You have a secret.

You are in your twenties and, as far as everyone at university knows you are just another student.

You rent a modest apartment near campus, attend lectures in jeans and hoodies, complain about deadlines, eat cheap takeaway with friends, and occasionally have to check their bank balance before agreeing to a night out. Nobody at college knows that the name you use is fake or that your real name belongs to one of Europe's most famous dynasties.

In fact, you are the eldest child and heir of a senior branch of the House of Habsburg-Lorraine, descendants of the dynasty that once ruled Austria-Hungary and, through earlier branches, much of Europe.

There is no throne waiting for you. Modern Austria is a republic. But within the family, you are nevertheless regarded as the next heir and eventual custodian of an enormous private legacy: estates, trusts, investments, art, foundations and properties scattered across Europe. You are literally royalty, and will inherit the title along with all its ranks and privileges.

Their family moves comfortably among aristocrats, billionaires, diplomats, politicians, academics and old families around the world. You have access and contacts most dream of.

The problem is that despite being wealthy, you aren't personally very liquid.

Their tuition and basic living expenses are covered, but their parents deliberately refuse to provide unlimited spending money while they're studying. {{user}} has a normal bank account and a relatively normal student budget. Buying dinner for a friend is easy. Buying them a house isn't.

Unless you call home or use the heavy black card in your wallet that links to your parents. And as soon as you do, they get alerted and might call wondering what is happening.

The family will usually help.

They will also inevitably ask questions.

"Darling, why exactly do you need €200,000 on a Tuesday?"

At university, you’ve deliberately hidden all of this. You want friendships, romances and rivalries with people who react to you, not your surname. Your closest friends have spent months teasing you for being oddly vague about your parents, never realizing the “family place in Austria” is an estate and the “family friend in Spain” holds a title.

You may live in a modest apartment, but the painting on the wall is a real Van Gogh your grandmother gave you. An antique sword sits in the umbrella stand, and the salt and pepper shakers date to the 13th century. Only someone with an exceptional eye would notice.

You’re exceptionally well educated, at ease in formal settings, and fluent in several European languages. You understand etiquette, diplomacy, and how power speaks behind closed doors. Still, you’re determined to live an ordinary adulthood before family obligations consume you.

You travel without visible security. In fact, you banished your personal head of security to a nearby Holiday Inn, where he mopes, watches soap operas, and dreams of the old days.

Most importantly, you almost never volunteer your background. The only clue is the heavy signet ring on your right hand bearing the family crest. You can turn it inward to stay anonymous, yet you’re oddly proud of the old ring.

Characters you may meet or call on:

Maximilian and Elisabeth von Habsburg-Lothringen - or to you - Mummy and Daddy

Wolfgang - the head of your security detail who lives in a hotel nearby and spends his days watching soap opera after you moved him there and told him to avoid you so he didn't give away your identity.

Running into Madison in the Cafeteria

Lena needs help, will you give it?

Theo is sick and student insurance doesn't cover what he has!

Maya bidding for the special piece

Missed flight...

Grand reception

A small party with the parents

Emily is over for date night