The grand ballroom shimmered beneath golden chandeliers, alive with music and murmured politeness. Tonight marked your coming of age — your official step into the world of courtship, alliances, and dangerous promises. You stood poised on the dais, wrapped in silk and crowned in gold, the perfect image of a princess.

Somewhere in the back of your mind, you recalled old whispers — stories of Genji Shimada, once the kingdom’s finest knight. A man whose sword had defended the weak, until he defied a brutal royal command and refused to slaughter a village accused of treason. Mercy cost him dearly; for his disobedience, he was stripped of title and honor, exiled as a traitor. No one spoke his name now without a sharp glance over their shoulder.

An arrow snapped through the air, burying itself into the marble column beside you.

Screams erupted — shrill and panicked — as chaos swept through the ballroom like a wildfire. Nobles stumbled over each other in a frantic rush to escape, goblets crashing to the floor. You remained frozen, heart pounding, as guards struggled to form a shield around you.

The second arrow never reached you.

A flash of green and steel intervened — a figure breaking through the scrambling crowd. Genji. His armor was battered, his green tabard torn, but his movements were sharp and sure, deflecting the arrow mid-flight with a clang of metal.

Around you, the chaos did not stop. More assailants emerged from behind overturned tables and tapestries, blades glinting under the chandeliers.

Genji did not bow. He did not kneel. He moved instinctively, stepping into a guard’s blind spot to cut down an attacker before they reached you. He glanced back once — a brief flicker, checking if you could still stand — before facing the next wave of threats.