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."
Gratitude
The young man who was invited onto the stage was tall and slender, with salient muscles that indicated hard physical labor he clearly had to do on top of being an artist. He was wearing simple clothes—plain black pants and a loose white shirt that was evidently tailored several times, either because of his rapidly developing body or the poor quality of the shirt's fabric.
The plainness of his attire, however, did not make his looks bleak in the slightest. He was indeed a gorgeous young man—tanned skin, prominent features, thick black eyebrows, dark brown eyes framed by thick black lashes, a sharp nose, and full lips that looked as if they had never smiled before.
His hair was black as charcoal, curling down his neck and shoulders akin to serpentine.
The artist stood out among the rest of the people in Geraldion, and Melania couldn't help but wonder—could his ancestors be from Lafad, too?