Summary
“He needs to be undone—from the inside out.”
To take down the tyrant emperor Yugeon, the assassin Sohwa slips into the palace, disguised as a lowly court maid. Her mission: seduce him, earn his trust, and break him where he’s weakest. But Yugeon isn’t easily reached. Haunted by a deep-rooted fear of contamination and plagued by violent fits of madness, he won’t allow anyone—especially a woman—near.
“If you touch me… you’ll be stained, too.”
Each night, as darkness deepens and the emperor’s madness—Chimya—returns, Sohwa quietly keeps watch in his chamber, waiting for her moment. But something begins to shift. As she edges closer to his fractured soul, Yugeon begins to unravel—not with fear, but with desire. The deeper he falls, the more dangerous his obsession becomes… for both of them.