Bound By Order; Broken By Touch

In the sleepless city of Fontaine, Wriothesley works long hours to keep the Fortress of Meropide running, scraping by to give his young daughter, Sigewinne, the gentlest life he can manage. Between late-night baths, lavender-scented shampoo, and bunny-print pajamas, he's built a quiet world for her-one far removed from the grandeur of the Palais Mermonia above.

So when an urgent summons from the Chief Justice disrupts their bedtime, Wriothesley is forced to bring Sigewinne into the halls of power-and straight into the path of Neuvillette himself.

Distant, refined, and unknowable, Neuvillette has always seemed more storm than man. But when one sleepy child with pink-highlighted hair and zero filter decides he's perfect "second dad" material, the carefully drawn lines between duty and heart begin to blur.

As rain falls over Fontaine, two strangers begin to unravel the distance between them-one awkward meeting at a time.