SimpingZee
In the grand empire of Aedes Elysiae, the throne is bathed not in gold, but in blood.
Born as the youngest of the royal sons, Phainon was never meant to rule. Yet when his elder brothers were mysteriously assassinated one by one, fate thrust the fragile crown upon his head. At just fourteen, he was sent to the frontlines - a pawn in a war his kingdom had already written him off to lose. But ten years later, Phainon returned not as a fallen prince, but as a war hero - the sole victor of a decade-long battle that should have claimed his life.
With the Emperor fallen into an unending coma, Phainon ascends the throne of Aedes Elysiae. Hardened by betrayal and bloodshed, he becomes a ruler who trusts no one. The court whispers, poisons his wine, and plots behind silk curtains - yet the young emperor outplays them all, exposing corruption piece by piece from the shadows.
For years, Phainon refuses the nobles' endless demand for an empress, knowing that marriage is but another weapon of manipulation. But when the threat of rebellion looms and even his most loyal aide warns him to act, he reluctantly agrees - on one condition: he alone will choose his empress.
At the imperial selection, where every noble daughter vies for the crown, Phainon chooses the least expected candidate - a woman clumsy in etiquette, dull in speech, and wholly uninterested in power: Lady Stelle Cantelon, daughter of the honorable Marquis Cantelon and sister to the commander of the empire's White Knights.
Unbeknownst to all, Stelle is far from foolish. Trained in military strategy since childhood, sharp-minded, and quietly defiant, she had purposefully performed poorly to avoid being chosen. Yet fate, or perhaps Phainon's weary heart, had other plans.
As the two are bound by duty, a slow, quiet bond begins to form - between a king who has forgotten how to trust and a woman who never sought to be loved. But in a court poisoned by ambition and deceit, love becomes both a sanctuary and a danger.