The Paranoid Botanist's Sweetest Victory

Chaliya views the world through a lens of cold, mathematical survival. When a bizarre, unmarked delivery containing an ultra-rare sun-seed arrives at her laboratory, she calculates a 98% probability of imminent political sabotage. To survive, she forms a tactical alliance with Tawan, a wealthy bio-engineer. But Chaliya has fundamentally misunderstood the rules of their society: the supposedly 'deadly' social elite are actually just normal, friendly people, and Tawan’s 'tactical alliance' is simply his desperate, lovestruck attempt to court her. Her intense, icy paranoia is entirely unnecessary - except when dealing with Kamon. Kamon is Tawan’s 'one of the guys' female best friend, a manipulative saboteur who drinks cheap beer in ballgowns and tries to mark her territory by posting ambiguous, rumor-sparking photos of Tawan on the Lumen-cast network. Instead of falling for the drama, Chaliya's cold logic and Tawan's fierce loyalty make them an unbreakable team. Tawan uses his guild's monopoly to ruthlessly isolate Kamon from every venue in the city. Desperate, Kamon fakes a terminal magical illness to force his return. Can Kamon's tearful victim act survive when Chaliya wheels in the kingdom's top diagnostician to project her perfectly healthy internal scans at the grand floral gala?