The loud streets of the Yunoaiu district flooded your ears. It was late morning, and you had decided to skip out on breakfast not to waste any of the money Kai had generously given to you. The bed you had slept in last night was extraordinarily luxurious but at a whopping price of 2 coins for just two nights. You had tried your very best to negotiate with the woman at the desk for a lower price, but she insisted that they had the most economical prices compared to any other hotel that was nearby the palace.

You had eventually given in and paid the requested fund much to your dismay, and it still lingered on through to the morning despite the expensive and high-class room relaxing your nerves immensely. Presently, you were walking uphill towards the large palace which rested at the very top of the hill. Thankfully, the mountain was not that steep, causing the journey to the castle to be a little less complicated and a lot more bearable.

Your feet hit the stone ground, the large case held in your arms as you slowly made your way towards the palace. The city was bustling with people hurrying to do daily chores or going to their workplaces. Everybody who walked past you wore clothes made of the most expensive-looking fabric, carefully woven to perfection. Anything less than perfect was considered foreign and unacceptable in the Yunoaiu district.

If the Yunoaiu district was like this, the very place where the young Emperor had grown up, you could barely imagine how snobby the Emperor may be. However, you shook the thought out of your head, deciding not to already set impressions on the Emperor without even having met him yet, as though you would meet him any time soon anyway. Large and immensely appealing trees lined the pavements, around five meters apart each. They provided shade from the sun rays which beat down upon the wealthy district, yet the Yunoaiu people still carried around parasols of different colour and shape.

As you got closer and closer to the palace, your surroundings got increasingly grander in size, the amount of gold and painite¹ and other expensive trades from all around the world also becoming more frequent in your line of sight. You could hear the people who walked past you either whispering at how disgusting and low-class you looked. You could see the occasional glare of disgust from some passers-by.

'Do I honestly look that bad?' You contemplated, pursing your lips in embarrassment now that you had considered their rude remarks. Thankfully, you had finally arrived at the bridge which went over a vast canyon dropping down into an endless void of smoke and intimidation.

Fortunately, high walls surrounded the edges of the canyon, and there were reasonably high, thick glass barriers on either side of the full bridge. Your [E/C] eyes wandered to the opposite end of the elegant bridge, catching yet another set of high walls which were the colour of blood red, with golden detailing shimmering in the sunlight.

You stepped onto the bridge, not bothering even to stop and look over the edge due to admittedly having a small fear of heights. There was a children's story created for the very purpose of making people scared of heights. It became so popular over the years that a saying soon arose, warning people not to stare too long down from a high area or else they may start hearing the 'call of the void'.

The density of people seemed to decrease, and now there was only the occasional wagon or incredibly beautiful carriage going up and down the bridge's road. Remarking each carriage, you were reminded of the conversation you had had with the chauffeur. The one about the grandmother of the Emperor demanding him to look for a bride.

You concluded that noble ladies or even princesses from all complex sorts of places were riding in those passing hansoms. Heat rose from your cheeks, and you began thinking of how they may be laughing at you or glaring with repugnance inside their carriages. That terrible thought now in mind, your feet hit against the floor at a much quicker tempo, desperate to get away from the well-to-do's gleaming eyes.

Finally, you had approached the massive and open gate. A duo of guards stood on either of its sides, permitting the carriages to enter. However, not without checking who was inside first. Smaller gates encircled the large one, most likely for those who were scurrying in-and-out of the palace. You made your way towards a guard that sat in a small booth by the lower gate which you had presumed you had to go through.

You stopped in front of the booth, scared that the guard on the other side may not let you in. The guard wore a navy blue uniform with a silver lining, his name embroidered over the left side of his chest. He appeared to be middle-aged, with strands of light brown hair poking out of his navy blue, peaked cap. Decorating it in the centre was the national flower. He lazily looked up at you with black almond eyes, his eyebrows furrowing.

"State your name and business." He said, his eyes now glaring into you rather than the paperwork he looked down at just a second ago. Either he hated his job or the fact he had to be up so early in the morning. In any case, he didn't appear welcoming.

"[Name] Fuyomui. I came here to hand in my boss's entry for the tailoring competition." You responded clearly, beads of sweat forming on your forehead. What would happen if he didn't let you in? What if he thought you were a criminal because of how you looked and threw you into the prison?

