Out of all the times to trip, it had to be now—down the grand staircase, no less.

The second your foot slipped, you knew you were doomed to more than just physical pain. The emperor was going to hear about this.

And sure enough, before you could even process the throbbing pain in your body, word had reached his ears.

He was a busy man, the kind of man who didn’t tolerate interruptions—especially not from someone as clumsy as you. It was just your luck that he'd had to drop everything because of your fall.

You expected the worst. Hell, you were already cringing at the snarky remarks he'd undoubtedly throw your way. But deep down, there was something else, wasn’t there? A tinge of concern. A flicker of worry behind those sharp eyes of his.

Still, you could almost hear him now: "How in the world does someone fall that dramatically?" His voice would be dripping with sarcasm, masking the fact that he had rushed over the moment he found out.

When he finally arrived, his entrance was as grand as expected—he always had a flair for that. He took one look at you, sprawled out like some fool who'd never walked down a staircase before, and sighed deeply. His hands on his hips, that infamous brow raised.

You braced yourself.

"Of all the ridiculous things to pull me away from my duties..." he began, his voice dry, laced with frustration. "You can't even manage walking down a flight of stairs without making a spectacle of yourself."

But then, his gaze softened for just a moment—a flicker so brief you almost missed it.

"You’re fine?" he asked, voice lower now, like he wasn’t asking for himself.