INTRODUCTION

There are some things that are unavoidable in life. Wherever there was good, it must be balanced by evil. Wherever there was evil, good would arise.

One day, a human dared to be greedy and decided to venture to the world beyond for treasures. He wanted great riches and would do anything to get them. He gathered a large team with his sweet words and led them down a path no human should go.

He sacrificed them one by one until he was left with one who was forced to be loyal to him and all his generation. The obtained the riches and began to make their way back to start their own kingdom.

However, the world is fair. For every death he caused, a demon was released in the world. The world quickly become overrun with demons who multiplied with each soul they consumed. This human rallied another troop to fight the demons and push them to a formation that trapped them for a thousand years. The human succeeded in setting up his kingdom and rewrote history very easily after they won the war.

So, history now told this.

Once upon a time, there was a man who knew he was destined for greatness. He was called by the great god Raphet to a strange land where he found treasures. Unfortunately, those treasures were guarded by demons and he failed to destroy all the demons, bringing them back with him.

He gathered a troop of great men, defeated the demons by trapping them behind the crimson divide and created the most power kingdom in the world.

The demons tried attacking several times but they were all restrained by the family of the great man most loyal servant. The Duchy of Lothbrigde was built upon the hill that oversaw the crimson divide and has been keeping the demons back for several generations.

The story was great and everyone lived happily ever after. The royal family prospered for many generations, regardless of whether the people prospered or not. They were chosen by the great god so they were untouchable. As the reputation of the royal family grew, the reputation of the Lothbrigde Duchy suffered.

From demon slayers, they slowly became demons themselves. Because of their intimidating powers and structures, people stayed away from the north and it was often a place royal were sent to rot. People sent as spouses to wed the heirs of the Lothbrigde duchy were either exiled by their parents or sent to be killed by demons.

But one day, everything suddenly changed when the kingdom was attacked by a neighboring kingdom. The war became hopeless overtime, until an heir from the Lothbrigde Duchy was forced to join the war. She was initially sent to die as she was the weakest one in her family but not only did she make it back alive, she presented the head of the king of the other kingdom.

The king decided to gift her a groom, someone from down his family line. Hated by both her family and the nobles, she had no other choice but to comply and accept the decree of the king.

This woman was the current Duchess of Lothbrigde, Aretha Greta Quire. On this day, Duchess Aretha was eagerly expecting her groom, contrary to what other people in the kingdom thought.

The man the king sent to be her groom was a cripple. The Count of Aderam, Caspian Adam Aderam, was the king's cousin, twice removed. His parents were advisors to the king and despite being a cripple, he inherited his family's title as the first born son. However, that didn't mean they loved their son. It was mandated by the king and now, they knew why.

"Do I look fine?"

"Milady, you've asked that question several times now. I wouldn't lie to you now, would I?"

"I'm going to be meeting my future husband for the first time. I have to look my best, Fiona."

"Who looks their best for a cripple?" Fiona mumbled under her breath. Aretha stopped fiddling with her buttons and glared at Fiona. She shivered under the weight of Aretha's glare and lowered her eyes.

"I apologize, my lady."

"I don't want you or anyone around here calling him a cripple. He is my husband and the lord of this castle. You will address him as such. Am I understood?"

"Yes…my lady."

Aretha turned to the mirror and finished buttoning up her shirt. She held her arms up and assessed the outfit, hoping she wasn't doing too much. She wore a white shirt with floral embroidery around the hems and bust of the shirt. She wore brown trousers to match and high soled shoes. She made sure not to wear too much jewelry, leaving the blue pendant necklace she always wore on.

The maids had done their jobs maintaining her hair and tied it into a ponytail above her head. They applied only a little makeup just as she requested so she could look good for her husband. He was going to be there anytime soon.

"I feel like this outfit is missing something."

"Milady, you asked us to remind you not to take your sword with you when you go out to greet him."

She pouted, missing the feel of her sword against her hip. It made her feel safe for years but she didn't want to intimidate her husband. A woman didn't really look compatible with a sword. She wanted to look like a woman, at the very least.

"Would you be having breakfast, Milady?"

"We'll eat when he gets here."

She sat on the bed, tapping her feet. Her personal servant couldn't go until she was dismissed. She got up from the bed and paced up and down. Everyone knew it was impossible for her to stay still, especially when she was excited.

"Tell the butler I'm going out," she suddenly said, taking huge strides to the window.

"Milady, you can't…"

Before Fiona finished her statement, Aretha was already gone.

A few miles away, a young man held on to the carriage for dear life. The rocky roads down to the castle on the hill were dangerous to ascend and descend. He definitely thought it was the place he would lose the life he had been trying to protect for 20 years.

From a few months ago up to this moment, he had dreaded sleeping and waking up. It wasn't the rumors about his future wife that bothered him but the fact that he knew that they were going to try to get rid of him soon. He endured the anxiety for several months until he was put into his carriage and sent off to be married to a beast, apparently.

His parents didn't say a word to him even though he was getting married. He had been scorned by them since birth so he was expecting it but at the same time, it was his marriage. He thought they would say something. They didn't have any second thoughts on giving him out like commodity.

The coachman gave no words to ease his anxiety so he clenched his eyes shut until the carriage stopped tossing him around. Caspian was aware of his own weakness and hated himself for them. He also craved the power to be able to control his life. But…alas, nothing could be done for poor ol'Caspian.

The bumps stopped and they were on smooth ground again. He sent a quick prayer to Raphet for once again, sparing his pathetic life and opened the windows to enjoy the scenery. It turned out to be one of the biggest mistakes he could ever make because the chill of the cold pierced his skin like a knife. He struggled to close the windows and was almost successful when they ran into a bump that threw him to the ground.

He was tired of the bumps and wanted to complain but realized something. The carriage had stopped. All he heard was a scream that pierced the air and the sound of something wet hitting the ground.

Then, there were footsteps. The horse neighed loudly and were soon silenced as well. He lay on the floor, trembling with one hand over his mouth. The stories of demons his nurse told him when he was younger started to play in his mind once more. He couldn't even get himself together to pray to Raphet again to save him.

"There's supposed to be a cripple in this carriage. We kill him and leave. Check the carriage."

There was no doubt about it anymore. They were there to kill him. He didn't know who sent them because there were a lot of people who wanted him dead.

A sword came through the window of the carriage and he let out a small gasp. Clasping his mouth tightly, he payed to whoever was listening that they wouldn't find him. However, it seemed like even gods were selective when answering prayers of the disabled.

The door was ripped off its hinges by a tall fat man with his big belly exposed. He had a nasty smirk on his face and the odor of his mouth could be smelt from where he was on the floor when he spoke.

"Found him, boss!"