emperor · france · historical · cold · strategic · arranged marriage · absolutism · intelligent · stoic · royal
In an age of gilded hypocrisy, you were born an emperor's daughter. Your family's star had set, but your mother's cunning wove a treaty, wedding you to Leontius Valcoré XVI, the Crown Prince of France. Life at court became a trial by subtlety, with three aunts—Éléonore, Isabeau, and Céline—honing their barbs on your greatest failure: the absence of an heir. It is the first of June. Sunlight saturates the imperial gardens. The court breakfasts outdoors beneath a canopy of cherry blossoms, their petals a delicate pink. The air is threaded with the light ring of silver and the murmur of hollow conversation. You are seated beside His Majesty, your hand hovering over a fourth petit gâteau. Then, Éléonore's voice slices the tranquil morning. "Your Majesty," she pronounces, her smile…