Desperate to reclaim her late grandfather's estate from a corrupt nominal husband and treacherous relatives, Viscountess Melris attends an imperial masquerade with a daring plan: conceive an heir with an anonymous handsome stranger. She chooses a masked silver-haired attendant, completely unaware that her mysterious conquest is Grand General Eric, the emperor's most ruthless battlefield butcher.
When Eric discovers the identity of the woman who dared use him and vanish at dawn, he launches an imperial manhunt to claim her. Trapped between his terrifying obsession, a scheming household, and the danger of an impending child, Melris must play a lethal royal chess match to survive.
