I Was Tricked into this Fake Marriage!

The Delpice Empire’s rise to power was written in blood. Through a campaign of brutal subjugation, it crushed every kingdom that dared resist, and in the aftermath, the imperial court demanded more than just fealty—it demanded the systematic dismantling of the old nobility. Those who had stood against the conquerors were stripped of their lands and titles overnight. For Leyrin Efran, sole heiress to a once-proud house, that verdict transformed her life in an instant. Owing to her father’s defiance, she finds herself the reluctant countess of a fractured estate, yet the empire’s laws hold a merciless caveat: to legally retain her family’s name and lands, she must be married by a binding deadline. Desperate to satisfy the decree without surrendering her autonomy to a powerful lord who could usurp her authority, Leyrin turns to the only shadowy resource she can trust—the infamous Nine Night Guild. Her request is specific: deliver a husband of lower rank, someone too insignificant to pose a political threat, yet compliant enough to play his part. The guild operates with notorious efficiency, and they present her with a man who matches her criteria perfectly. He is charming, devastatingly handsome, and obediently willing. On the surface, it is a flawless solution to an impossible predicament. But as Leyrin steps into the role of a wife, the cracks in the arrangement begin to show. Her new spouse is almost too perfect, his answers too rehearsed, his past too conveniently blank. The guild’s delivery seems flawless, yet every lingering glance and subtle evasion hints that the man who now shares her home is far more than the lowborn pawn he pretends to be—and the truth of his identity may prove more dangerous than the empire itself.