“Papa.”

“Papa!” Ingrid repeatedly called as she chased after her father. “Papa!" She grabbed the grand dukes arm.

The grand dukes halted in his footsteps.

“Are you really marrying me off to the crown prince?” she asked, her voice filled with uncertainty.

“Didn’t you say that you love the crown prince? I am only doing as you wanted," the grand duke said, his voice accusingly harsh.

But this isn’t what she wanted… She wanted to say. But instead, she let go of her father’s arm, defeated.

The grand duke continued walking without looking back.

Elias handed the grand duke a handkerchief once he entered his office. Grand Duke Rasmus accepted it without a word and began wiping his eyes.

“Isn’t it too early for you to cry, my Lord?”

Grand Duke Rasmus glared at Elias. “Do you even have a heart? I am about to lose my daughter to a tyrant foreigner!”

“You were the one who gave her to him,” he reminded him.

The grand duke glared at Elias once again. The latter quickly raised both his hands in defeat, as his master can be really petty and unreasonable.

When they found out that Ingrid was gone, for the first time in a very long time, Elias saw the horror in the face of the most fearless man he had ever met. The grand duke showed no fear even when they marched towards the home of the giants living south of the empire. Or that time when he was attacked by a mystical beast after accidentally wandering in its lair.

Even in the face of rulers famed for their tyranny and strength, the grand remained fearless and immovable.

But at the news of his daughter being gone, he saw how the grand duke's confidence and sanity slowly crumbled. If it weren’t for Elias by his side, directing him to the next rational action, he would have already turned the entire kingdom upside down to find her.

However, who would have thought that while looking for clues in Ingrid’s chamber, the daughter he was worriedly searching for would suddenly appear out of thin air while wrapped protectively in Crown Prince Aleric’s embrace?

Elias witnessed the various emotions that played in the grand duke’s eyes, one of which he could clearly tell was a look of relief but also of miserable defeat.

“When Ingrid was still in her mother’s womb, I often prayed that she wouldn’t take after her mother, for that would mean inheriting her fate. Did you know that I was one of the first to discover that the daughter of the grand duke of Lennox was endowed with beauty that the world had never witnessed before?”

Elias’ thoughts were cut off. He watched as Grand Duke Rasmus walked towards his window. His eyes lacked their usual vitality as he stared at the blue sky.

“I first met her while I was on a mission outside of the capital and hiding inside a forest. There was a sack over her head, and her hands and feet were tied. Weirdly, a soft cushion was laid beneath her, and cotton padding was put underneath the rope that tied her. Even the daughter of the archduke who was once abducted was never given such careful treatment by her abductors.” He chuckled.

“When night came, I snuck inside their camp and saved her. But when I removed the sack covering her head, I was met with a face so beautiful it was almost blinding. I remembered myself trembling at the sight of her. That’s when I understood why they were treating her like fragile glass.”

Elias could truly understand how the grand duke felt. He also felt that way when his father first introduced him to the duchess. He still remembers being unable to speak at the sight of her. In the end, his father ended up introducing him to him.

“At that time, there was a rumor circulating in the capital that the duke of Lennox was hiding her daughter because of her extreme ugliness. But as it turns out, it was the opposite. Father was hiding her because he knew her beauty might either destroy her or the world.”

Elias face became solemn. He knew how many fights the grand duke fought to protect his wife. Even after they were married, people who coveted the grand duchess still kept coming. Some tried to entice the duchess with greater wealth and power, while others were a bit more forceful in their approach. But the grand duke managed to deter them all.

“Then the thing that I dreaded the most came true. My daughter ended up inheriting her mother’s fate.” The Grand Duke’s voice quivered. “They were really right when they said never to repeat the same trick twice. I tried to do what my father did and spread rumors that my child was ugly. But nobody believed it. Instead, it made people even more curious about her countenance. And soon the news of my daughter's beauty was revealed.”

Anyone who had never seen Ingrid before would probably think that the grand duke’s words were both arrogant and ridiculous. After all, there is not one woman in the world who could look beautiful in the eyes of everyone. But not Ingrid. Her beauty is so great that even those who hate her become incapable of uttering the word ugly, even if it’s just to spite her.

If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

“I tried my hardest in order to protect my daughter. But in the end, I failed,” he said, his eyes darkening as the memory of what happened six years ago resurfaced. “And what happened last night made me realize a lot of things. Had the crown prince of Aradhya abducted Ingrid and taken her away, I wouldn’t have been able to do anything. Although I hate to admit it, that hateful crown prince is stronger than I am,” he grunted.

A small smile appeared on Elias’ lips when he saw the childish demeanor of the grand duke.

“He will do better at protecting my daughter. Beside, my daughter fancies him so her happiness wouldn’t be compromised.”

The Grand Duke pressed the handkerchief on his eyes as he began to sob.

Elias turned to look away. It was hard to see such a giant man cry.

///\

Ingrid sighed.

“He’s probably crying right now.”

“Did you mean the grand duke, my lady?" Iris asks, a basket of apples in hand.

She looked at Iris, surprised. “How did you know I was talking about papa?”

