Beneath the Crown,My Son's Bones

Catherine lived a modest yet happy life with her husband, Ethan, and their son, Leo. Leo suffered from the "Dragon's Blood Curse" and required the "Sacred Scale Elixir." Catherine saved up five hundred gold coins, only to discover that Ethan was the Crown Prince of Anjou—having concealed his identity for seven years to test her—and had even misappropriated the life-saving funds to buy a bracelet for his mistress. Leo passed away; Ethan arrived too late, only to find his son’s posthumous work, *Nightmare*, revealing that the boy had known the secret all along. Catherine sought to annul the marriage, only to discover that their marriage license was a forgery—the entire seven-year union had been a sham. Heartbroken, she joined the Florentine Merchants' Guild, where her alchemical talent propelled her to the role of chief consultant. Ethan uncovered that Victoria had deliberately delayed the elixir and punished her; he broke ties with his father—a proponent of bloodline supremacy—abolished the discriminatory ban, and posthumously honored Leo. Five years later, Ethan had become King, while Catherine had become a Countess and found happiness with a member of the Medici family. Ethan finally found peace at Leo’s grave.