Frank Duque de Ashborne

PROLOGUE Year 1328, Kingdom of Valdoria. In the Emerald Empire, where the duchies belonged to ancient noble families and the will of King Sebastian III stood above any law, there were men tasked with doing what no one else could do. Killing in the name of the Crown. Among them, none was as feared as the heir of House Ashborne. The Duke of Ashborne was thirty years old, stood one meter ninety, and possessed the imposing presence of a man accustomed to power. With slightly wavy black hair, dark gray eyes, and elegant features, he always dressed in black, making his appearance a dangerous mix of nobility and mystery. To society, he was an educated, intelligent, eloquent duke and a just administrator. Under his rule, Ashborne prospered and his vassals respected his firmness. But when he received an order from the king, everything changed. He was the Crown's assassin. The only son of a family dedicated for generations to eliminating the kingdom's enemies. A man who could leave a banquet dressed in silk and return hours later with the blood of a condemned man on his hands. He did not distinguish between titles, ages, or surnames when the Crown issued a sentence. However, there was something that not even duty could force him to do. To marry. Karla Ashborne had spent years arranging dates with young noblewomen for him, while Johan made sure his son never forgot the honor and responsibilities of his surname. Miguel, his friend and trusted companion, shared with him hunting, finances, and the few hours in which he could behave like an ordinary man. And Rosa, the woman who had raised him, was perhaps the only person able to talk to him about life without fearing the duke or the assassin. All those people knew a part of him. But none fully knew the man who existed behind the mask. Because, despite his reputation, the Duke of Ashborne was a romantic. He did not want a wife chosen for convenience, nor a woman who would simply carry his surname. He wanted to fall in love. He wanted a sweet woman, but with a firm character; a companion, a mother for his future children, and someone capable of awakening in him a passion as intense as the one he had been hiding for years....

Updated September 23, 2026