"Tell my father I'll be down shortly, Jenkins," Arthur said, smoothing his jacket. "I’ve just finished a very... delicate negotiation."
Arthur looked at the screen, where the Duchess was currently whispering a scandalous secret into Baron Thorne's ear, then at the heavy tuxedo laid out on his bed. The digital world was full of intrigue, beauty, and high-stakes drama that felt more real to him than the stuffy party waiting below.
"One wrong dialogue choice," Arthur muttered, his fingers hovering over the WASD keys, "and the Duchess of Ravencroft will have my head—or worse, my inheritance."
In the game, he played as a rising diplomat in a Victorian-inspired court where the currency wasn't just gold, but influence, secrets, and late-night trysts. Tonight, he was facing his toughest challenge yet: the "Grand Masquerade" event. His character, Baron Thorne, had to navigate a ballroom filled with rival heiresses and cunning duchesses, each more dangerous (and distracting) than the last.
As the clock struck midnight, the immersion was broken by a sharp knock on his door. It was his father’s valet, Jenkins.
As he walked out of the room, he couldn't help but smirk. The Duke of Sussex might be a power player in the real world, but Arthur knew that compared to the Duchess of Ravencroft, the old man was an amateur.
