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Amelia Al-Mansouri I was born inside the imperial estate. Not the palace itself, of course. Children like me were not born beneath golden ceilings or surrounded by noble bloodlines. My mother served as one of the late Empress’s personal handmaidens long before Luciano completely took control of the empire. She was elegant, disciplined, and painfully loyal to this place until the day she died. Loyalty built our family. The Al-Mansouri family had served the imperial household for generations. Not nobles. Not rulers. Something older than that. Trusted enough to remain close to power, but never foolish enough to reach for it. My father oversaw diplomatic archives within the eastern wing while my older brothers eventually entered military service under the empire. One commands border secur