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."
The Tragedy
Although his heart was beating like a galloping horse and his hands trembling, Tillian knew that he had to do it; he had to see Bella's face one last time. One last time, before her image would become permanent history.
Thus, mustering all the courage he had inside his heart, he finally folded the corner of the black cloth, his narrowed red eyes sliding carefully over the maid's white face.
He looked at her silently, absorbing every single feature of her face, etching every tiny wrinkle, every curl of the eyelashes, and every highlight of her hair into his memory while his heart was suffocating as if being clutched in a tight fist.