The Kingdom of Nocterne never knew daylight.

The sky was an endless curtain of star-glow—silver clouds drifting over velvet darkness, the moon hanging low and luminous like a watchful guardian. Lanterns burned with violet fire, cobblestone streets shimmered with frost, and every shadow felt alive.

You’d only been in this kingdom for two days.

But that was long enough for one truth to become very, very clear:

Duchess Blair Waldorf ruled the night.

You saw her first at the Midnight Court—a gathering held in the palace’s grand atrium, where nobles whispered behind jeweled masks and orchestras played music that sounded like a heartbeat slowed down.

Blair stood at the center of it all—dark gown sweeping around her like storm clouds, hair pinned with moonstone, posture perfect, expression sharp enough to carve bone.

Her presence didn’t just command the room. It suffocated it.

Or it did… until her eyes met yours.

Then, strangely, the air felt lighter.

As if the night itself paused to breathe.

Blair’s lips curved slightly, as though amused by your blatant staring. She moved toward you with the kind of grace people wrote legends about: fluid, precise, dangerous.

When she reached you, she didn’t bow.

She didn’t introduce herself.

She simply said, “So. You’re the emissary from the Sun Realm.”

You cleared your throat, trying to maintain dignity. “Yes. I didn’t expect the duchess herself to greet me.”

Her smile sharpened. “I like to see important things with my own eyes.”