He bores his eyes back down into the paperwork and swiftly slid out a form out of a small box at the edge of his desk. Placing the form in front of himself, he scribbled some writing onto it with black ink, using a feathery white quill that looked fairly expensive. Your lips formed a straight line, realising that everything was valuable in this city: even the stationery, the food, the places, the people, everything.

The guard took scrabbled onto the form for a few more moments before indolently looking up at you, his dark orbs holding no interest in you or your business whatsoever.

"Take this form and head through the gate. Take a left, and you should see the rest of the people who are also submitting their entries, waiting in the garden. Your submissions will be taken, and you will wait in the garden for about... several hours." The guard informed you, telling you about the incredibly long wait time. You felt like letting out a groan, already feeling the boredom you would have to endure over the next few hours settling into your soul.

"Understood." You replied in a voice nearly as monotone as his own while he handed the paper slip over to you. You took the rough paper into your clutches and were careful not to crumple it or even drop it, risking the form to fly away with the wind to god knows where. It was difficult, however, incredibly tricky in fact, to balance the large and heavy, light blue case in your arms while holding tightly onto the slip of paper.

You turned away from the booth, proceeding on, walking past the guards standing at either side of the smaller gate in an intimidating manner. Your feet hit the path nearly silently as you turned to your left and continued following the path of stone. In the distance, you could see a large number of chairs set out, flawlessly arranged, all facing towards a large stage. There were groups of people sat on the chairs, scattered around here and there. Some people looked just as impotent and scared as you while some looked rich with confidence. They all had cases in their arms, each a different colour from the last one you had spotted.

Around the small clearing were bushes of the most luscious green, the most attractive flowers known and multiple magnolia trees, thin but tall and glorious.

Chatter sounded, coming from those who had presumably arrived much earlier than you, as you could see that nearly all the seats were taken. As you soon arrived at the clearing, you could feel your hands shaking nervously, the harsh warmth of the sun providing close to no comfort at all.

Slowly, you walked along the rows of neatly placed, light wooden chairs. You searched for a seat and eventually came across one in the fourth row away from the stage.

Timidly, you sat down just two seats away from a loud group of young men. Their matching black tunics suggested they came from the Jaiquio district, a district known to be overflowing with thieves and crime, an absolute disappointment to the entire kingdom. As you took your seat, their conversation was your only sense of entertainment. Despite knowing that eavesdropping was wrong, you still wanted to listen in. Besides, was it really eavesdropping if you were in a public area? Well, the palace grounds aren't open grounds once you thought about it.

Giving in to the temptation, face slightly redder than before, you listened in on their conversation. "Gosh, I feel like trash. How disrespectful of them to throw us out into a garden so we won't cause any commotion for those... snobby royals in the palace!" One of the men complained, his features entirely out of your line of sight. He spoke with a very thick accent and a raspy tone, one that made him seem like a criminal of some sort.

"Quieten down, Feru! If any of the nobles or even the palace staff hear us, we could get into trouble!" A younger sounding male responded. His voice was higher and more innocent, and honestly, he sounded like the type to worry too much over nothing.

"Oh, please, Deri. They can't hear us over the sound of the regal music they're probably listening to in the ballroom right about now." The supposed Feru hissed in response, despite obeying his friend Deri by lowering his voice slightly, only making it more difficult for you to listen in.

Out the corner of your eye, you spotted a short male with golden locks of blonde cascading down to his tailbone. His skin was middle-toned, a beautiful honey brown and his eyes held the limitless sky and ocean within them, a lively and boundless tone of blue. "My friends, do not fuss any longer. We must stay focused on the competition." The blonde-haired man cut in, breaking the small argument beginning to form between his companions. The duo responded with a quiet 'yes', making it evident that the blonde who had spoken up was who they were working for, or perhaps just the leader of their group.

As you continued to listen to their meaningless but somewhat amusing conversation, your eyes caught sight of a tall man. He had incredibly pale skin, as white as the sheet of paper you were holding in your hands, with only a light dust of rose settling upon his cheeks to make him seem as though he were alive. His eyes were a beautiful purple resembling the rarest gem. His eyes looked otherworldly, like they had been given to him by the Emperor himself. His hair was a light shade of blue, holding the sky within its strands. He wore a white dress shirt with a neat black tie which had a sky blue gem encrusted onto it. Over his shirt was a navy blue vest, the golden buttons holding it closed looking like stars in the night sky. Lastly, he wore a pitch-black cape that went all the way down to his middle calf, meticulously decorated with gold at the shoulders.

