Fuyu Aoki – illustratör

Born with an unusual birthmark on her back, Chloe Ardennes was immediately branded a “cursed child” by her superstitious family and locked away in their estate for her entire life. Forced to cook and clean, Chloe’s world shatters one day when an encounter with her mother at knifepoint drives her to flee the only home she’s ever known. Desperately seeking refuge, she escapes to the only sanctuary she knows: the royal capital. But is the big city everything she hoped it would be? Just as she finds herself on the brink of despair, a mysterious, gallant knight rescues her, offering a glimmer of hope and the promise of a new beginning.

Having escaped her abusive home, Chloe finds employment in the capital as Lloyd’s live-in housekeeper. But as the distance between them shrinks overnight, neither is prepared for the sudden change. A curious specter from Chloe’s past returns to haunt her, leading her to doubt her worth as Lloyd’s housekeeper, but Lloyd is resolute in his desire to help her heal. Together, they might just be what the other needs, discovering that love, patience, and understanding can heal even the deepest wounds.

Chloe is settling into life at Lloyd’s, where the two’s days are full of peaceful routines, shared meals, and warm conversation. But underlying this comfortable rhythm is a mutual curiosity—Lloyd wonders about Chloe’s past, while she grows intrigued by his own secrets. Then, in a surprising twist, Chloe bumps into Lloyd on patrol—only to learn she’s already won the hearts of his boss’s family! Welcomed into Freddy’s and Sara’s lives with open arms, Chloe and Lloyd find their circle of loved ones grows bigger by the day. Perhaps this is the push they need to finally discover the joy of a loving family, everything these new connections signify, and how much they truly mean to each other.

Emotions run high as Chloe and Lloyd make their way home from Freddy’s dinner party. What starts as an intimate evening filled with good food and meaningful conversation leads to something deeper. For the first time, Chloe dares to ask Lloyd about his past, but what he reveals threatens to shake even her faith in humanity. Just as Chloe musters the courage to bare her own secrets, danger strikes. The thugs who attacked Chloe on her first day in the capital are back, they’ve set their sights on the elite knight who humiliated them, and this time they’ve brought reinforcements. Outnumbered—but not outmatched—can Lloyd protect them both? And will Chloe remain a bystander, or find the strength to fight for herself and the man who’s come to mean so much to her?

Lloyd and Chloe grow still closer, but is Chloe ready for what that closeness might demand? A duel fought for her, a commission for her embroidery, and deepening ties with friends in the capital all lay the groundwork for a better and more stable (if no less exciting) life. But do scars ever truly fade? Can trauma be plainly overwritten? Just as Chloe wonders whether “normal” might be within her reach, an old enemy arrives in the capital, poised to upset the fragile peace she’s built.

Though she was born a noble, Chloe Ardennes has spent the first sixteen years of her life in servitude, scorned by her own family as a “cursed child.” Finally forced to her breaking point, she flees for the royal capital. But rather than happiness, she finds yet more danger there. Just as the city’s dark side threatens to swallow her whole, the dashing and stoic knight Lloyd Stewart comes to her aid and whisks her away. Has Chloe at long last found the sanctuary she’s so longed for?

Two months into her new life, Chloe finds herself settling into her role as Lloyd’s housekeeper. On the surface, everything is as good as it seems, but behind all shared meals, gentle banter, and warm domesticity of their home, a tempest of unspoken truths and unnamed emotions is brewing. Can Chloe find the courage to shed the shadows of her past and reveal her identity? Will Lloyd confront the unfamiliar stirrings in his heart?

As storms rage within, unwelcome guests assail the house from outside. Luke Gimul, the impetuous son of a nobleman, lays down an audacious challenge for Chloe’s affection, and Chloe’s sister Lily arrives in the royal capital. When her past comes knocking with a vengeance, will Chloe’s newfound life stand as a fortress or topple like a house of cards?