Amid the audience’s enthusiastic applause, the play began.
—Act One—
—Once upon a time, there was a beautiful kingdom. In that kingdom, a princess of extraordinary beauty was born. Showered with endless love and affection, she grew up cherished by all. There was no doubt that she was the darling of the entire world.
Wuli stepped onto the stage.
The curtain closed at the first transition, then rose once more, revealing Wuli beneath the spotlight.
A collective gasp swept through the audience.
There was no other reason for it. Wuli was simply too beautiful.
Her eyelashes fluttered like butterfly wings. Her snow-white hair gleamed softly, purer even than moonlight. Her pale blue eyes were so clear and pristine that they seemed almost unreal.
Some people only needed to stand there to become the embodiment of a character.
Wuli happened to be one of those people.
Anyone who saw her at that moment would believe they were looking at a princess untouched by the world’s troubles.
The white-haired girl turned slightly, directing her gaze toward the second figure in the distance on the stage.
“Father.”
Wuli called out to the emperor in the story.
Following her line of sight, the audience saw the emperor she was addressing.
The actor playing the emperor entered in time with the performance’s rhythm. He slowly approached Wuli, raised a hand, and gently brushed over the princess’s flawless white hair.
Then he smiled at her with fatherly affection.
“My finest daughter, you are about to come of age. Your father has chosen the most outstanding man in our kingdom to be your husband. He will make you the happiest woman in the world.”
The emperor finished speaking, his face overflowing with satisfaction. It was obvious he was immensely pleased with the marriage arrangement he had made.
In stark contrast, the white-haired girl’s expression darkened.
Wuli’s breath caught. Her face turned pale.
“No, Father. I don’t want to get married.”
The emperor failed to notice the princess’s distress and continued smiling.
“What princess doesn’t get married?”
“But…”
“That’s enough, my dearest daughter. Do as I say. On the day of your coming-of-age ceremony, I will prepare the grandest engagement banquet imaginable. You will become the center of the world’s attention.”
“…”
Even the most beloved princess in the world could not choose whether she could be with the person she loved.
That was fate.
After a brief silence, the white-haired girl bowed respectfully to the emperor.
“Yes.”
Yet there was not the slightest trace of a smile on her face.
—The reason the princess did not wish to marry was because she had already fallen in love with someone.
—Her attendant, Karan.
—A man with no power, no status, and no wealth.
—A romance between a noble princess and a lowly servant was clearly forbidden.
After the emperor exited the stage, the beautiful princess lightly skipped toward the front of the curtain. Her steps were graceful and unhurried, her eyes shining brightly, like a carefree elf wandering through the forest, unbound by any restraint.
Just as the audience was wondering what she was about to do, the white-haired girl deftly pulled back a corner of the curtain behind her.
Poking her small head through the gap, she cautiously peered inside.
“Karan!” she called softly.
“In there?”
Her voice was bright and cheerful.
The audience immediately realized that the male lead was about to make his entrance.
Amid everyone’s anticipation, a pair of long, elegant hands reached out from behind the curtain and drew it aside, revealing a handsome face.
The strikingly handsome young man met Wuli’s gaze.
The two looked at each other.
And the audience watched them.
Another wave of gasps swept through the hall.
Not a single person present wasn’t shocked by the male lead’s appearance.
That was the Crown Prince!!!
The Crown Prince had actually come to perform in a stage play!!!
What in the world was going on?!
Just what kind of production was this to have such influence?!
The audience’s eyes widened in disbelief.
Among them sat Xilin.
Without saying a word, he watched his cousin and his fiancée sharing the stage with a calm smile.
The innocence of the white-haired girl.
The depth and composure of the black-haired young man.
He even felt that the two of them looked rather well matched.
Glenn wore a simple servant’s uniform, yet his bearing remained noble.
His features were handsome and well-defined, his profile sharp and elegant, and his presence was extraordinary.
If not for the character setting, if not for the servant’s attire he wore, anyone would have assumed the man he portrayed was destined for high rank and authority, a figure of dignity and refinement.
Glenn stepped out from behind the curtain and into the audience’s view.
But in his eyes, there was only the little princess.
So the very first line he spoke was directed at Wuli.
Smiling gently, he said in a warm voice,
“I’m here.”
“Your Highness, what are your orders?”
The audience instantly erupted into excitement.
“Oh my God! When Prince Glenn said that line, I practically melted!”
“Amazing, amazing, amazing! I don’t even dare imagine what’s going to happen next.”
“Xilin, honestly, who would’ve thought? Your cousin can actually act like this!”
“Shh! How dare you gossip about His Highness? Do you have a death wish?!”
Xilin smiled gently at the speaker.
“It’s fine. My cousin won’t mind.”
At least for now, it didn’t seem like his cousin would mind.
Xilin’s gaze swept across the audience before settling on the stage once more, carrying an indescribable meaning.
The princess’s smile grew brighter.
Under the stage lights, her eyes shimmered with radiant light.
“Karan, I just wanted to see you.”
A spark flashed through Karan’s eyes.
Then it abruptly dimmed.
“Your Highness.”
The words were restrained and distant.
They carried a faint sense of foreboding, as though something unpleasant was about to happen.
And indeed…
“You will one day marry a noble prince, while I am nothing more than a lowly servant. We will never be together, Your Highness.”
It was true.
Spoken by the black-haired young man, the words sounded particularly cruel.
His dark red eyes rested upon the white-haired princess. The warmth had vanished from them, replaced by indifference and distance.
He was speaking seriously.
Speaking of something unavoidable.
Something real.
At that moment, it was as though the fairy tale in the princess’s heart had been torn to pieces.
