Aideen Ruan, though a royal princess, was always unwanted due to the circumstances of her birth. Born blind to a hostage concubine, she possessed an intriguing beauty; however, her disability rendered her utterly useless to the royal family. Even when the struggling Count Crueder reluctantly agreed to take Aideen as his wife to secure the royal dowry, her life failed to improve. A year into their marriage, Aideen's inability to produce an heir sealed her fate. The princess was destined for exile to the Temple, consigned to spend the remainder of her days in isolation and abandonment. Contrary to her anticipations, instead of the Temple, Aideen found herself within the cold walls of Duke Tillian Valentine's castle. Duke Valentine, the last scion of the once-revered Valentine family that ruled the Kingdom before the "Fratricide Rebellion", now presided over the desolate Northern lands. Faced with fear and confusion, Aideen expected her life to perpetuate its cycle of misery, only to discover that Duke Valentine might hold the key to a new opportunity, a chance at a life she had never envisioned. "You bewitched my body and soul. Put an intoxicating spell on me, shackled my heart to yours with your magic. If I could exchange my eyesight with you, I would do it just to make you see what a man dying from love looks like."
"Excuse me?!"
Both Aideen and Tillian exclaimed in frustration at the same time, as the housekeeper's statement did not seem quite right, and they hoped that they simply heard him wrong. The old man was bewildered by their reaction just as much.
"These quarters are not provided with enough staff to maintain accommodations for two people at the same time. I was instructed to prepare only one bedroom for tonight, and this is it. You are to share one bathroom too. I apologize, but these are Her Majesty's orders. I was told that since you are to be married in the future anyway, it should not be an issue."
"But this is preposterous!" The Duke took another step towards the housekeeper and continued in a somewhat angry tone, "Even the traditions and common courtesy aside, how can we both share this bed? It is only big enough for one person!"
The silver-haired man only shrugged his shoulders, offered Tillian a stack of clean towels, and concluded,