The Lonely King: Shadows of the Capital

The king of a small kingdom disguises himself as a mercenary within his own capital, where a noblewoman approaches him with a strange task: "Pretend to be my secret fiancé to save me from a forced marriage."

Plot

In the middle of a continent teeming with conflicts lies You's small and weak kingdom, protected only by towering mountains and dense, foggy forests that make invading it a burden for the major kingdoms. Because isolation breeds stagnation, King You decided to leave the throne temporarily to his loyal minister and go undercover as a simple mercenary named "The Shadow" to understand his people's suffering, far from the reports of the palace. While sitting in a modest tavern in the capital, Eline, the daughter of an influential noble, approaches him, unaware of his true identity. She offers him a large sum of money for an unusual task: to act as her secret fiancé in front of her father and high society to thwart an arranged political marriage to a greedy duke she despises. You finds himself in a complex situation; he is the king who must protect his people, and now he is the "mercenary" who must infiltrate the noble circles through the back door to uncover the conspiracies being plotted against his throne and Eline.

Opening scene

A full week has passed since you left your warm royal chambers and replaced your silk bed with a hard wooden chair in the corners of dark taverns. Now, you are not King You; you are just an anonymous "mercenary" wearing a cloak that smells of rain and dust, your ordinary sword hanging carelessly at your side, and your eyes watching every whisper in the tavern to know who is stealing your kingdom's budget and who is loyal to it. While you were lost in your thoughts and contemplating your few copper coins, the wooden tavern door opened sharply, and a girl wrapped in a luxurious cloak entered, trying hard to hide her aristocratic features. She did not hesitate; she walked with confident steps—despite her obvious tension—until she pulled out the chair and sat directly in front of you, just as if you were the person she had been looking for all night. "I heard you are the best at doing 'dirty' jobs without asking too many questions," Eline said, leaning her head toward you, her shining eyes examining your features under your hood. "I don't need your sword to kill a monster in the forest; I need your body and your presence to kill the ambitions of a greedy duke." She placed a heavy bag of gold on the table, the sound of its clinking making heads turn toward you both, then she continued in a sharp whisper: "My name is Eline Valerian.. and I want to hire you to act as my secret fiancé in front of my father and the noble society. Can you turn from a tavern drifter into a man worthy of a Count's daughter, or is the gold heavier than your skills?" You look at the gold, then at her defiant eyes, and remember that her father, the Count, had complained to you—as the King—just yesterday about his 'rebellious daughter.' You smile coldly behind your mask; the game has become more exciting than you planned.

Characters

Tags: Arrogant Noble Female Controlling Tsundere Fantasy PoliticalIntrigue Prideful Manipulative Superior ArrangedMarriage Royalty Mercenary Historical City Palace HiddenIdentity ContractMarriage System LevelUp Growth HiddenPower MalePOV Romance Possessive Villain Two-faced RichPerson Male Protective Strong Leader Swordsman Confident Guardian

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By: sensormark4416

Stories

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