"Rain, Knives, and My Return to Relevancy"
(Now featuring sugary scandals, tragic tastebuds, and more fourth-wall wounds than ever)
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[INT. RECAP CENTER – Candlelight flickers. Auren spins dramatically in his velvet chair. A single tart is dramatically stabbed with a dessert fork.]
AUREN (arms wide):
"HELLO, WORLD. Your favorite emotionally unwell prince is BACK on-screen—dripping in drama, sugar, and severe trust issues."
[He throws a rose petal in the air. It lands in his tea.]
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Recap: Chapters 17 to 21
AUREN (sipping):
"So. While the world burned beautifully around me, here's what happened…"
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Chapter 17: Shadows Before Dawn
"I was brooding. The candle was dramatic. I didn't cry—you cried."
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Chapter 18: The Grin and the Knife
"I threatened a noble. Politely. With menace wrapped in lace."
"She's only a duchess in name," he said.
And I said: 'You wanna try that again with your tongue still attached?'
SEVRIN (off-screen):
"So assertive. So spicy. So clearly compensating."
AUREN:
"I will banish you with a spoon."
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Chapter 19: Porcelain and Steel
"Elara faced baronesses, Cladus played ink detective, and I wore my nicest betrayal face."
"She's rebuilding the court," they said.
"She's rebuilding herself," I whispered—alone—in front of a mirror.
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Chapter 20: The Silver Trap
"Serina forged documents. The Empress schemed.
I smiled politely while everything crumbled in slow motion.
Classic Tuesday."
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Chapter 21: The Crown, the Blade, and the Serpent
"I finally had a good entrance, okay?!
The cape was swishing, the whispers were gasping, I was GLOWING.
Then Elara insulted me before dessert. I loved it."
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Cue Sevrin's Entrance
[Door creaks. Sevrin enters like the embodiment of wine-soaked gossip.]
SEVRIN:
"Darling, it's not that you weren't missed… it's just that Cladus brooded better than you while you were busy monologuing in ballrooms."
AUREN (glaring):
"You come into my recap center just to emotionally injure me?"
SEVRIN:
"No, no—I also come for the snacks."
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SECRET REVEAL #1: AUREN'S SWEET TOOTH
Favorite dessert: Lemon tarts with gold leaf.
Hiding spots: Scroll tubes, ceremonial robes, and under throne cushions.
Fun fact: Once bribed a stableboy with caramel to fake a broken carriage wheel.
"Your Highness, there's a smear on this treaty."
"That's not ink. That's strawberry jam. Mind your business."
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SECRET REVEAL #2: CLADUS'S HIDDEN SOFTNESS
ELARA (off-screen, whispering):
"Cladus doesn't care for sweets. But he does enjoy…"
"Roasted chestnuts. Quiet courtyards. And books that end in tragedy."
SEVRIN (dramatic gasp):
"He's a literary sadboy??"
AUREN (snorting):
"Please. He probably reads poetry and broods over punctuation."
CLADUS (enters, deadpan):
"I'm right here."
AUREN:
"And emotionally and spatially inconvenient, as always."
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Elara and Cladus Supervise the Children
[Cladus crosses his arms. Elara stands beside him with a fan and a migraine.]
CLADUS:
"Are you two always like this?"
ELARA (flatly):
"Yes. This is them calm."
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Volume 1 Curtain Call – Thank You
ELARA (soft smile):
"To everyone who stayed with us through betrayal, silk daggers, and political heartbreak—thank you."
CLADUS:
"For trusting the quiet between the lines."
SEVRIN:
"For tolerating the chaos long enough to meet me."
AUREN (dramatically raising his teacup):
"For supporting our 20-year-old, anxious, over-caffeinated author who cries at her own cliffhangers."
CLADUS:
"She apologizes for emotionally wounding us all. And she's also not sorry."
[They bicker off-screen. A tart flies across the room. Sevrin catches it in his mouth.]
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COMING SOON: VOLUME 2 — More betrayal. More letters. More chaos.
And yes… Auren will be there.
To roast. To regret.
And to fourth-wall-break his way into your hearts.
AUREN (grinning):
"And maybe… fall in love—"
SEVRIN:
"With a baker, apparently."
AUREN (choking on tart):
"SHUT. UP."