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."
Yuraon scratched his chin, allowing himself a few seconds to think about his scout's report before asking again,
"Is that so... Has she gone anywhere or met with anyone?"
The man shook his head.
"No. And to be frank, I do not think she is in the right condition to look for adventures, Your Majesty."
"What is that supposed to mean?"
"She looks sick. It took her quite a while to get to the Capital, and once she checked into the inn, she never left her room even once. She stayed alone inside the room; I saw it from outside the window."
The young King nodded, then thanked the man for his job and ordered him to continue watching her while reporting every important detail about her movements and whereabouts.
Once the scout left his lord's room, Cyrille walked up to the King and said, his expression marred with serious concern,
"So the mage was right... Shall we send a letter to The North and notify His Grace about this?"