A classmate made obscene photos of her. “What do you need, student?” The man she met for the first time at the police station opened with that question. “I… don’t need money, sir.” “Sir,” when Park Chigyeong repeated the word to himself, his expression subtly changed. She caught the slight furrow of his brow. “I…

When Shen Ni, the empire’s foremost machinist, returns home victorious from battle against their long-standing foe, the emperor showers her with rewards, including the hand in marriage of the woman she had loved in her youth — Bian Jin. Bian Jin had once been the empire’s sharpest blade: a weapon in human form whose very…