The younger sister will marry, and the elder will go to a monastery… Ilaris has already come to terms with it. The king has appointed suitors for the beautiful Elina—she only has to choose… But why does one of these gentlemen pay attention only to the elder sister? Where did he come from—the man who makes her heart beat faster? Ah—he bet a pile of gold that he would surely win her. Now she also wants to laugh. Let him try! The only thing left is to understand what the queen is planning…
The book belongs to the cycle “Stories of the Seacoast,” meaning the same world as in the novels “The Beast’s Wife” and “The Jester and the King’s Word,” but “a few centuries earlier…” The foundation is not a fairy tale: the intrigue is borrowed from a famous work by a Russian classic—plus there are “Easter eggs” for non-Russian classics.)
Please don’t write spoilers in the comments, dear readers.