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."
In Charge Of The Night
Aideen positioned herself carefully on the edge of Tillian's wide and comfortable bed, wrapped in several fluffy, soft white towels that smelled so fresh, it felt as if they were just brought in from the outside.
Her glowing eyes fixated upon Bella, who was in the midst of a fidgety task, surrounded by an overwhelming array of perfumed powders and lotions carefully arranged on the small wooden table before her.
The one-hour-long bath that Aideen had just endured, which included a thorough body scrub and a nearly artful hair-washing, had proven to be more exhausting than expected and her body was already resolved to surrender to the strong clutches of fatigue, especially since she practically had to repeat the same intricate bathroom routine she had in the afternoon before she started her wedding preparations.
And now her already anxious state was completed with a heavy blend of tension and weariness.