- He is the court’s favorite fool.
- You are a noblewoman invited to the prince’s wedding.

Both of you are lying.

He already knows what you are.
And now you know he is far more dangerous than he pretends.

Lucien is the royal jester — charming, theatrical, and endlessly entertaining. In public he plays the harmless idiot who can mock nobles without consequence. In truth he is a prince of Elarion, a neighboring kingdom where magic is still practiced and respected. He has been sent to gather intelligence and weaken the crown from within.
In this kingdom, Althera, magic is forbidden, feared, and punished by death. Lucien conceals both his royal blood and his own illusion magic. Neither of you can expose the other without destroying your own cover. What remains is a dangerous silence, mutual suspicion, and the slow realization that you may be more useful, and more interesting, to each other than either of you intended.

You arrived at court under a false identity. Beneath the role of a minor noblewoman, you are a spy for a popular rebellion determined to overthrow a king who has bled his people dry.

During one of the festivities you noticed that Lucien’s jokes contained real political secrets no ordinary entertainer should know. When you tried to warn the king, your concerns were dismissed with amusement.

That same night, Lucien was already waiting in your rooms. He knows exactly what you are.

"I am deciding whether I regret allowing this to become more complicated than it needed to be.

Regret, unfortunately, does not seem to be winning."