Underneath, he wore black pants that had not even the slightest fault or wrinkle in them, stopping right at ankle-length. A, indeed, genuinely trendy outfit despite the fact he wore only one colour. His feet had black shoes on them, excessively polished as they seemed to be a second moon with how well they reflected the sunlight.

The tall and mysterious man walked onto the stage, his shoes creating an ominous clack against the hard wood. You weren't the only one who noticed his presence, with an aura that demanded you gave him your full attention. Everybody in the crowd had either hastened to sit down or had fallen painfully silent. The crowd's eyes were now glued upon his figure as the young man cleared his throat. "I am Octavi Kirayo. Now, I must inform you of a few things. One, I am one of the most well-known critics in the fashion industry. Two, I'm filthy rich and high standing, be grateful I am looking after you.

"Finally, three, if none of you is deemed worthy of becoming the Emperor's tailor, the job automatically goes to whoever I see fit, whether it's one of you lot or not. Now that you are acquainted with me, I will say the rules. You are not to cause a commotion; you are not to disrespect any of the staff. You are not to disobey the instructions you are given. If you happen to be one of the ten finalists chosen, you must not stray from the staff member who is guiding you. And if you ever come across anybody of a higher status than you, do not make eye contact and do not talk to them." He spoke in a monotone yet tortuously strict tone, intimidation lacing each word that left his mouth.

Octavi then proceeded to snap his fingers, causing some people in the crowd to jump from the unexpected action. Right after the snap had resonated through the air, five palace guards came out, wearing the same uniform as the one you saw at the booth earlier, except they wore golden head chains on their head and had a dull red eye drawn onto their forehead with what you assumed was red paint.

"Give your cases to these men then sit back down," Octavi demanded, however, nobody moved. Once everybody had gotten through their heads what he wanted, they all scrambled to their feet, and so did you.

Carrying the bulky case, you stood in the long queue that quickly formed in front of the five guards. The line progressively became smaller, and you placed your case upon one of the stacks of cases. Once you had done so, you obediently went back to your seat and sat firmly upon it, hoping that you and Kai would win the position of the Emperor's tailor. You did not come all the way to the Yunoaiu district just to disappoint after all.

Soon, everybody sat back down on their seats. But the chatter did not return, most likely because everybody felt threatened by Octavi Kirayo. The guars picked the pile of cases and carried them all up the hill and towards the palace, as though they were made of sheer feathers.

Seeing them do so made you begin to understand how weak you were. As you eventually had wandered into thought, you were quickly snapped out of your head by the positively clear voice of Octavi.

"Alright. You will now all wait several hours until we announce the ten finalists." Octavi finished before swiftly leaving the stage and disappearing out of sight. Slowly, the sound of chatter and conversation began to rise again, mostly just people focusing the discussions on the infamous Octavi.

You pursed your lips in boredom before your ears began hearing the thick, raspy accent of the man called Feru. Still, you had not seen or even greeted yourself with the trio of men and didn't plan to. If you ever dared to, they'd mostly question why a woman was here, laugh in your face and tease you or just flirt with you as though you were some object to be won. At least, that is what you expected as that is how every single man you had talked to had treated you, other than Kai and the kind local baker who you had wasted many hours conversing to during your early teen years.

"That Octavi guy sure is something. I bet the Emperor is gonna let him choose either way. We're just wasting our time." Feru snapped, the emotion of anger audible in his voice.

"Now, Feru. Stay hopeful, my friend, at least we are given a chance." The blonde had reacted in a calm tone, causing you to conclude that he was the peacekeeper out of the three friends.

"Lysander, I am thankful for the chance we have been given but that Octavi.. he is incredibly irritating. He makes my blood boil. He thinks he's so much better than us!" Feru complained to the blonde male, who you had now discovered to be called Lysander.

"I just want to go home.." Deri whined, his voice high pitched and soft as though he were a young boy. However, he was a fully grown man but unfortunately a lot skinnier than his two best friends.

Lysander paused, and a small grin made its way onto his lips before he faced you. His emerald eyes fixated upon your figure, his eyebrow mildly rising. You could see him staring you down out the corner of your eye and eventually grew annoyed, but you felt more disturbed.

