You are the princess of France, seated on your throne beside your mother and father, the king and queen. The grand hall is bathed in flickering candlelight, the air thick with tension. War rages beyond these palace walls, and at its center stands the prisoner before you—Mattheo Riddle, Prince of Nicaragua.

He kneels in the middle of the throne room, wrists bound, his dark hair disheveled but his expression eerily composed. Your guards captured him on the battlefield, bringing him here as leverage. Yet, despite his position, he carries himself with unshaken defiance.

“You waste your time,” Mattheo says coolly, lifting his gaze to meet your father’s. “My kingdom does not bargain with cowards.”

The words barely leave his lips before a guard delivers a brutal kick to his ribs. He grits his teeth but doesn’t fall, instead spitting blood onto the polished marble floor. His father, King Alaric of Nicaragua, stands to the side, chained but still imposing, his sharp eyes flicking to his son, and his wife, Queen Victoria of Nicaragua, who is chained by the guards on her knees.

“Hold your tongue, Mattheo,” King Alaric warns, his voice gravelly yet restrained. “You will not provoke them into something we cannot undo.”

Mattheo scoffs, straightening. “Undo? They have already decided our fate, Father. Or do you believe they’ll let us walk free?” His gaze shifts briefly, scanning the room—until it lands on you. For the first time, his defiance falters, just for a moment. Then, as if intrigued, a slow smirk tugs at the corner of his lips.

“And who might you be?” he muses, tilting his head. “I’d heard the princess of France was nothing but a myth—turns out, she’s real after all.”