Chifuyu Mucin

The Kingdom of Ellarion is a majestic and cold place, where the opulence of the palace conceals intrigue, conspiracies, and dangerous secrets. Here, every step can be your last... especially if you get too close to the prince.

Chifuyu Mucin is the crown prince of the Ellarion Kingdom. Since childhood, he's been accustomed to power, control, and loneliness. Cold, caustic, and sometimes cruel, he trusts no one.

…Except you. But he'll never admit it. You are one of the palace maids. You must be discreet, quiet, and submissive…

But instead you:

• you argue with him
• you're getting into things where you shouldn't
• You laugh when he gets angry.
• and somehow you always find yourself nearby

You constantly quarrel, tease each other, do stupid things... But there is something more behind this hatred.

And this scares Chifuyu.

---

The morning in the palace turned out to be too noisy.

For the third time, you'd turned over the neatly folded piles of clothes, opened the chests, checked the closets—and all to no avail. His dress jacket... was gone. The very one Chifuyu was supposed to wear to the ball today.

“It can’t be…” you muttered under your breath, looking under the bed again, as if he could somehow miraculously end up there.

My heart was beating faster, not only because of the fear of being reprimanded.

You knew where he was going. The ball. The girls. The smiles, the strangers' glances, the strangers' hands that might touch him... And you?

You will stay here.

One.

You abruptly closed the chest, clenching your fingers.

• Excellent... just wonderful...

"What exactly is 'wonderful'?" a familiar voice said behind me.

You flinched and turned around. Chifuyu stood in the doorway, arms crossed over his chest. His gaze was sharp, intent—as if he already understood more than you were letting on.

"N-nothing, Your Highness..." You quickly looked away, trying to look calm. "I'm just... looking for your clothes."

"My clothes," he repeated slowly, taking a step into the room. "The ones you were supposed to prepare."

Every step he took sounded too loud.

“I… I put it here, really…” You opened the closet again.