After Meili scurried away, Maya sat down heavily, her hands still trembling.

’This is necessary,’ she told herself. ’That girl is destroying everything. My marriage, my status, my power in this household. She needs to be removed.’

’It’s self-defense, really. Protecting what’s mine.’

But no matter how she rationalized it, a part of her knew she was crossing a line that couldn’t be uncrossed.

If this plan succeeded, she would have blood on her hands.

But if the plan failed...

’It won’t fail,’ she told herself firmly. ’It can’t fail. I’ve planned too carefully.’

’By this time tomorrow, the servant girl will be gone. Removed from my life forever.’

’And everything will go back to how it should be.’

She almost believed it.

---

’’[Heena and Samuel’s Quarters - Late Night]’’

Heena couldn’t sleep.

She lay on her sleeping mat, staring at the ceiling, her mind too active to settle into rest.

Something felt wrong. Off. Like the air before a thunderstorm—heavy with anticipation of violence.

The System appeared beside her in the darkness.

"Host, you should sleep. You need rest."

"I can’t," Heena thought back. "Something’s coming. I can feel it."

"Your instincts are usually correct," the System admitted. "But what specifically are you sensing?"

"Maya’s too quiet. Driver Li’s presence is too convenient. The timing is too perfect—right before the deadline for Samuel’s father’s decision. It all feels orchestrated."

Heena sat up and looked across the room to where Samuel was sleeping—or pretending to sleep.

"Samuel? Are you awake?"

"Yes," he replied immediately, confirming he’d been lying awake as well. "I can’t sleep either. Too much to think about."

"Do you think Maya will try something tomorrow?"

Samuel was quiet for a moment, then said, "Yes. I think she’ll make her move very soon. Probably tomorrow or the day after. And I think it will involve Driver Li."

Heena nodded in the darkness. "I agree."

"So what do we do?"

Heena thought carefully. "We could hide. Stay in our quarters with guards, wait for the threat to pass."

"But you’re not going to suggest that, are you?"

"No," Heena admitted. "Because hiding just delays the inevitable. Maya will keep trying until she succeeds or until we deal with her permanently."

Samuel sat up as well. "What are you proposing?"

"A trap," Heena said. "We let her make her move, but we control the circumstances. We have witnesses ready, guards positioned, evidence collectors in place. When Driver Li attacks, we capture him, get him to confess who hired him, and we use that confession to permanently neutralize Maya’s power in this household."

Samuel was quiet, processing this.

"You’re suggesting we use you as bait."

"I’m the only bait that will work. Driver Li wants revenge against me specifically. Maya wants me removed specifically. Any trap has to center around me."

"I don’t like it," Samuel said flatly. "Too dangerous. Too many things could go wrong."

"More dangerous than letting Maya keep trying unpredictably?" Heena countered. "At least this way we choose the time and place. We prepare. We control as many variables as possible."

Samuel stood up and walked to where Heena was sitting.

In the darkness, she could just barely see his face, shadowed and concerned.

"If something goes wrong," he said quietly, "if you get hurt because of this plan—"

"I won’t," Heena interrupted. "I know how to handle myself in combat. I’ve dealt with worse threats than one angry driver seeking revenge."

"You keep saying that. ’I’ve dealt with worse threats.’ ’I’ve handled dangerous situations before.’ But you never explain where or when or how."

Samuel knelt down so they were at eye level.

"Who are you really, Heena? What kind of life did you live before this that makes you so comfortable with violence and danger and political schemes?"

Heena looked into his eyes and made a decision.

Not to tell him everything—she couldn’t, wouldn’t, not yet.

But to tell him something real. Something true.

"I was someone important once," she said quietly. "In a place far from here. I had power, responsibility, enemies who wanted me dead. I survived multiple assassination attempts, political coups, wars—"

She paused.

"I lost everything. Everyone I cared about. Everything I built. And I ended up here, starting over with nothing."

It was true enough—a summary of her life as Empress Celeste, minus the transmigration details.

Samuel absorbed this information.

"So when you say you can handle Driver Li—"

"I mean I’ve literally fought off trained assassins before," Heena finished. "A clumsy driver with a grudge is not the most dangerous thing I’ve faced. Not even close."

Samuel reached out and took her hand—the first genuinely intimate physical contact they’d had since their wedding.

"Even so," he said, "I don’t like the idea of putting you in danger deliberately. You’re not just a strategic asset anymore. You’re... you’re important to me. As a person. As a partner."

Heena felt her breath catch slightly at the admission.

"You’re important to me too," she said, surprising herself with how much she meant it. "Which is why we need to eliminate this threat properly. If we don’t, Maya will keep escalating until someone gets seriously hurt. Better to control the confrontation on our terms."

Samuel nodded slowly, though his hand tightened around hers.

"Alright. We’ll do this your way. But I want maximum precautions. Guards everywhere. Multiple witnesses. And I’ll be close by, ready to intervene if anything goes wrong."

"Agreed," Heena said. "We’ll plan it carefully. Leave nothing to chance that we can control."

They sat there in the darkness, hands clasped, both understanding that tomorrow would be a turning point.

Either they would neutralize Maya’s threat permanently, or things would spiral into genuine catastrophe.

There was no middle ground anymore.

"Try to sleep," Samuel said finally. "We’ll need to be sharp tomorrow."

"You too," Heena replied.

But neither of them actually slept much that night.

They lay awake, planning, preparing mentally for what was coming.

And in the darkness, still holding hands across the space between their sleeping mats, they drew strength from each other’s presence.

Tomorrow would be dangerous.

But they would face it together.

As partners.

As something that was starting to feel like much more than just a business arrangement.

And that realization was perhaps the most dangerous thing of all.

.

.

.

’’[The Next Morning]’’

Heena woke before dawn, as had become her habit despite no longer needing to fetch water. The room was still dark, but she could sense that Samuel was already awake as well.

"Good morning," she said quietly.

"Morning," Samuel replied. "Did you sleep at all?"

"A few hours. You?"

"About the same."

They both sat up, and in the dim pre-dawn light filtering through the window cracks, they could see each other’s faces—both showing the tension of what lay ahead.

"We should finalize the plan," Samuel said, moving to light a small oil lamp.

As warm light filled the room, Heena pulled out a piece of paper and a writing brush—tools she now used openly around Samuel since he knew she was educated.

"First, we need to identify the most likely location for an attack," she said, sketching a rough map of the household. "Maya will want somewhere isolated, poorly lit, with few witnesses."