"I'm not a fool," Leon said with a dismissive laugh. "Sure, Frelis is beautiful, but she's just a country girl—good for a bit of fun and nothing else."

"When it comes to marriage, I'll obviously choose someone of proper breeding." He took a slow sip of red wine, his gaze brazenly sweeping across the room, making several noble ladies blush under his attention.


Leon leaned in, his voice dropping to a theatrical whisper, lips curled in mockery. "Can you imagine her face when she discovers who I really am? Think she'll fall to her knees, begging me to take her back to the palace?"

The gathering erupted into snickers and chuckles, with several courtiers nearly choking on their wine.

"Though I suppose, for those pretty eyes of hers alone, I might let her serve as a personal maid." Leon waved his hand as if bestowing a great honor.


"How generous of Your Highness," the nobles murmured in unison, their eyes gleaming with contempt and cruel amusement.

Hidden in the shadows, Frelis listened to every word, her face a perfect mask of composure.


So this was the truth—the man she'd helped was actually the Second Prince of the North.

The same monster who had dangled golden ornaments from his carriage as he drove through the slums, watching with laughter as starving people fought like animals for a chance at wealth.

The same cruel prince who had hosted his infamous "Gold Panning Exhibition," where he scattered gold dust through mountains of rice and watched with glee as desperate commoners crawled until their fingers bled raw.

And now his twisted attention had fallen on her.

Martha's fists clenched at her sides, her eyes flashing with fury. "Miss, after you saved his miserable life, this is how he repays you?!"

Frelis lazily swirled her Ceylon tea, the corner of her mouth lifting in a smile that didn't reach her eyes.

She took a delicate sip, her fingertips tracing the rim of the fine porcelain, her expression cooling to winter frost.

"Martha," she said softly, "if a pampered Persian cat you've nursed back to health scratches you, would you waste your anger on such a creature?"

She set her cup down with deliberate care, a dangerous glint flickering in her gaze.

"He's merely a diversion," she said. "And soon enough, he'll learn exactly what kind of game we're playing."