The Emperor Contest

Milas was perfectly content with being an unimportant person. Living in the bottom district had taught him that anonymity was a valuable resource—right up there with clean water, a steady paycheck, and knowing which alleyways the patrol drones preferred. And run when you have to. Unfortunately, running into a noble estate while being chased by officers turned out to be a catastrophic deviation from that philosophy. Now he is engaged. To Duke Finnian Reyes, one of fifteen candidates eligible to compete for the imperial throne. A man famous for his glacial expression, nonexistent social life, and alarming efficiency. A man who apparently needed a fiancé more urgently than he needed background checks. Milas has problems of his own. He is technically illegal, officially unemployed, and one blood test away from being shipped to a war zone. Signing a marriage contract he could not read was therefore… not ideal. On the other hand, it came with private shuttles, tailored clothes, and a temporary immunity from law enforcement, which made it the most luxurious bad decision of his life. Finnian, for his part, is pursuing the throne with stubbornness rather than enthusiasm. Raised far from palace corridors, he knows how fragile ordinary comfort is and how allergic most nobles are to actually fixing things. If winning the imperial contest is the only way to force reforms, then fine. He will play the game. Even if his new fiancé keeps flirting at inappropriate moments. With the capital star looming, political rivals sharpening knives behind polite smiles, the Emperor Contest has acquired its most questionable couple. MxM Milas x Finnian