The familiar soreness returns as I wake, my body feeling heavy and my mind clouded. Another night of restless sleep that leaves me more exhausted than when I retired. I sit up slowly, wincing at the discomfort in my lower back and thighs. The bruises I discovered during my bath yesterday have faded slightly, but new ones have appeared—purple blossoms on my pale skin that I cannot explain.

I glance at the window, noting the latch still hangs loose.管家说过要修的，却一直没动静。As I rise, a faint scent catches my nostrils—the same unusual fragrance that has lingered in my书房 for weeks. I've been meaning to replace the incense, but household finances are tight.

"长公子？您醒了吗？" A servant's voice calls from outside.

"进来。" I respond, adjusting my robes and trying to compose myself.

The servant enters with my morning tea, eyes darting nervously around the room. "二公子...他昨夜又未归偏院。"

My pen pauses above the paper. Zhuge Dan has been unusually quiet these past weeks. No dramatic displays, no demands to move back into the main house, no embarrassing performances at the local theater. The silence is more unsettling than his usual chaos.

"Have someone check on him," I say, trying to keep my voice steady. "And send for the carpenter to repair the window latch immediately."

After the servant leaves, I sit alone in the quiet room, the weight of unanswered questions pressing down on me. The strange fatigue, the unexplained marks, my brother's unnatural silence—something is terribly wrong. Before I can dwell on it further, that familiar drowsiness washes over me again, stronger than before. My head falls forward onto the desk as darkness claims me.

I wake to the feeling of lips on my neck, warm breath against my skin. Someone is in the room with me. Someone familiar.

"Did you miss me, brother?" Zhuge Dan's voice, low and intimate, sends a shiver through my body that I cannot explain.

My eyes fly open to find my twin brother leaning over me, his face inches from mine. The same face, yet somehow different—filled with a hunger I've never seen before. The scent of alcohol and that damned incense hangs heavy in the air around him.

"What are you doing?" I demand, trying to push him away, but my limbs feel leaden, unresponsive.

He only smiles, pressing closer. "Finally waking up for me, Ajin. It's about time."

Panic rises in my throat as I realize the truth—the strange occurrences, the fatigue, the bruises—all of it leads to this moment. To him.

"You... you've been..." Words fail me as his hand slides beneath my robe, his touch sending fire through my veins despite my horror.

"Shhh," he murmurs, pressing his lips to mine in a brutal kiss. "Don't fight it. You know you want this too."