In the heart of the garden, inside a small pavilion, Ingrid sat languidly on a soft fur carpet. Her long, curly golden-brown hair cascaded over her shoulders, making her resemble an elegant garden fairy with a book in her hand. However, the beautiful garden fairy seemed lost in thought, her brows furrowed in concentration, as if pondering a problem she couldn't solve.

"My Lady?" Lily called when she saw Ingrid’s hand curl on one of the pages of the book, crumpling it.

Realizing what she had done, Ingrid panicked and began smoothing the pages of the book with her hands. She treasures books very much and is very careful when handling them, to the point that she even has designated maids assigned to take care of them. Yet, look at her being distracted and careless with her hand.

A pained expression appeared on Ingrid’s face when she saw the ruined page. She couldn’t help but sigh in resignation and hand the book to one of her maids.

"Is something bothering you, my lady?" Lily asked.

Ever since the ball at the Emperor’s palace, the young lady has been acting differently. Although she doesn’t normally talk a lot, Lily has noticed that she has become even quieter than before. There were times she would catch the young lady looking at the empty space with a frown on her beautiful face.

Just yesterday, Ingrid accidentally spilled her tea, causing all the maids to panic, afraid that she had burned her hands. Thankfully, she didn’t burn her skin, and who knows how they would answer to the grand duke afterwards?

"Lily, do you think it will affect the empire if a noble from our kingdom declines a marriage offer from another empire?" Ingrid asked in a trance.

Lily couldn’t understand why her mistress was asking such a question. The young lady of the grand dukes household is greedy for knowledge. If one were to ask, you could say she is as knowledgeable as the top scholar of the academy. She is well-versed in many subjects, including politics. Thus, her question confused Lily, though she still answered.

"I guess it depends on who is offering it and who it is offered to, my lady? If it is an offer of marriage between lower nobilities, I guess it wouldn’t affect the relationship between the two empires that much. However, it would be different if it were between households that hold a certain amount of power in the empire. In such a case, the marriage would most likely affect the relationship between the two empires."

Ingrid looked toward the distance with an unreadable expression on her beautiful face. "And which household do you think has that kind of power?"

Lily thought about it for a while before answering. "I think the household of the three grand dukes of our kingdom would have that kind of power, especially our household, which holds the greatest military strength in the empire."

Ingrid’s eyes dimmed. Remembering those purple eyes that looked at her like a cunning predator playing with its prey made the uneasiness in her heart grow deeper. She could tell from the crown prince’s eyes that he wasn't interested in her beauty. Which means if he indeed was serious with his offer of marriage, his aim isn’t to gain her heart but something else.

But what could it be?

The only other thing she could think would attract the crown prince was her father's vast army. But what would he need her father's army for?

The prince was known as a savage conqueror whose favorite hobby was ravaging lands and kingdoms. He has hundreds of thousands of soldiers on his beck and call. Although her father’s army is quite large and composed of formidable soldiers, it still isn’t compared to the crown prince’s army. However, she couldn’t think of any other reason why a man, and the only man at that, who did not show even the slightest attraction when seeing her, would want to approach her.

Well, there is also the possibility that she is just overthinking things, and the crown wasn’t really serious with his words that night. Yes, that must be it.

"I’m tired. Let’s head back," Ingrid decided. All the thinking drained her energy, making her sleepy.

However, if Ingrid knew what awaited her in her bedroom, she would never have chosen to return, even if she was threatened with a knife in her throat.

Within the spacious chamber, a man sat nonchalantly on a chair, his long legs crossed with an air of effortless confidence. His violet eyes, like a beautiful galaxy, held a mysterious depth that captivated all who dared to meet his gaze. His face possessed a striking handsomeness that turned heads in his direction. Though it pales against Ingrid’s ethereal beauty, his mystery and danger add flavor to his attractiveness, which women just seem to not get enough of.

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"Take a good rest, my lady. I will come and wake you up once it’s time for dinner," Lily said as she opened the door for her mistress.

Ingrid hummed in response, her eyelids like delicate butterfly wings drooping with a subtle hint of drowsiness. She walked inside her room with elegant steps when, at the corner of her eyes, she noticed someone who wasn’t supposed to be there.

Noticing the presence of another person, the man lifted his head.

Ingrid's footsteps halted, and her body froze in an instant, like a rabbit caught in headlights. A pair of piercing purple eyes met her emerald orbs, which were wide with surprise.