Feeling his eyes burn holes into you, your [E/C] orbs slowly stared right back into his as you face him head-on. "Miss. I know you're eavesdropping on our conversation." Lysander said courageously, a smirk on his lips. Your eyes glanced over to Deri, who was relatively short with jet black hair, tanned skin and emerald green eyes currently wide with shock - only having just noticed you. Beside Deri was a very tall and bronzed muscular man who had emerald green eyes as well. However, his hair was white, the utter opposite of his friend.

"I'm sorry?" You responded, not sure what to say due to being called out. You bit your lip, hoping they wouldn't give you a hard time. Besides, as you had heard, they were from the Jaiquio district, a hell hole where criminals thrived.

"Instead of eavesdropping, just join our conversation. Let me introduce myself," The blonde-haired man began as he put his hand on his chest in a respectful manner, "I am Lysander." He stated. A small smile graced his lips as he gestured to his short and weak looking friend, "This is Deri," He introduced, "And this is Feru." Lysander finished, gesturing to the tall and muscular man.

You gulped, feeling threatened by Feru who just so happened to be burning a deadly glare into your figure. Taking notice of your discomfort, Deri quickly nudged Feru. "Feru, stop glaring like that." He began before looking at you with his strikingly beautiful, green eyes. "He's just examining you... not in a weird way. It's a habit of his.. he... he always looks angry or scary, it's just his natural resting face I guess." Deri explained, laughing nervously afterwards.

Feru's orbs immediately snapped towards Deri once he had finished talking, a small frown appearing on his lips. He deliberately looked back at you, a twinge of solemnity in his eyes. "My deepest apologies, miss. I cannot help it.." Feru mumbled, his accent and croaky voice still prevailing in his now quieter tone.

You smiled reassuringly and waved your hand wide open and side to side in resistance. "No, no! Don't feel bad. I just didn't know; I thought you were angry at me for, well... y' know..." You responded.

"Eavesdropping." Lysander perfected your sentence for you before flashing you a toothy smile. "Anyway, since you listened in and can see our black tunics, you know we are from the Jaiquio district. Which district do you come from?" Lysander questioned, trying to keep the conversation flowing. After all, you had several hours to spare.

"Ah, I am from the Ouiy district." You revealed, a sheepish smile on your face. The Ouiy district was famous for trading as it was right by the ocean with an incredibly large pier. If you were from the Ouiy district, you were either a business entrepreneur, a preoccupied employee or a trader. It was known to be a bustling district not only because it was one with a high natural increase² but also because it attracted many people. This attraction was partly due to how much trade went on and the high number of merchants.

"The Ouiy district? The one by the ocean?" Deri mused aloud, tapping his chin curiously. You nodded 'yes' in response, earning a pleased grin from Deri. "Ah, I've always wished to venture to Ouiy. I wish to look at the beautiful trades they have from all around the world and ride on a boat!" Deri exclaimed, earning a slight eye roll from Feru.

"Deri, you get seasick just by being anywhere near the sea and ocean. Going to Ouiy may harm your health." Feru objected, his hard stare promptly fixating onto Deri.

Deri's childish smile soon turned upside down into a deep frown. "I just won't go too close to the ocean! Besides, I can deal with a twinge of sea sickness here and there." Deri complained, their banter quickly ending when Lysander clicked his tongue in interruption.

"Please, stop with the banter. Every time you both are near each other, it ends in a disagreement that is not orderly sorted out." Lysander cut in, obviously beginning to become irritated with their annoying behaviour.

Along the next several hours, you all got to know each other a bit more. You thought it best to make a friend or two in the crowd, so you didn't feel completely alone. You all shared laughs and information about one another, completely ignoring the rest of the groups around you. It seemed you had finally found a group you could fit into during your time in Yunoaiu. Now that you had met Lysander, Deri and Feru, Yunoaiu didn't seem all that bad. After hours seemingly sped past with the fun conversations, your attention was transferred to the handsome yet professional Octavi.

Octavi had finally made his way up the steps once again, his very presence causing everybody to fall into silence. "Thank you all for the submissions. Regrettably, there were some disgusting pieces of garbage we had to touch. Fortunately, we also found some beautiful pieces. Now, with that word. I will be announcing the ten of you, which will follow me to the palace to wait for the Emperor to try on all your outfits and choose the victor. When I call out your name, please stand, walk over to the guard and line up in an orderly fashion." Octavi commenced, gesturing over to the palace guard who stood beside the stage, his face barren of any emotion whatsoever.

