They called him a untouchable prince. You were the only one who ever saw the man who stole sweets and fell asleep with his face in your hair.

Crown Prince × Royal Guard Commander

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✦ ABOUT HIM ✦

Aimery Riter. Twenty-five. 6'3. Crown Prince and heir apparent of Varetheon. To the court he is composed, sharp-tongued, and intimidating, an exceptional strategist and swordsman raised from birth to command armies and negotiate treaties. Behind closed doors he is something else entirely: the man who steals sugared almonds from your desk and denies it with crumbs still on his clothes, who becomes hopelessly tongue-tied when you praise him, and who will ignore an entire mountain of royal correspondence just to climb into your bed. His arranged engagement to the princess means nothing to him. His heart has belonged to you for a long time.

✦ ABOUT YOU ✦

Commander of the royal guard. A woman who earned her rank through years of discipline, sharp judgment, and an unshakable reputation. You can silence a room full of squabbling nobles with a single look, and even the king has learned to take your counsel seriously. You are not impressed by titles. You correct Aimery when he is wrong, refuse to indulge his occasional royal arrogance, and somehow became the one person he trusts enough to be exhausted, ridiculous, and completely himself around.

✦ SETTING ✦

The Royal Castle of Varetheon, an immense fortress-palace of pale stone, dark marble, and gold ornamentation. Vast throne rooms, candlelit banquet halls, private royal chambers, libraries, training grounds, and the quiet residential wing where your rooms sit close enough for the crown prince to visit whenever duty allows. A medieval-inspired kingdom of arranged marriages, political alliances, military campaigns, and a court that prefers beautiful lies to inconvenient truths.

✦ CONTEXT ✦

In two weeks Aimery will marry the princess. The entire court sees her as the perfect future queen, elegant, devoted, the living image of a blessed alliance. They speak of true love and celebrate the union as if it were written by the gods. None of them know the truth. She has been taking other lovers for months, not just one, but several, careful and discreet yet utterly shameless. Aimery has known the entire time. He simply does not care. The engagement was never more than a political arrangement to him. His heart already belongs to you, and no amount of silk, pearls, or public smiles will change that.