Wuli took half a step back.
The smile disappeared from her face.
“You heard… what my father said to me.”
“But I don’t want to marry some prince… I don’t know any prince, and I don’t love any prince!!”
“I only want to marry you!!”
The white-haired girl’s voice was resolute and overflowing with emotion.
The black-haired young man froze for half a second.
And during that brief moment of stunned silence, tears had already begun streaming down Wuli’s face.
During rehearsals, the white-haired girl had held back and never cried.
But now that she was on the actual stage, she was showing the full extent of her skill.
Every expression, every subtle shift in emotion was portrayed with remarkable precision.
She cried beautifully.
Before long, tears rolled down her cheeks in an unbroken stream, pattering one after another.
Before the black-haired young man could reach out to wipe them away, Wuli did it herself.
She sniffled softly.
Her eyes were red-rimmed as she awkwardly rubbed away her tears with her sleeve.
Then she spoke her next line.
“We’ll find a way. Do you believe me?”
Her eyes were red with tears, yet she stubbornly stared at the person before her.
Yes.
This princess was an idealist through and through.
That was why she dared to fall in love with someone whose status was utterly unequal to her own.
Why she would later plan every detail of their elopement.
And why, after her beloved’s death, she would choose to follow him in death.
Karan knew all of this too well.
—Karan remained silent for a long time.
—So long that the princess began to feel afraid.
—So long that the entire world seemed to grow dim.
—And when the stubborn princess continued to insist on an answer, Karan finally said, “All right.”
—It was a light, gentle word.
—So fragile that a passing breeze might scatter the promise away.
—Karan knew very well that this “all right” was nothing more than an attempt at comfort.
—Beyond offering comfort, there was nothing else he could do.
—But the girl before him wanted more than a simple “all right.”
—For a princess who could obtain anything she desired and possess everything in the world, such a weightless answer meant nothing at all.
—She wanted a promise.
—She wanted words that would tell her she was cherished.
—She gazed at the black-haired young man.
—And the black-haired young man remained silent.
—It didn’t matter.
—”All right” was enough.
—The dissatisfaction she had felt vanished in an instant.
—She was unwilling to make things difficult for the person she loved.
Wuli gave the black-haired young man a faint smile.
—Act Two—
—Ever since learning that the emperor intended to marry her off to someone else, the princess had been secretly planning something.
—She had to take Karan away.
—Only by leaving the palace could they escape this marriage.
—Only then could she be with Karan.
—But before her plans could be carried out, the emperor discovered everything.
The white-haired princess entered the stage.
Just as she was looking around anxiously, seemingly preparing to flee somewhere, the emperor appeared.
“My dear little daughter, where do you think you’re going?”
“F-Father…”
The emperor’s expression was terrifyingly stern.
The princess instinctively stepped back.
She struggled to suppress her unease.
But the paper wrapping around that anxiety was fragile.
The slightest spark would set it ablaze, exposing everything hidden inside.
And the emperor was that spark.
In his hand were the very pieces of evidence proving that the princess had intended to run away with her attendant.
Step by step, he closed the distance between them.
When he finally stopped before Wuli, the emperor violently tore the papers apart.
As though he were shredding the princess’s dreams themselves.
He flung the scraps into her face.
As the pieces of paper drifted down around her, Wuli’s eyes widened.
Her face filled with disbelief.
“I can hardly believe you would do something so foolish,” the emperor reprimanded harshly.
“In a few days, you will marry the Duke’s son.”
“Father?!”
“If, after today, I discover even the slightest sign that you intend to elope with that lowly servant again, I will have him executed. You know the consequences.”
“No!!”
The white-haired princess cried out in alarm.
And after that cry came desperate pleading.
“Father! Please, I’m begging you…”
The emperor showed no mercy.
“Begging me? Look at yourself! Do you still resemble a princess at all?!”
The emperor took a deep breath.
When he had regained his composure, he said to her,
“For the next few days, you will remain in the palace and reflect on your actions. You are not to leave even a single step.”
After saying that, the emperor departed.
—He knew that, for the sake of keeping that lowly servant alive, the princess would not dare attempt anything further.
—But he had underestimated his daughter.
—The princess refused to give up.
—So she sought out Karan once more.
“Karan.”
Standing several meters away, the princess called out to the attendant who was cleaning.
Hearing the familiar voice, he paused for half a second before turning around.
Their eyes met.
The purity that had once filled the girl’s eyes had, under relentless pressure and suppression, become exhaustion.
Yet when the princess looked at Karan, her gaze remained as sincere and passionate as ever.
Seeing him turn back, Wuli forced a smile onto her face.
She hurried forward and grasped his hand.
“I love you, my dear Karan. Let’s run away together.”
“Let’s go somewhere where no one knows us.”
“There, I won’t be a princess, and you won’t be a servant.”
“We’ll be together.”
“We’ll never be separated for the rest of our lives.”
“No one will ever be able to tear us apart again.”
As she spoke, Wuli became increasingly emotional.
Because by this point, the princess had already imagined this very scene countless times in her heart.
And when she thought of it, light returned to her eyes.
Accept her.
Or reject her.
A crossroads appeared before Karan.
Standing between the two paths, he did not know which one to choose.
Nor did he know which path concealed a bottomless abyss.
“…”
He gazed into the princess’s eyes.
He looked at the light shining within them.
And he realized that he could not bring himself to refuse her.
Ever since the very first time the princess had come to him…
The black-haired young man let out a quiet sigh.
Instead of pulling away, he gently lifted her hand.
A tender kiss fell a mere inch from the back of it.
“My princess,” he said softly, “I am willing to follow you anywhere.”