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."
Completely caught off-guard, King Yuraon jumped to his feet, instantly abandoning his previous engagement which, apparently, was reading a book while snacking on tiny cookies that were also favored by Safie.
Widening his eyes, the young man wiped the crumbs off his face, his voice genuinely bewildered as he asked,
"Excuse me? Whatever do you mean?"
No less flustered and frustrated, Aideen tried to pull Ahspid behind her back, offering the King an apologetic bow,
"Forgive me, Your Majesty, I could not stop him! You might not know this but Ahspid is quite a character and does these things all the––"
She could not finish her apology as the mage covered her mouth with his gloved hand and hugged her from behind, restricting her movements while he chimed in,
"No more nonsense, My Lady! Your Majesty!" He offered the king a wide grin and continued,