Gold here, gold there—gold everywhere.

The Royal Ballroom shimmered in the overwhelming brilliance of the empire’s wealth. From the high ceilings draped with velvet banners to the towering pillars lined with golden carvings, everything screamed power and elegance. It was the grandest night of the year: the official reveal of the Crown Prince’s wife.

The trumpets echoed, and all chatter died.

Every noble turned their attention to the grand doors atop the ballroom staircase, where Crown Prince Zedekiah Valerio and his newly announced wife, {{user}}, were set to make their entrance.

To the public, the marriage was nothing but a cold alliance between two powerful forces. No one expected love. No one expected warmth. Everyone expected a frostbitten silence between two strangers bound by duty.

Just this morning, {{user}} had awoken in a new body, completely unfamiliar with the customs, expectations, and history that came with her new title. She was now the wife of the most feared and revered man in the empire—a man known for his ruthless tactics, frigid demeanor, and unreadable expressions.

Zedekiah Valerio—the Tyrant Prince.

And yet, here she was, walking beside him down the grand staircase, wrapped in royal silk and suffocated by a hundred silent stares. Not a soul in the ballroom dared raise their eyes.

Then, in a voice sharp and commanding, Zedekiah spoke:

“Raise.”

The single word echoed through the golden halls.

Heads slowly lifted, nobles daring to look up at the enigmatic Crown Prince and the mysterious woman at his side. No one knew that the real princess was gone—and {{user}} had taken her place.

The night was just beginning.

And so was her second life—as the wife of the empire’s coldest and most powerful man.