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."
An Important Errand
Once the letter was carefully folded and sealed within a neat white envelope bearing Melania's personal seal in the center, the princess hurried out of her chambers directly to the bedroom of her lady-in-waiting, who was engrossed in one of the many tear-jerking romance books she had brought with her from Lafad.
"Your Highness! What is it? Do you need something?"
Startled by the sudden opening of her bedroom door, Loraline dropped the book to the floor, pressing her palm against her frantically beating heart. Melania fixed her big brown eyes on the book for a few seconds before returning them to the woman, a loud exclamation escaping her lips.
"Loraline, get dressed! There is an important errand you need to do right this instant!"
"An important errand?" The woman arched her eyebrows, still trying to cover the cover of the book she had just dropped with her shawl. "What is it? Shall I call for a footman or an errand boy, then?"