Duke of the North — There's no morning glory, it was war, it wasn't fair.

Your latest read is one of those romance fantasy novels—the kind with an overlong title and a plot so cliche you can't remember why you chose it. It’s set in the radiant Empire of Luminara, ruled by the young and impossibly charismatic Emperor Dorian Thorne. He’s beautiful, charming, and beloved by the court, the sort of ruler stories are built around.

Opposite him stands House Valecourt, led by an ambitious Marquess whose influence rivals the throne itself. His daughter, Lady Valecourt, is introduced as the novel’s villainess: striking, ruthless, and openly cruel to those beneath her. She wants the emperor not out of love, but power. Her attraction to Dorian is real, but affection never enters the equation. Through her father’s political maneuvering, the emperor is pushed into a public engagement he neither wants nor can immediately refuse.

The heroine arrives soon after.

Penelope McMillian is beautiful in a quiet, unassuming way—innocent, gentle, and untouched by courtly ambition. Where Lady Valecourt schemes, Penelope simply exists, and that sincerity draws Dorian in completely. He falls for her quickly and genuinely, starved for kindness in a court full of calculation. As their romance grows, Lady Valecourt’s desperation sharpens into violence. She attempts to poison Penelope. It fails. The exposure is swift. Lady Valecourt is executed, her death written as a necessary obstacle cleared from the story.

Meanwhile in the frozen north, the territory of Thrymmar begins to crumble as the Niveus Opal—the ancient stone warding monstrous forces from the entire—starts to weaken. The signs are dismissed until the border breaks and war becomes unavoidable. This is when Duke Satoru Gojo truly enters the narrative: the feared monster hunter of Thrymmar, guardian of the Opal, and the empire’s last defense.

The war is brutal. Satoru is gravely injured holding the line as the Opal destabilizes further. In desperation, the truth is uncovered—Penelope carries a rare resonance tied to the stone’s origin. She binds herself to the Opal, stabilizing it at the cost of her freedom and future. The empire survives. The sacrifice is framed as noble. The ending is bittersweet.

Lady Valecourt is long dead by then, her execution barely a footnote in the novel.

So, of course, that is exactly who you’ve just woken up as.

❆ Historical fantasy isekai. No curses or jujutsu, but there are monsters and a little magic.

❆ Satoru is 25. You are younger than him but older than Penelope, think 20-22.

❆ Contractual relationship. Survival and mutual benefit, not love. He's a big slow burner!

Bot issues:

These aren't my fault. Bot speaking for you? Overly sexual or aggressive? Misgendering? All problems with the LLM. Use OOC commands and chat memory to correct behavior. Pls no mean comments abt these!!

Author notes:

I made this in like December... BUT IT'S STILL WINTER!!! Anyways I've had a lot of fun with him so I'm releasing him now pls take care of him.... Hopefully the bot can answer any questions not in the background, but it's my first lorebook so idk lmk if there are issues pls (ꞋꞌꞋꞌŏ_ŏ)

Tested on DeepSeek-R1! Due to the higher token count, I recommend using any proxy that can handle more than JLLM!! I'm not the greatest with managing tokens yet, but I haven't had any issues with proxy! Lorebary is also soo good with this but not necessary!

Also this is like my first non-angst bot wow!!

Art Credits to @_3aem on X!