“I saw him by the window of his office while getting this,” she said, waving the apples she got from the orchard behind the grand duke’s palace. “He had giant tears falling off his eyes.”

“Tch, if he’s going to cry like that, then why did he promise my hand to the crown prince in a month,” she grumbled.

“But isn’t this great, my lady? Now you don’t have to make an effort to convince the grand duke to marry you off to the crown prince.”

Iris was right, but still, she wondered why her father decided to do that. After what happened, she really thought he would convince her to stay away from Aleric, not the other way around.

“It’s probably to protect you, my lady,” Iris said, guessing her mind. “By announcing your betrothal with the crown prince to that many important people, it is equivalent to announcing it to the whole world. Now, anyone who would try to have bad thoughts toward you will have to second guess, with his highness in the picture.”

No wonder Aleric looked really amused back then. He must’ve understood what her father’s intention was. With Aleric now at the forefront of the battle for her hand, he also made sure that Aleric became sore in King Oliver's' eyes.

With just a simple sentence, the grand duke made sure that the Aradhya and Serus became enemies. This way, King Oliver will have to back down if he doesn’t want to go to war with the empire of Aradhya for a mere woman.

However, there is one thing that none of them knew. King Oliver is aware of Ingrid’s secret. And for that secret, he may just be willing to sacrifice millions of lives to get Ingrid.

“Are you alright, my lady? You look pale,” Iris asked worriedly.

Will war really happen because of her?

Ingrid shook her head. “I’m fine. By the way, I haven’t seen Lily today.”

Iris’ eyes darkened, but Ingrid was looking somewhere else, so she didn’t notice. “She’s probably still sulking in her room.”

Ingrid sighed once again. “I do want to tell her about the crown prince, but I was afraid that the information might be too much for her, and she would end up hinting my father. I wanted to wait until everything was settled to tell her, but who would have thought that she would find out this way?"

Lily was her only friend. She never intended to hurt her feelings.

“Should I go and explain myself to her?”

“I think it’s best if you let her be for the time being, my lady. Once she thinks things through, she’ll surely come around,” Iris advised. “Beside, though she is your friend, she is still your servant. The servant's job is to follow the master, not question her every move. If you go to her now, it will leave a bad impression on the other servant. They may also end up resenting Lily for having the audacity to make you apologize.”

Ingrid fell silent.

“Wait, since when did you learn so much about noble etiquette?” Ingrid asked, surprised by Iris’ knowledge.

“I’m a fast learner, my lady, and Lily was a good teacher.”

Ingrid smiled. She was glad to see that at least the two of them seemed to be a bit closer than before.

////\

Meanwhile, outside of the capital, a group of people was moving at an inhuman speed. They were moving so fast that the air split and blasted the surrounding area in their wake.

They were riding on top of an extremely rare breed of magical horses capable of moving at lightning speed. Though these horses looked normally like average horses, when in need of more speed, they are capable of growing in size and shaping their muscles in certain ways that can help them increase their velocity.

“The Grand Duke of Lennox is being ridiculous!” Vernon said who was riding beside Aleric. “Even with the Lightning Horses, it would take two weeks at most to reach Aradhya if we traveled without rest. But he wants us to return within a month?”

Aleric smiled in amusement. “The grand duke is trying to test me.”

“Test you for what? You created an entire empire from scratch at a very young age. You’ve destroyed countless cities and kingdoms, famed for being indestructible. Isn’t that enough of a testament to your great power?”

"Well, it can’t be helped. My rival isn’t someone ordinary after all. He wanted to see if I could stand against him.

“But can you?” Vernon asked, his voice a mixture of worry and sarcasm.

Crown Prince Aleric grinned. “I’ve never fought the King of the South before, so who knows?"

Vernon pursed his lips. He didn’t like the uncertainty in their odds. As Aleric’s tactician, he never executes a plan he isn’t sure they can win. However, he isn’t also someone who likes to play it safe. Instead, he is the kind who creates unexpected variables to secure their victory. But doing so takes time and a lot of thinking.

Time is something they currently don’t have, especially if they want to proceed with their plan to take down Selite.

He couldn’t help but sigh. If the south really ends up becoming a problem, they might end up postponing their conquest of the north. This was an oversight on his part. Had he known that Ingrid had already attracted the eyes of the southern king, he would have never tried to use the grand duke as a variable in their plans while at the same time snagging a bride for his master and friend.

“Augustus!” Crown prince Aleric called. A buff knight broke from their formation and, together with his horse, rode beside Aleric.

“Yes, your highness.”

“Settle yourselves at the border of Learia. Only Vernon and I are going back to Aradhya.”

Vernon looked at him in surprise. “Your highness, you don’t mean to..."

“We’re pressed for time. It’s the only way we can get home fast. Let’s go!”

Vernon gazed at Aleric, his expression complicated. Though, in the eyes of others, Aleric seemed to be quite reckless, he had never seen someone as meticulous as that man. Yet, right now, he’s doing something rather impulsive.

Could it be that he…

Vernon’s expression became even more complicated as he followed behind him.