THE ROYAL TRAP

"No, no, no, no, no! This is a mistake! A catastrophic, absolute, end-of-the-world kind of mistake!"

Sophia Everhart paced back and forth in the narrow, dusty room where she had been locked up. For what felt like the hundredth time, she tried the door. And for the hundredth time, it was locked.

"Oh, come on, just a little!" She yanked the handle harder. It didn't budge. "I didn't even do anything wrong! This time."

That wasn't entirely true. But in her experience, there were far worse kinds of trouble than… well, this one.

And this one was very bad.

Three hours ago, she had been just an ordinary girl in the capital city of Eldoria, trying to survive another day in this ridiculous world. She worked as a delivery girl for a spice merchant, a job that involved a lot of running, negotiating, and avoiding unpleasant customers who thought they were special just because they wore silk.

But now?

Now, she was locked in some kind of royal dungeon. And why? Oh, nothing serious. Just a simple accusation of theft.

"Who the hell decided I'm the one who stole the princess's necklace?!" she huffed, still furious. "Me? Stealing? Maybe an apple from the market now and then, but royal jewelry?! I wouldn't even know a real diamond if it smacked me in the face!"

Of course, there was no one around to answer her. Which meant that she would either be thrown out of the city soon—or something worse.

Her stomach twisted. She sat down on the small wooden bed in the cell, trying to piece together how this had even happened.

Three Hours Earlier…

"Sophia! Catch this!"

Catch what?

She had asked the question too late. Something flew straight toward her face.

A moment later, she slipped on the muddy cobblestone, and in her hands, she found a beautiful silver necklace with a red gemstone at its center.

The next five seconds passed painfully slow.

First, she realized she was holding something very expensive.

Second, she realized a group of guards was running straight toward her.

Third, she realized that, to everyone else, it looked like she had just stolen the necklace.

"Oh, this is bad."

And then—she ran.

The problem with guards? They were trained to chase people.

The problem with Sophia? She had a lot of experience running.

But this time, luck wasn't on her side.

She was caught in the marketplace, shackled, while people stared at her like she was the worst criminal in the world.

"That's not mine!" she shouted, but no one listened.

One of the guards merely looked at her coldly. "Princess Elara says otherwise."

Princess who?

And that was the beginning of her downfall. She was dragged to the castle, thrown into a cell, and told to wait for her "judgment."

Which led to this exact moment: where she was panicking and trying not to imagine the worst possible outcomes.

"Okay. Calm down," she muttered to herself, taking a deep breath. "This is just a big, stupid misunderstanding. They'll probably let me go as soon as they realize I'm not a thief and have nothing to do with this."

The cell door swung open.

Sophia jumped to her feet.

A tall, stern woman in royal attire stood at the entrance. Her dark hair was pulled into a tight braid, and her eyes were like two frozen shards of ice.

"Sophia Everhart," she said. "Tomorrow morning, you will travel to the kingdom of Vladaryn."

"…What?"

The woman continued as if she hadn't just said the most ridiculous thing in the world. "You have confessed to stealing royal jewelry. The punishment is exile. However, Princess Elara is generous and has decided to grant you a chance at redemption."

Sophia's mouth fell open. "Confessed?! I never confessed to anything!"

The woman ignored her. "You will be given a special duty in Vladaryn. Consider yourself fortunate."

"What duty?!"

The woman finally raised an eyebrow, as if she was surprised Sophia didn't already know.

"You are to be the new bride of the Beast King."

Sophia blinked.

And then again.

"Sorry, what?!"

The woman simply turned away. "Prepare her for departure. The journey begins at dawn."

Sophia could only stare as the guards approached her with shackles.

"Wait, wait, wait!" She tried to pull her hands away. "I can't marry the Beast King! You've got the wrong person! You need the princess!"

One of the guards shrugged. "Princess Elara can't go. Health reasons."

"…Health reasons?!"

"Yes. She's very delicate."

"Well, I'm delicate when it comes to completely unfair arrests!"

No one listened.

It didn't take long for Sophia to realize the horrible truth:

She hadn't ended up here by accident.

This was a setup.

And worst of all—

She was now on her way to become the bride of the most feared king in the world.