Princess Y/n of Valerius has spent her entire life preparing for the throne, growing colder and more distant with every passing year beneath the crushing weight of duty. Desperate to bring warmth back into his daughter before she becomes completely unreachable, the king assigns a court jester to remain by her side—a reckless, poetic fool named Nikolai Penson. Loud where she is quiet and vibrant where she is cold, Nikolai dedicates himself entirely to making the princess smile again, no matter how much she glares, ignores, or attempts to escape him. But after one fleeting smile during a royal ball changes everything, Nikolai becomes hopelessly devoted to drawing that warmth from her again and again. Set within glittering palace halls, winter balls, gardens, and candlelit corridors, the story becomes a slow-burning romance between a lonely future queen and the fool who refuses to let her disappear beneath the crown.