The Gilded Sacrifice

❖  Story Status  
Last Updated:
13/10/25 - Bug fix
11/10/25 - Prologue uploaded.

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A Regency‑era interactive fiction made with Twine

🛎️ 18+ (Mature themes )

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Step into the glittering ballrooms of high society, where wealth is envied but a title is everything.

You are the only daughter of a wealthy family about to undertake your first London Season.

Your great-grandfather made his fortune through trade; a fact the Ton has never let you forget. Two generations later, little has changed; for all your gold and gemstones, it is a title your family desires above all. And they are willing to sacrifice anything to acquire one, including you.

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The Season awaits;
Attend opulent balls and extravagant dinner parties. 
Be the perfect debutante or a daring rebel.
Participate in the infamous Marriage Mart.
Will you dance with a Duke, promenade with a Prince,
or do you dream of a different future altogether?

Beneath the gilding and the grandeur lie veiled barbs and cunning schemes, shrewd negotiations, and scandals waiting to happen.

Will you trade one gilded cage for another, or shatter the bars that confine you?

Duty. Power. Freedom.

Which path will you take when your future is at stake?

Create and customise your heiress (gender-locked female) with choices that shape both her appearance and personality:

• Name: Choose your given name and family surname; how society will know you.
• Appearance: Choose you skin tone, height, hair colour, and more. Decide how your heiress appears to the world.
  • ~ Note: The story takes place in an alternate version of 1810 England, where people of all skin tones are fully accepted within high society.
• Personality: Make choices that affect your heiress's personality. Are you anxious or confident, dutiful or defiant, logical or intuitive?
• Sexuality: Raised to be a lady and to marry for position, you have never had cause to question your heart. With your introduction to Society and the world beyond your upbringing, you may begin to wonder if this is who you truly are.
  • ~ Note: The option to explore where your true attraction lies will only become available later in the story.

Guide your heiress along three distinct paths, each with its own rewards and sacrifices:

Duty: Marry the Duke, fulfil your duty, and become Duchess of Ravencourt, trading your dowry for a cold and distant union. 

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Power: Marry the Prince and rise above society’s expectations as his princess. But power comes with a price.  

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Freedom: The night before your wedding, you run from the life chosen for you. The runaway has more freedom than the heiress ever did. 

The choices are yours, what will you sacrifice to shape your future?

Duke Theodore Deveraux – 37 – (Duty Route 💙)
Male – Duke of Ravencourt

The Duke’s presence at the Season is driven by necessity: to restore his crumbling ancestral estate. His words are sharp, his manner reserved, and his sense of duty is unyielding.

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Prince Niklaus – 32 – (Power Route 🖤) -  Dark Romance
Male – House of Drachenfeld

Invited to the English court by his aunt, Queen Charlotte, the prince is a figure of fascination. Well-mannered and charming, he moves through society with practiced ease, every word and gesture deliberate.

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Rowan Redfern – 27 – (Freedom Route 💚)
Gender selectable – Bookbinder

Residing on the outskirts of Mistvale, Rowan keeps to themselves. Bookbinder by trade and herbalist by hobby, they are seen by most in town as a recluse. They prefer the solitude of the woods to the bustling of the tavern.

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Edmund – 49 – Your Father

Rich by inheritance, poor by manner. Overspends on appearances but forgot to buy a backbone.
Weary with everything, especially Fredrick, who he insists is a late bloomer. Twenty-five years in a row.

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Augusta – 46 – Your Mother

Cold, calculating, and relentless in design.   
She sees her children as instruments of ambition; Fredrick, off-key and unsalvageable, you, her latest arrangement.

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Fredrick – 25 – Your Brother

Pompous, spoiled, and utterly oblivious.
Still doing the Season. Still unmarried. Still confused as to why. 
All the grace of a dropped trifle. 

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❖  Content Warning
This story is intended for mature audiences (18+).

Themes include:

Period-related sexism, Classism, Arranged marriage, Unhealthy romantic dynamics: distant spouse (Duty), controlling spouse (Power), Themes of isolation and running away (Freedom)

Additional warnings will be added here and in the Author Notes section of the game as the story develops.

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This story is currently in development.
You can follow me on Tumblr for updates and more.