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Arc 1: Thrones and Masks
In a kingdom built on rigid caste lines and buried secrets, a royal marriage between a king and a former slave ignites hope, controversy, and revolution. As power shifts in the open court, a deeper war unfolds in the shadows. Chloeâspy, student, and dissociating soulâmust navigate the dangerous intersection of love and loyalty, truth and disguise. From hidden libraries to glittering masquerades, from ancient illnesses to future rebellions, this arc sets the stage for a world where identity is weapon, knowledge is survival, and the greatest danger lies not in enemiesâbut within.
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chapter1 : Operation Closer
The grand wedding of King Castellanos to the former slave-turned-queen unfolded against a backdrop of political tension and hopeful whispers of change. The castleâs halls echoed with the laughter and cheers of the worldâs eliteâmingled with murmurs of disdain in the corners, where nobles from various states begrudgingly bore witness to the mingling of bloodlines. Yet amid the opulence and celebration, shadows of the past lingeredâunseen, but waiting.
Chloe, having infiltrated the castle for the past five years under the guise of a royal student, now stood at a critical crossroads. Her true missionâOperation Closerâhad officially begun. With one final glance toward the king she had grown to love, she stepped away from the ballroom. Gone was the radiant wedding gown; in its place, the modest uniform of a butler student at the Royal Service University. Her heart poundedânot from fear alone, but from anticipation and the weight of everything to come.
Moments later, she slipped into the castleâs examination hall. Her cheeks flushed with nerves as the proctorsâ disapproving glares met her late arrival. Their eyes seemed to pierce through her disguise, yet she walked with quiet poise. Years of trainingâsharpened by her devotion to the kingdomâhad taught her how to remain composed under pressure. Chloe sat down, the woman beneath the persona shining through: this was Lady Chay, the charming royal student who had fallen for the king. It was her gentle side.
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Then the exam began.
Chloeâs quill moved with calm precision, each answer flowing with the confidence of someone who had long outgrown this level of testing. It was childâs play for herâa calculated performance from the spy known only as C-55.
After the exam, she returned to her modest quarters, granted to her as a student of royal origin. The room, though plain, seemed to whisper secrets through the walls. She was acutely aware of the castle's silent observersâthe Secret Policeâwatching her every move. And yet, in their scrutiny, she found comfort. It meant she was still under the radar.
With steady hands, she opened a small leather-bound book, its pages coded with invisible ink and buried meaning. Her eyes flitted to the second word of each line. One by one, the message revealed itself:
âOperation Closer.â
The weight of her mission pressed against her chest. According to the encrypted entry, she had secured a place at the prestigious Royal Service UniversityâRSUâwhere butler students were trained to become the eyes and ears of the castle. The greatest among them would one day serve the royal family directly, deep within the Inner Castle.
To rise to that station, she had two paths: complete three years of loyal study, or earn eight stilla starsâmarks of extraordinary service or heroism.
But by morning, everything changed.
Lady Chayâthe other side of Chloeâawoke with no memory of the mission. She did not know of the ball, the exam, or the coded messages. Her life was the only one she remembered: that of a noble-born student butler, ambitious and dutiful.
Sometimes, she woke in unfamiliar places or found her diary filled with entries she didnât recall writing. Yet she never questioned them. She trusted the version of herself that left themâjust as she trusted the strange warmth in her chest whenever the king entered her dreams.
She was unaware of C-55, the spy persona hidden within her. She didnât know she was a carefully engineered asset raised by the Secret Agency, trained to serve the kingdom from the shadows. All she knew was that something inside her achedâa sense of purpose she couldnât quite name, and a love she couldnât explain.
As she walked through the halls of RSU, attending lectures, drills, and etiquette classes, Lady Chay clung to the diary. It was her anchor. Her secret lifeline. It protected her from a truth she wasnât yet ready to face.
And still, in quiet moments, she dreamed of himâthe king. The man she had never truly met, but who felt closer to her than anyone else in the world.