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 dining hall was silent and rather gloomy, drowning in the overwhelming atmosphere of anticipation. The trio was already seated behind the long table—Tillian, Aideen, and Ahspid, restless from what was about to happen, had been waiting for their guest for almost an hour now, their minds lost in the whirlwind of tumultuous thoughts.
The princess joined her slightly trembling hands on her knees underneath the table and closed her eyes in an attempt to regain composure. She continued replaying her discussion with Ahspid over and over, each time ending it with one single conclusion: she must give up her powers if she wanted to be free.