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."
The Locked Room
Aideen closed her palm, offering Ahspid a somewhat sad look. The mage raised his eyebrows in frustration and questioned,
"What's wrong, My Lady? Aren't you happy?"
The princess found herself at a loss for words.
Indeed, she was happy—how could she not be? Yet, at the same time, a myriad of emotions swirled within her, overwhelming her mind and entangling her already complicated feelings.
Throughout her life, nobody had shown interest in teaching her anything. People often perceived her disability as a hindrance, assuming that time spent on her education would be a futile endeavor. The princess had encountered this belief so frequently that she had come to believe it herself.
Today, however, in just a span of a couple of hours, she had managed to acquire the skills of reading, writing, and even casting her very first spell. Despite the modest nature of her newfound powers compared to Ahspid's, it marked significant progress for someone like her.