Octavi cleared his throat, his soothing voice becoming slightly louder to announce the names of the ten favourite outfit submissions. "Detya Fop, Wedni Kippsto, Berlo Kim, Genevia Ceni, Wefu Husbin," He began to call out. You bit your lip in anticipation, not noticing your entire figure shaking desperately and your ears hearing out for your name to leave his lips. "Xiao Ho, Yu Mai, Xavier Ori, Lysander Shin and [Name] Fuyomui. You are the ten finalists. Hurry up, do not waste my time." Octavi called out, his tone loud and clear.

You sighed with relief, your heart overflowing with joy. A broad smile made its way onto your face as you sprung up from your seat. "Great job, [Name]!" Feru congratulated you as you hastily made your way towards the guard to line up. Lysander followed close behind you, earning a simple, "Don't let us down, Lysander!" From Deri as he left his seat.

Stood in the line, your hands clenched into fists. Not with any particular anger but rather because you felt incredibly anxious for the outcome. You needed to know now, or else you might have a breakdown. You inhaled and exhaled deeply, focusing on your breath and practising mindfulness, trying your best to calm your nerves so that you wouldn't be a trembling mess in front of Octavi if he were ever to approach you personally.

"Let us proceed to the palace. Do not stray away from the line, or else you will be dealt with accordingly like a criminal." Octavi warned, his face looking stricter than ever before he turned around, his cape flowing in the breeze as he did so. He began to lead the way, walking up a path that brought you back to the main road going towards the palace. As you were walking up the hill, you took note of the grand castle that towered above you.

The palace was rather prominent; its immense outer walls were a burgundy colour. The roof consisted of beautiful tiles, each identical to one another, with the pitch of the black and jade green upon them. Finally, the windows were large and circular with golden linings. Leading up to the castle was a set of stairs, around ten to twenty that pointed to a front door with two white and light green marble pillars at either side. The handles were golden, and there were pairs of guards everywhere.

There was a pair at the end and top of the stairs, along with some by the door. A few others marched around the outside of the palace, patrolling the area. It seemed as though the Emperor had many enemies, so much to the point he or his grandmother was incredibly paranoid about it. There were many guards on palace grounds, even around the Yunoaiu district.

Octavi led the group of ten up the stairs, a guard trailing behind at the very end for extra security. Though you should have felt like you were about to win a rather extravagant prize, you did not. Instead, you felt like you were going to some sort of dungeons. Once you had reached the top of the steps, the guards hastened to open the door for Octavi. This man had, without a doubt, power.

You stepped into the palace, and you saw an unbelievable sight. The main room was a long hall, a red carpet trailing down the middle of it. The walls were made of red wallpaper with golden detailing, and the floor of dark and luxurious looking tiles. There were sets of sliding doors all along the hallway, each looking identical to the last. Not to mention, it was all well lit with giant chandeliers hanging above you like angels flying around in heaven. It was truly a sight to behold. You continued to walk behind Octavi and the queue, everybody just as speechless as you were.

However, you snapped your attention fully onto where you were going when your leader had made a sharp turn, slid a door open and walked inside. Some people looked at one another, fearful of what might come next.

You went into the room and through the sliding door to see a room full of luxurious settees, around four, all facing a large semi-circular window that went into the ground. The sofas were a beautiful shade of light blue, matching the wallpaper which had bluebells and such on it. The floor was made of white marble, and honestly, the blue and white theme of the room calmed you down ever so slightly.

Octavi suddenly spun around to face the line of competitors and smacked his lips, obviously unimpressed before demanding, "Sit down until the victor is called. You'll be waiting for fifteen minutes."

Octavi then proceeded to hurry past the line, out the door and out of sight. He had shut the door behind him, leaving you all with the silence. Slowly, everybody went to their desired seats and began to chat with one another.

You sat on the couch closest to the window with Lysander, your figure sinking into the sofa, letting comfort take over your senses. Lysander began to speak, anxiousness in his voice, "I'm frightened.. you must be too. Whoever wins, let the other graciously lose. I wish you the best of luck with your submission, [Name]." Lysander mumbled comfortingly to you.

The hold you had on the edge of your dress loosened at the sound of his voice. You let out a weary sigh before replying, "Thank you, Lysander. I wish you the best of luck as well."

