We Are Merely Small Chess Pieces

In the kingdom of Asteria, everyone has a place. Prince Iori has spent his life learning the rules of the board. Every movement is measured, every decision recorded, and every person expected to remain where they have been placed. When his father orders him into a political marriage with Lady Misaki of the disgraced Akihiro family, Iori understands that he is being moved like a chess piece. Misaki understands it too. But neither of them is willing to accept that their lives must end with someone else deciding the final move. As the wedding approaches, Iori and Misaki begin uncovering fragments of a buried history: a war whose official story does not match the records, thousands of deaths that may have been anticipated, and the unexplained death of Queen Ayaka, whose passing was never acknowledged by the kingdom's most important bell. Hidden documents, forgotten witnesses, secret couriers, and seven powerful names gradually reveal a conspiracy reaching deep into the royal court. Their investigation places them against a political system designed to protect itself. Trust becomes dangerous. Evidence can disappear. Even family can become an instrument of power. With the wedding serving as the final stage for a confrontation neither the crown nor the conspirators expect, Iori and Misaki must decide whether to remain pieces on Asteria's board, or make a move of their own. We Are Merely Small Chess Pieces is a political fantasy novel about power, love, buried truth, and two people determined to reclaim the right to choose the shape of their own lives.