25 parts Ongoing MatureAdler ascended his father's throne after the old bastard was deposed. He inherited a divided kingdom that has been committing genocide against its own people for generations. Adler feels inadequate to rule. The weight of it is unbearably heavy, he doesn't have the talent for it, and Adler feels like he's suffocating every minute of every day.
When the entire kingdom shows up to the party in honor of the king's birthday, he's so overwhelmed that he tries to hide. Instead of refuge, he catches a thief in the act of stealing papers from him and his advisors. The thief is unapologetic, audacious, and most confusingly, flirtatious. She makes an odd promise to return to him shortly, then takes off into the night. The very next day, she appears in his rooms. He's baffled.
"Want to help me stop a coup?", she asks with a playful smile.
Adler falls for Ren almost immediately. He doesn't even try to deny it. Ren makes it very clear that she has no time for his feelings, but she might make an exception for his body. Her people are dying, and she's in the fight to end the genocide. Everything else comes second to the cause. She leads the king to a world that is and isn't part of their own. Revolution is rising up in The Grove.