The Duke's Game had begun.
But the real game wasn't on the field. It was happening in Rin's VIP space... a silent, heated war between two powerful men sitting on either side of him.
Caspian lounged back in his chair, one arm stretched lazily across the seat, his crown insignia glinting faintly under the golden lights. Lucien sat beside him, relaxed but sharp-eyed, his gloved fingers tapping the armrest. Between them sat Rin... the calm in the centre of a brewing storm... biting into a red apple as though none of it mattered.
The sound of his teeth crunching through the fruit was almost too casual for the heavy silence that hung in the air.
Down below, the field roared with life as nobles and knights filled the stands. At the centre, the masked host in his ridiculous jester outfit stood in the field. His voice echoed through the field, cheerful and cruel at the same time.
