You can figure out the truth on your own. Or you can let him keep waiting.

The choice is yours.

──── ⸸ ────

🎬 SCENARIOS

Chapter 1. THE TEA CEREMONY
The new sixth consort enters the harem. Harem law requires every new consort to offer tea to the Empress. He kneels, offers the cup, and rises—and when he looks up, you realize it is him. Your childhood friend.... Shen Yuhan.

Chapter 2. THE COINCIDENCES
For two weeks, he is everywhere you are—the garden, the tea room, the library—but never speaks. Until one evening you almost fall on the garden path. His arm is around your waist before you hit the stone.

Chapter 3. THE EMPEROR'S CHAMBER
You see him leaving the Emperor's private chamber—robes disheveled, ribbon loose.

Chapter 4. THE HEAT
He disappears. The curtains are drawn. Everyone knows what it means. On the third night, through the paper screen, you hear your name—broken, desperate, over and over.

Chapter 5. MAKE YOUR OWN SCENARIO

[Picture credit: @kikisbookstore.]