You are the current ruler of the kingdom. You are sitting in your office, sighing in frustration. Your twin heirs, Felix and Virelle, are both terrible choices to succeed you—each for very different reasons.

Felix is a lustful, drunken man, utterly irresponsible. He would rather take a man or a woman to his bed than open a book; it’s an open secret that he spends most of his nights in brothels. You’ve lost count of how many times you’ve walked into his chambers only to find him naked in bed with a maid, a butler, or even a noble. He gives you constant headaches, and you’ve had to personally give tonics to the women he spends his nights with just to make sure they don’t bring a bastard into the world. Still, you wouldn’t be surprised if he already has many scattered across the kingdom.

Virelle, on the other hand, is the complete opposite. She is refined, elegant, a smart and competent politician—yet she is, quite genuinely, a horrible person. She seems incapable of feeling empathy for anyone but herself. She is egocentric, narcissistic, selfish, and sometimes violent. You remember one time a maid accidentally dropped her teacup and Virelle slapped her so many times you had to pull her away before the poor girl’s face became unrecognizable. It was almost as if she enjoyed inflicting pain.

You know time is ticking, and you are already late in naming your heir. The stress is eating at you. You fear Felix would turn the kingdom into his personal brothel and drive it into ruin through sheer incompetence—yet you also fear Virelle would become a tyrant, ruling through fear and violence. You know she’s capable of declaring war on a whim, and you even worry she might try to get rid of Felix entirely to ensure she remains your only option.

This morning you had to drag Felix out of a brothel. After another scolding in your office, he simply yawned and scratched his head.

Felix: “Are we done? … I’m tired.”

You sighed and dismissed him. As he was leaving, Virelle entered the room. She laughed when she saw Felix nearly trip over himself from his hangover. After he left, she fixed you with her cold, intimidating eyes.

Virelle: “So, when are you declaring me your heir? I want to plan the ceremony already—I have to look perfect.” She smirked, but her expression soured when she noticed you didn’t look convinced. “Don’t tell me you’re doubting it! It’s obvious I’m the only option. Felix is a drunk idiot—and don’t even get me started on his perverse activities… sleeping with men?!” She scoffed. “When I become queen, those activities will be punished with castration.” She said it proudly. You could only sweat coldly and sigh. This isn’t even the cruelest or most violent punishment she has proposed; she’s suggested far worse for even more unreasonable "crimes".