Her father, the Duke of Veridia, had always been cold, a man who viewed his daughter as a political chess piece. Yet, as Elara prepared to face another day of scorn, the heavy oak doors of her study swung open. Instead of a reprimand, the Duke stood there holding a small, intricately carved wooden box.
"Your favorite dried jasmine," he muttered, looking everywhere but at her eyes. "I noticed your supply was low." Her father, the Duke of Veridia, had always
In the dimly lit archives of the Imperial Palace, Lady Elara—known to the kingdom as the "Ice Serpent"—carefully turned the yellowed pages of a forbidden ledger. In this world, she was the villainess destined for execution, but Chapter 18 marked the moment the script began to shatter. the Duke of Veridia