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."
Tillian's office was unusually dark. He didn't feel like having all the lights on, somehow, he felt more comfortable that way.
He reclined in his chair, his strong arms crossed in front of his chest. His sharp red eyes were watching the man who had been pacing back and forth along the tall bookshelves lined up to the duke's left for almost half an hour now, completely silent. The man's hands were joined behind his back while his eyes absent-mindedly glided over the volumes lined carefully on each wooden shelf.
Finally, Leif paused before one of the tall bookshelves in the middle of the wall, and touched a leather-covered book, his voice lazy as he said,
"My lessons must have been quite useful… She seems to be very much in love with you. With you and everything else that is you. She thinks of you as her… family."