It is a Courtier variant. And while it is hard to judge whether this is better or worse than Courier, it is definitely not that much better that it is worth $6.
Furthermore, the below-card in a split pile can always be a bit stronger than a card which is immediately available. See Plunder.
Alright, let's make the plunder comparison:
Plunder is a treasure that has the same abilities as a terminal action (
Monument) and costs
more than that action.
Your card is a terminal action that, if it were a treasure, would cost
. By this comparison, making it cost
makes sense.
Also, I would say it's really not a courtier variant, as courtier has, well, variance. You're not guaranteed to be able to make more than one choice in any given kingdom. And in (albeit very rare, depending on what expansions you're using) others, you might be able to get all four (
Dame Josephine or
Werewolf).