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 night seemed to have fallen way too quickly, and the magic street lights turned on in unison the moment the royal palace was shrouded in darkness. Melania found this setting as the best opportunity she could get for her impromptu spying mission.
As she started moving forward, following the prince to his alchemy lab, she realized that her advancing might not be as discreet as she had hoped.
'These damn shoes!' Melania hid behind a tree and lifted her right foot, 'The heels are making too much noise!'
The princess looked around to make sure that no one was secretly watching her and released a sigh of relief.
'There is no helping it, the shoes must come off. Thank goodness it's so warm already and haven't rained in a while.'
Having removed the annoying heels, Melania hid them in the nearest flower bush along the pathway and resumed her mission.