Locked by the Crown

To save her ailing grandmother, royal academy student Lira Voss accepts Princess Leorin's deal: seduce Crown Prince Luc Vane into ending their engagement. Lira draws the cold prince in, but his love masks a dangerous obsession. When the deception is revealed, Luc locks Lira in a gilded cage, leveraging her grandmother's care and academic future to break her spirit. Refusing to surrender, Lira plots two escapes with help from Leorin and Aren—though the first failure leaves Aren crippled. Fleeing to a remote town, she is found again. During the forced return, Lira runs into a carriage path; Luc saves her but is gravely injured. The accident awakens him: love is not possession. He restores her freedom, funds her education, and destroys the cage. Months later, one unsealed letter arrives, asking only to see her from afar—leaving every choice to her.