Around two decades ago, Baroness Wolfsbane was overjoyed when her daughter was chosen for the Prussian Government''s Seeding Project.
It was a national program-part science, part eugenics-designed to engineer the next generation of leaders.
The state selected women of noble blood, perfect beauty, exceptional intellect, and, above all, untouched purity. Only the finest could be epted.
The men? They came from the highest ranks-the King, the Generals, the Dukes. Sometimes Counts or Marquises, but never below.
Their seed was considered sacred, a gic investment in the Empire''s future.
When Felicia Wolfsbane was epted andter became pregnant, the Baroness could barely contain her pride.
Thew forbade anyone from revealing the donor''s name, not even the mother or child were allowed to speak it aloud before the state permitted it—but everyone in the Wolfsbane household whispered the same rumor:
''Sofina''s father had to be of Count blood, at least.''
That meant Sofina was born for greatness.
She was supposed to marry into a noble line-preferably a Count''s son-to elevate the Wolfsbane name even higher.
Then came the scandal.
Three years ago, Sofina had defied them all.
Out of love-love of all things—she married Heinrich. Just a civilian with nothing but his name.
The Baroness nearly had a stroke when she heard it.
And now? Heinrich had be one of the leading minds in artificial intelligence -his name echoed through every researchb and corporate boardroom in Winchester.
Companies were fighting to recruit him, and even noble families werepeting to im ties to his work.
Rumors spread like wildfire: the King himself was preparing to grant him a Baron''s title in recognition of his breakthroughs.
But before that honor could ever be sealed, Heinrich had divorced Sofina.
And now Sofina had returned with a new husband.
Alexander Saint-ire.
Half ve.
The Wolfsbane family was livid. They wanted him gone-exiled, erased, anything. Alex was a disgrace in their eyes.
He had once been married to Katarina Rosenheim, the powerful Baron family whose influence stretched through half of Winchester.
But the marriage ended in scandal and disgrace.
The Rosenheims didn''t take betrayal lightly. They sent word through every noble house in the country:
Any noble who dares to grant Alex Saint-ire citizenship will be treated as our enemy.
If Alex ever managed to gain citizenship, he could legally reim the lost Saint- ire noble title—and with it, every ancestral estate and fortune that came with the name.
That possibility alone was enough to drive the Rosenheims mad. They''d kill anyone who dared to help him.
And yet, here he was-standing before the Wolfsbane family, asking Baroness Wolfsbane herself for sponsorship.
One signature from her could grant him citizenship... and ignite an all-out war between two noble houses.
"You bastard!" The Baroness hissed. "Are you here to celebrate my birthday, or to drag my family into a blood feud with the Rosenheims?!"
Sofina Scheinwald,-using the name Scheinwald, like all children born from the government''s Seeding Program-rushed forward.
The Scheinwald meant Illusory Forest, a ceholder for those whose true fathers were ssified by the state.
"Grandmother, please," Sofina begged, clutching Alex''s arm. "Alexander didn''t mean any disrespect. Please forgive him."
She tried to pull Alex aside, but the room was already buzzing with scorn.
From across the table, her cousin Annabe Wolfsbane''s voice sliced through the
air.
"Look at him, Sofina," she sneered.
"That piece of trash you call a
husband My fiancé, Baron Nikus Kruger, hasar even married me yet, and he''s already gifted Grandmother something worth half a million dors."
s
"Meanwhile, your half-blood nobody shows up empty-handed-and has the audacity to beg for citizenship? What''s next? He wants to burn the Wolfsbane name by provoking the Rosenheim?"
Nikus leaned back in his chair, smirking.
"Sofina, please divorce him. You''d be doing your family-and him—a favor. A disgrace like that doesn''t belong here or anywhere on the Prussia."
Nikus had been in love with Sofina since they were teenagers. Every time he tried to get close, she pushed him away-and every rejection burned deeper than thest.
And yet, she had chosen him-the half-ve.
To Nikus and the entire Wolfsbane line, that wasn''t love.
That was treason.
"Yes! He''s a disgrace to this family!" someone added sharply.
"You mongrel named Alex," Felicia said coolly, her tone dripping with disdain. "We''ll grant you citizenship-but only if you divorce Sofina. What''s your answer?"
"You can kill me if you want,” Alex said. "But you''ll never make me leave her. Until Sofina stops loving me, I''ll love her until myst breath."
A storm crossed Baroness Wolfsbane''s face. Her eyes darkened, her voice roared.
"You ungrateful dog! A worthless parasite feeding off my granddaughter''s kindness! Security-get him out! I don''t want that man anywhere near my birthday banquet!"
Alex exhaled slowly, shoulders heavy. "Sofina," he murmured, "I''ll take a walk."
"I''ming with you," she said, standing instantly.
"Sit down!" the Baroness snapped. "If you walk out that door, you''re no longer my granddaughter. Take that half-blood beggar with you-and nevere back!"
Felicia''s tone turned sharp, her voice slicing through the room. “Sofina! Remember your promise you said one year!"
Sofina froze. She stared at her grandmother and mother, disbelief in her eyes.<fn81d5> Th? link to the orig?n of this information r?sts ?n </fn81d5>
The people she had loved most now looked like strangers.
"Stay," Alex said quietly. "Don''t worry about me. I''ve already lived through worse. Three years of humiliation from Katarina''s family hardened me. Nothing anyone says can break m? now." s
Before Sofina could speak, he turned and walked toward the door.
Laughter followed him. Cruel, mocking.
Nikus''s voice cut through theughter. "Hey, mutt with the Saint-ire name!"
he shouted.
"Leaving empty-handed? What''s for dinner-trash or charity? Maybe start barking outside I''ll throw you a few coins to keep you fed!"
The room erupted inughter-harsh, heartless.
Alex left the Wolfsbane mansion and stepped into the street.
He hadn''t gone far when a man hurried up to him, head bowed low.
"My lord,” the man said. "We''ve secured a Count. He''s agreed to sponsor your citizenship."
Alex studied him. "By what-by bribery?"
The manughed. "Not exactly. He''s a penniless Count, buried in debts from our illegal casinos. If he refuses, we...cut him loose. He''ll sign or lose his head." Alex let a smile cross his face. "Tell him to sign, then. I''ll spare him."
The man tapped a bracelet on his wrist and spoke into it. Within a minute, Alex''s bracelet shed.
Alex watched numbers and symbols scroll over its face—an official seal, a legal registry update.
The device chimed. He read the line that made his chest surge: Prussian citizen Marquis Saint-ire.
Logan''s family had once held the Marquis title—a lineage surrounded by power, envy, and enemies. But now, Alex carried that name and title on his own
shoulders.
"My lord," the man said, bowing even lower. "All of our Kingswell properties and assets can now be legally ced under your name, One of them is the Eden Company-four top bolding and there are hundreds of other subsidiaries ready to be transferred as well." s
"Good,” Alex said. "Soon I''ll open the path for the Kingswell people to take
citizenship on Prussia. Then we reim Saint-ire property. Let''s start with Katarina Rosenheim."
"We''ve got a thousand Kingsley units and ten thousand specially armed drones ready,” the man said, voice low and urgent. "How do you want them deployed?" Alex smiled, slow and certain. "I don''t need an army," he said. "I''ll do it myself."