In the city of Verita, the most beautiful truth is a lie. Ren is the realm's most gifted Weaver, a professional liar paid to mask the crumbling rot of reality with shimmering illusions of silk and marble. In a world powered by deception, she is a queen. But her newest contract is a suicide mission: escort Valen, a disgraced Paladin cursed with Absolute Truth, to the edge of the world. Valen physically cannot lie. To him, the world is not a paradise of violet skies-it is a horrifying landscape of eldritch monsters and petrified remains. He is a walking breach in the narrative, a man whose very presence shatters the beauty Ren has spent her life perfecting. As they flee the King's faceless Truth-Seekers, Ren must weave a shroud of lies directly into Valen's mind to keep him from descending into madness. But as the veils begin to thin, she discovers a terrifying secret: the monsters Valen sees are the only real thing left. Ren must choose: maintain the beautiful, soul-harvesting illusion that protects a million lives, or let the truth shatter civilization to save the one man who can see it. Perfect for fans of Six of Crows and Howl's Moving Castle , this inverted "Grumpy/Sunshine" fantasy explores the heavy cost of a perfect world.