"You’re back early," he remarked, the edge of his lips tugging upward. "They said you tend to stay in your little garden until the sun sets. Was the information wrong?"

"Crown Prince Aleric!" Ingrid gasped as she nervously looked behind her. Thankfully, the chair in which he was sitting was placed at a certain angle, so Lily did not see him when she was opening and closing the door for Ingrid. "What are you doing here?"

"Have I not told you I’d be visiting?"

Ingrid clenched her trembling fists. Hundreds of questions run through her mind as she looks at the crown prince, who is leaning on his chair while smiling mischievously.

Her residence is as guarded as a fortress in a war-torn city. Hundreds of knights patrol the area. Furthermore, a powerful grand mage that worked for their family placed detection spells and layers of barriers throughout the place. No intruder has ever entered her residence undetected. So how did the crown prince sneak into her chamber without anyone noticing?

"Still, don’t you think it’s inappropriate for a man to barge into an unmarried woman’s private space?"

"That won’t matter if I’m marrying the woman."

Ingrid choked on her own saliva. Her face flushed red as she coughed while beating her own chest. Yet, as though the word ugly never existed for her, she still manages to look pretty despite the inelegance of her actions.

Ingrid glared begrudgingly at Aleric. She did hear rumors about the crown prince lacking etiquette since he lived most of his life on the battlefield. But she never expected it to be true. After all, the crown prince she met during the ball seemed... behave.

"And when was it decided that I'd marry you?" She spat after she regained her composure.

"When I came to this faraway empire for you," he answered with absolute confidence.

Ingrid’s eyelids trembled. His word would have come across as romantic if not for the detachment in his voice as he said it.

Some of the speculations in Ingrid’s head were finally confirmed. She isn’t what the crown prince wants; instead, she is the means to get it. And for him to personally go to such a faraway place to get whatever it is he wants, there may not be that much room for her to decline.

Ingrid combed her soft and lustrous hair with her fingers—a habit she unconsciously does when she’s preoccupied or nervous.

"Your eyes tell me that you have no interest in me. So why do you want to marry me?" she asked.

Crown Prince Aleric studied her with a predator’s unwavering attention. It seems that the young lady isn’t just pretty, but observant as well. He didn’t expect that from the woman deemed the most beautiful in the world. After all, she didn’t need to look at people to get whatever she wanted; they only needed to look at her.

"I require your father’s military might for a coming war," he answered. There was no use deceiving her. She must’ve most likely guessed his true intention anyway.

And he was right. Ingrid showed not the slightest bit of surprise after hearing his answer.

"Why go through an unnecessary marriage we both don’t want when you could just go and ask my father to lend you his army?"

"And leave you unprotected? Your father would never agree. However, if you were placed somewhere safe during the entire duration of the war, then my chance of convincing your father would rise. But there is another problem. The duke will never allow you to take shelter in the home of a stranger when he is capable of protecting you on his own. Unless it's your powerful husband.” The crown prince gave her a cunning smile while pointing at himself.

Ingrid’s throat felt dry. He had always made her feel uneasy. The first thought that came to her mind when she saw him walking towards her wearing that same devious smile during the ball was to run. However, like a weak prey in the face of a powerful predator, she became paralyzed with fear.

"And what if I decline?"

Crown Prince Aleric leaned on his chair while crossing his legs. "Well, there is also the option of taking it by force. If you haven’t heard it yet, my specialty is assassination."

Ingrid’s beautiful face turned deathly pale. She recalled the fall of the kingdom of Hedri from one of the books she had once read. The previous king of Hedri, along with his most loyal supporters, were all killed in their sleep one night.

Normally, chaos would have ensued after such a great catastrophe. But apart from the affected households, there wasn’t that much uproar in the kingdom. A few months later, the kingdom transitioned from being an independent kingdom into a vassal state, becoming the very first pillar that supported the kingdom of Aradhya as it turned into a great empire.

Ingrid looked at the cruel crown prince. Up until now, no one knew how he accomplished such a feat, but he had taken three more kingdoms using that same method.

Will he also kill her father if she rejects him? His cold-blooded eyes gave her the answer.

"A week. I will give you a week to think about my proposal." Crown Prince Aleric stood from his seat and walked towards the open window.

Ingrid bawled her trembling hands into a fist.

"Then I shall visit you again in a week, my princess." In the blink of an eye, Crown Prince Aleric was no longer there.