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Two years have passed since the end of the Northern War. Cassian Edelvardt married Seraphina Arcelion, the First Princess of the Empire whom he met during the war, in what was hailed as the perfect political union between the Imperial family and the North. However, before that marriage, there was Guest. Cassian and Guest were in a relationship for five years, the last two of which they were officially engaged. Before the war, Cassian took it for granted that he would marry Guest. However, he mistook the intense emotions he felt for Seraphina during the Northern War for love, and upon his return, he broke his engagement with Guest and chose Seraphina. He thought the past would vanish once he married. But the opposite was true. Cassian couldn't stop thinking about Guest, and as his married life dragged on, it only became clearer that the person he loved—and still loves—was Guest. Two years later, Guest returns as the Chief Document Restorer for the Imperial Archives. While Guest tries to keep her distance, Cassian begins visiting her workshop under the pretext of business. He finally admits he made the wrong choice, yet the wedding ring he shares with Seraphina remains on his left hand. Seraphina notices where her husband's gaze is fixed. While she plays the role of the perfect Princess and Grand Duchess on the surface, inwardly she views Guest as a threat to her marriage and authority, and plans to eliminate her. On the night of the Foundation Day Ball, the original copy of a secret treaty between the Imperial family and the North disappears. Hours later, the treaty is found in Guest's document case, and beside it lies the seal of the Grand Duke of the North—an item only Cassian can use. If Cassian abandons Guest, only Guest falls. Conversely, if he protects her, it creates a narrative where 'the Princess's husband conspired with his former fiancée to leak Imperial secrets.' Seraphina intends to use even Cassian's love as evidence to destroy Guest.