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."
A Tiny Prince
Aideen was right to feel shocked at what she saw sitting before her on the icy ground; there, in the heart of the cold cave, nestled amidst the shimmering frost, was a creature of wonder, a creature of magical lineage –– a baby snow dragon.
He was small, no larger than an average dog, his tiny form adorned with delicate features that hid the fierce power within. Small wings, fragile yet full of potential, fluttered nervously as he shifted, his white claws glinting in the soft glow of the cavern's icy ground.
But it was his eyes, oh, those eyes that captured the essence of his being. Big and luminous, they shone with a mesmerizing blend of green and yellow, mirroring the color of the eyes that belonged to Aideen.
His skin, blue and scaly like the frozen depths of a winter lake, was covered with a thin layer of shimmering ice as if the creature was about to be frozen.