Saved By The Mad Duke
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."
If He Came Here...
"The king will most likely lead both armies to the eastern battlefield as agreed before we took a break," Stanis said, pointing at the map spread across the table. "For our plan to work, the king will have to move to the west instead, where he will meet Lady Valentine."
The plan they had come up with was simple, yet difficult to achieve.
Since Aideen still could not control the potency of her powers, she needed ample space to execute her magic against the enemy to ensure there were no casualties among the innocent people.
To achieve this, they had to devise a scheme that would deceive the king into moving to a separate zone where he would face the princess.
"How about we pretend to offer a negotiation?" Yanad suggested, walking up to the table. "We can send a messenger to his camp and claim that you have captured the Crown Prince. We could propose an exchange—me for a number of your own captured soldiers."