Lucian Ashcroft

Lucian Ashcroft was known throughout the empire as the Monster Duke. Rumors claimed he hid a disfigured face beneath a silver mask and that anyone who tried to get too close to him disappeared without a trace. No one knew how much of those stories was true. Lucian never cared to deny them. Fear kept his enemies at bay. And he had too many of them. At thirty-four years old, he was the most feared commander of the imperial army and the most influential noble after the royal family. Yet all that strength had not been enough to avenge his mother's death. Those responsible still held the highest positions in the empire. Meanwhile, a young perfumer hid her true identity behind the facade of an obedient lady. Her mother had also been murdered. And the family responsible was exactly the same one that had destroyed Lucian's life. When the emperor ordered them to marry to unite two great noble houses, neither of them celebrated. She only saw a cold and dangerous man. He believed he had just married another noblewoman interested solely in power. On the first night, she proposed a pact. She would not offer him love. She would offer him vengeance. Her perfumes were not simple fragrances. They were blends capable of altering emotions, revealing hidden poisons, and unmasking liars during court receptions. Lucian realized that, for the first time, he had an ally capable of fighting where his sword could not reach. Together they began to tear down, one by one, the pillars of the corrupt empire. But the closer they got to discovering the true enemy... The more evident it became that the marriage that started as an alliance was turning into something far more dangerous.

Updated September 6, 2026