How To Hide The Tyrant's Child In The Apocalypse

AT THE SAME TIME

MEI SHEN'S POINT OF VIEW:

I sat by the window, watching the courtyard below in silence. The morning sun cast soft gold across the floor, lighting everything gently, too gently for the way my chest felt tight and twisted inside. I watched as a servant led my horse away. My horse.

The only connection I had left to the outside. To freedom. They didn't even tie it loosely. No, they were taking it away completely. Probably locked in the stables behind guards I hadn't seen yet. It wasn't just a precaution. It was a message. You're not going anywhere. 

Behind me, I could feel Lianwei's gaze. Quiet. Steady. He didn't need to say anything. He was always watching now, always standing nearby, like I would dissolve into the wind if he looked away too long. I pressed my forehead to the cold glass.

"God." I murmured. "A little help would be great."

Nothing. I sighed. 

"Zeyrith. Come on. Give me something, anything. I need out."I said.

Still no answer. A flicker of unease curled through my chest. That wasn't normal. He always answered. Even if it was to mock me. 

"System." I called silently.

"System online. Status: interference detected. Access to plot pathways temporarily limited. Assistance unavailable."System said.

"What?" I whispered.

"Remain calm. This will pass."The system said.

Panic hit fast. Not because I was trapped, but because I had no plan anymore. I was supposed to be able to navigate this. That's why I had the system. That's why I didn't need to fall apart when everything around me did. And now it was going quiet.

"Mei Shen." Came Lianwei's voice behind me. Soft. But close.

I didn't turn around. 

"I asked them to secure your horse. That's all."He said.

"You mean lock it away." I said.

"You ran before."He explained.

I turned, then, slowly, my hands clenched at my sides.

"So you're going to keep me here like some kind of-"I started.

"Guest." He interrupted. "You're a guest."

I narrowed my eyes. He looked tired. Like he hadn't slept in weeks. But beneath that was something else, stubbornness. The same kind I remembered when he used to give cold dismissals and walk away without looking back. Now he couldn't even let me get to the door.

"Why are you doing this?" I asked.

"Because the moment you came back, I remembered what it felt like to lose you." He said.

His voice was low. Steady. Too steady. I didn't answer. I couldn't. I turned back to the window. I was trapped. And worse… he wasn't playing the role he was supposed to play. That scared me more than anything. The knock on the door came just after sunrise.

I didn't answer. I didn't need to. The maids entered quietly, arms full of folded silk, embroidered robes in soft, expensive colors I hadn't worn since the palace. Pale blue. Cream white. Gold thread. They didn't look at me, just left them at the screen and bowed out. Not a word spoken. He had ordered them, obviously. 

I stood slowly and stared at the robes for a long time. Eventually, I changed. Not because I wanted to. But because I knew what would happen if I didn't. More maids. More watching. More soft voices knocking at the screen. And right now, I needed the illusion of obedience.

The silk was too soft. The sash tied too perfectly. This wasn't mine. None of this was mine anymore. I stepped out from behind the screen and crossed to the window again. The courtyard had quieted, but I could still see the stables beyond the far wall. No servants. No guards. Not right now. It was a gamble but I had run with worse odds.

I slipped into the pair of soft shoes they had left beside the robes and moved through the hallway with careful, practiced steps. Not rushing. Not creeping. Just… walking like I belonged. That was the key to slipping past most people. The halls were wide. Morning sun spilled across the tiled floor. A few passing servants bowed. One hesitated, but didn't stop me. The stables weren't locked. That was his mistake. Or maybe… he trusted me not to try again. I reached the horse. My fingers gripped the reins, and something in my chest trembled. I pressed my forehead against the mare's neck, breathing deeply. She nickered softly, warm and familiar.

"Just a walk." I whispered. "Just a quiet walk outside."

But I was already checking the saddle, already moving like I wasn't planning to stop.

"Action diverges from known routes. WARNING: Plot instability rising."System said.

Oh no. Not now.

"System-" I hissed.

"ASSISTANCE LIMITED. …Error."System said.

"I know what I'm doing." I said aloud, voice shaking. "I have to."

Even if I didn't.I pulled myself into the saddle anyway. I didn't care if they heard the hooves this time. I was not planning to become a prisoner of him and his obsessive love. It was too late for it.

The mare shifted under me, restless, sensing my nerves. I grabbed the reins tighter, ready to go. One squeeze of my knees, and we'd be past the courtyard. One minute, and I could vanish. Maybe not forever, but long enough to breathe again. And that's when he finally spoke. Zeyrith, the so called divine observer. The smug, lazy voice who had done nothing but tease me since I landed in this nightmare story.

"You do realize." He said, slow and far too calm. "That the obsession switch you flipped in this man's soul is now stuck on maximum, right?"

I froze.

"What?"I asked.

"You were supposed to stay long enough to finish the medicine arc, maybe get a little soft moment, then leave." Zeyrith continued. "Instead, you went full genre rewrite. Pity romance turned twisted fated obsession. Dark mode unlocked."

"I didn't mean to-"I started. "He was one who in the novel mistreated her, and I did not want her fate."

"Oh, I know, but you changed everything after drugging him first time. But Lianwei? He doesn't care. You could stab him in the gut, light the palace on fire, and disappear into a nunnery and he'd still crawl barefoot through mountain snow to find you."Zeyrith said and grinned.

I stared ahead. The courtyard was just ahead. The gate open. My pulse racing.

"I didn't speak earlier because I thought maybe you could handle this."He said. "But you're not dealing with Emperor Lianwei anymore. You're dealing with your Lianwei. The version that was rewritten by your absence. And now? He is terrifyingly sure that you belong to him. And when he finds you, he won't care about your reasons. He will not let you go."

"That's not love." I whispered.

"No." Zeyrith replied, oddly gentle now. "It's not. But it's the only thing he's ever been sure of."

The reins trembled in my grip. I could still go. But suddenly, it didn't feel like freedom waiting at the gate. It felt like a storm I was too late to outrun.