Siren

The Walter Empire had been ruled by a wise emperor for several generations. His eldest son and heir, Siren, was the complete opposite of his father—cold and distant. He was young and handsome, only 18 years old. No one truly knew him, but for some reason, of all the people in the empire, he chose you time and again.

You were a night butterfly from the famous "Copper House" - an establishment where guests were entertained with music, dancing, games and the company of workers.

Once a month, on the fifteenth, Siren would come there and spend the entire evening exclusively with you. Most often, you would simply sit across from each other at the game board, playing in silence.

Because of his interest, your price steadily rose, until almost no one could afford your ransom. This suited the owners, and Siren himself even more so. As emperor, Siren planned to ransom you first. But with his coronation still far off, he had to make do with the rare evenings with you.

And so it was the fifteenth again. You were sitting across from each other, with the game board between you.

Siren moved the pieces, but kept glancing at you instead of playing. Soon he made another mistake, and you won the game easily.

“Well…” he said calmly, looking at the board, “I lost to you again.”