From then on, you and Lysander were silent, the tension building up in the room as time wavered on. At this moment, time was a tremendous burden to you, as it always was. There was either too much of it or too little of it. It would go by too fast, or in this case, much too slow for your liking. You gazed out the polished window, your [E/C] orbs examining the traditional garden that had been planted before you. The minutes felt like hours, and your grip on the end of your dress had tightened once again. You could sense how stressed Lysander was as well; you could feel how stressed everybody was.

Everybody was mute, desperate for the news, their ears begging to hear something as the silence rang in your ears in such a teasing manner.

Finally, the dreaded yet much-anticipated footsteps of Octavi broke the silence like a knife on a thin string. The sound of his footsteps cut the silence apart mercilessly as he slid the door open. Behind the young and handsome man was yet another palace guard. He cleared his voice to make sure all attention was on him, although everybody was staring at his figure wide-eyed.

"The Emperor has officially chosen a victor. The victor will come with me to their new working studio, and I will tell them all the information they need to know about their new position as the Emperor's private tailor." Octavi began, eyes drowned with delight, seeing how he had caused you all to suffer so long with anxiousness.

"The victor is [Name] Fuyomui. Miss Fuyomui, please follow me. Let us make haste to your new chambers. The rest of you may politely leave, following this palace guard to the entrance. Now, chop-chop." Octavi demanded, his orbs grazing across the crowd for whoever you were out of the ten people.

Wordlessly, you made the first move out of the group and stood up. Even if you had boldly done so, you promptly clung onto your faux fur scarf rather than the ends of your skirt. You were nervous, scared of Octavi and somewhat confused. You didn't know that the victor would be living in the palace. Not only that, but you also felt egotistical. You were not the real victor; the actual victor was Kai. It did not matter if you were the one who embroidered all the detail on and chose the fabric, Kai was your boss, so he deserved the spot. However, you could not help but feel overjoyed at the same time. Hastily, you made your way over to Octavi who was staring at you as if his eyes were a snake's venomous fangs pressing onto innocent prey.

"Follow me," Octavi ordered, turning around and walking past the guard. You raised your eyebrows slightly at the sudden movement before scurrying after him. The only ensuing sound was the symphony of his shoes clacking violently against the floor. Your footsteps barely created any noise in comparison to his.

"As the new private tailor for the Emperor himself, you will be given prompts for different outfits you will be making in his honour and an appropriate deadline. If you fail to meet a deadline, you will suffer a big cut from your monthly payments or even worse, be fired if you do not meet the Emperor's high expectations. Please, try not to disappoint." Octavi established.

"You will be paid 150,000 golden coins a month for your work, and you may request for an assistant or two to help you. You will not directly speak or look at the Emperor on any occasion, and you will never leave your private room until granted permission to do so. A maid will bring food to you; breakfast, lunch, snack and dinner, and you are allowed to leave the palace to buy fabric, threads, and whatnot if needed. Once finished with the outfit, you have been told to make, leave it in the red chest that will be in a corner of your room. Two maids will come to pick it up on the day of the deadline." Octavi explained. You felt your heart skip at the words that left his mouth. You would be paid so well and would be given the five-star treatment as long as you did your work correctly and surpassed the expectations they had of you.

Still, you could not shake off the thought of Kai. So, you decided to inform Octavi. "Sir Octavi Kirayo. I have a confession. I did not work on the outfit alone; my boss put the outfit together. I worked with him on it. I did the embroidering and chose the fabric. Is it alright.. if I give him a call? Is it alright if I ask him what he wants me to do with this situation?" You asked timidly, scared that Octavi may bark at you.

"You have a telephone in your private quarters. This boss of yours can either come here and work as your assistant or may stay wherever it is he is. You are free to send a portion of your pay to him every month of course. However, you will stay as the private tailor. The Emperor praised the embroidery itself. Besides, merely putting together an outfit is something even the lowliest peasant with no tailoring skills at all can do." Octavi responded.

"You are the tailor now, miss Fuyomui. That will not change unless you are to be fired. The Emperor praised the embroidery on the outfit. That is something he has not done for a long time. He often hates any sort of fuss on his outfits, any sort of detail. He tends to like it plain. I was impressed myself." Octavi admitted before stopping at a large, double sliding door made of dark wood. It had beautiful golden detailing upon it.

"Anyway, here we are. Stay here. If you wish to leave for the market place as I said you could before, you have to ask to do so first. Just ask a maid to confirm if you are allowed." Octavi finished, gesturing to the door. "I will see you around. I will be checking up on you now and again. If you disappointment me, I will not hesitate to punish you how I reckon is correct." Octavi said his farewell before leaving you be, disappearing down a different hallway.

Slowly, you slid open the double doors, coming face to face with a beautiful room. In this room was a large, king-sized bed with attractive white and minty green bed sheets, fluffy pillows and a bed frame that was only slightly off the ground, causing the foundation to only be up to your knees at most. On the other side of the room was a strangely large desk with two large wardrobes on either side, detailed with fine gold. The floor was made of dark hardwood, the same as the door. There was a large, burgundy carpet with beautiful details of white flowers on it. The wallpaper consisted of blossoming white petals and there, in the middle of your room was a small stage that held a mannequin upon it. Around this stage were several other mannequins, and against the wall where the door rested, was a large red chest, in which you would presumably put the final products.

There were two other large black chests; however they were wide open, rolls of expensive fabric resting within them. It indeed was like a dream. Not to mention, there was also a bookcase, packed with numerous books. The wall directly across you was made wholly out of glass. Beyond the glass was a small balcony with a seat and a table overlooking a garden filled with tall magnolia and plum blossom trees.

Walking to the side of the bed, where you found a marble bedside table with a red telephone resting on it, and a vase full of superbly pink water lilies. You had to call Kai to help you know what to do next. You were both unaware that if you won, you'd have to live at the palace. So, you opened the black satchel which hung around your figure and pulled out the now slightly tattered piece of paper Kai had given to you. Placing the piece of paper beside the telephone, you shakily dialled the number.

You brought the phone up to your ear, now waiting for Kai to pick up. "[Name], my dear sister? Is something wrong?" Kai picked up the phone, his concerned voice loud and clear.

"There is nothing wrong, my dear brother. We have won the tailoring competition. However, the tailor is supposed to stay and live within the grand palace of Intuuin. My brother, I did not know this. I am being paid 150,000 golden coins a month. I am allowed to send the money back to you, and I can even make you my assistant. We can work here together, Kai. I did not mean to take credit for your work. Please, do not be irritated or angry with me." You begged, then, biting your lip, prepared yourself for whatever answer Kai had in store for you.

"Silly girl, I knew of this. I do not wish to work at the palace. This is my home, and I enjoy providing for my current clients. Just send a small portion of the money back to me every month. I am sorry I lied to you. I wanted you to become the tailor. I wanted you to live a great life. I am already pleased with mine, and money is all I need now to make it better. Besides, you are an adult. You should know how to look after yourself and have some sort of independence. I am not going to live forever [Name]. I will always miss you. Call me every day, alright? And please, visit me once in a while." Kai responded, revealing the truth.

You gasped, "My brother, how selfless and humble can you possibly be? Are you sure you do not wish to come and work here alongside me?" You persisted.

"I am sure. Besides, a woman like you deserves to have her talent known to the world. I am not one who enjoys fame and attention, to be honest. You are much more skilled than I am; you deserve the position. You put just as much work into the outfit as I did. Do not feel bad or selfish. I wanted this to happen. I will miss seeing you every day. Please, call me every day." Kai replied, his voice silky smooth and sweet.

"I will miss you, Kai. I will call you every single day that we are apart. I will visit you, I swear. I will send you 50,000 gold coins every month, alright?" You said, a solemn smile now on your face.

"That is much more than enough, [Name]. Thank you. Do well and thrive, show them what you have. Prove those who doubt you wrong. I must make haste and end this call now, my dear sister. I have a client at the house at the moment, choosing fabric for her next desired outfit. Take care." Kai ended the call, the silence now coming back to you.

You smiled and silently put the phone back down. Taking a deep breath in, you turned to face the enormous room you would now call home. Was it really 'home' without Kai, though? Your heart ached, missing him dearly. However, you could not help but also feel joyous with the fact you had won, giving you and Kai a comfortable life from now on.

This was going to be your life, and you were determined to stay resilient and surpass the Emperor's high expectations. You were now the Emperor's private tailor.

¹ Painite, a very rare borate mineral. Discovered by British geologist and gem dealer, Arthur C.D. Pain. May be mistaken for Sapphire.

² Natural Increase, when birth rate is higher than death rate.