Vernon poured Prince Aleric a cup of coffee the moment he appeared in his study. He handed Vernon the contract, which the latter quickly skimmed over before putting in a safe sealed with magic.

"I never thought you would be kind enough to find me a good wife, Vernon," Prince Aleric said with a hint of sarcasm as he took a sip of his coffee.

"I thank you for your compliment, your highness," Vernon bowed politely.

Prince Aleric shook his head. As if he truly considered Ingrid's personality when he suggested he marry her. To this cruel strategist of his, Ingrid is but another chess piece he can use to reach their desired outcome.

"However, your highness, you must remember to address the lady with utmost propriety, most especially in public. Society thrives upon rumors, and rumors are all it takes to destroy a lady's dignity. Therefore, I plead with your highness to please restrain yourself from calling the lady Ingrid your wife. At least until your marriage is set."

"Tch," Prince Aleric clicked his tongue and propped his feet up the table. "Still as uptight as ever. And will you stop talking like those boot-licking aristocrats at home? It gives me goosebumps."

Vernon's lips arch upward, and all of a sudden, gone was the polite and subservient young man. He draped himself over the sofa with his legs crossed.

"I'm glad that the proposal to Lady Ingrid was settled rather quickly. It was indeed the best choice."

Prince Aleric dropped his legs and tilted his head in curiosity. "Is that so?"

"I recently found that the relationship between the grand duke and the imperial family isn't merely fractured. It's entirely broken!"

Vernon lifted his head up and stared at the ceiling with a hint of annoyance. Learia was thousands of miles away from Aradhya. The information he could dig up about the empire was limited.

He thought he'd be able to find out more about the empire once they arrived. But he was mistaken. His subordinates, who specialized in finding even the most hidden of information, seemed to have stumbled upon a giant boulder that kept them from digging deeper.

It took them a long time to find a loose soil where they could get some information. But after digging some more, the giant boulder appeared once more. This gave Vernon, who is a sore loser, a lot of frustration.

"But aren't the emperor and the grand duke brothers?"

"Yep!' Vernon sighed. "Though their relationship isn't tight-knit. But considering the current emperor only rose to the throne after his brother gave up his rights to the throne for a woman, their relationship could be considered amicable. However, something happened six years ago that shattered their fragile bond."

Six years ago. Back then, they were busy swallowing the kingdoms surrounding their own. They didn't have time to pay attention to whatever was happening in a faraway empire.

"This is frustrating!" Vernon sighed once more and massaged the bridge of his nose. "Although we only brought a fourth of our personnel, it should have been enough to dig enough information to give us more of an upper hand. But I can't even find out what happened six years ago as though it was some myth that never truly happened!"

"No wonder, you were like a woman in their monthlies the past few days."

"Hey!"

Prince Aleric chuckled as he walked towards the window. With his arms supporting his body, he leaned forward and watched the bustling cityscape below.

He had to give it to the emperor. Despite informing them late of their arrival, he still provided them the best amongst the manors he owned for their accommodation. He even offered to house them in his own palace, but Prince Aleric declined.

Had it been someone else, they would have been met with the emperor's wrath instead of extravagance. But because it was the barbaric prince—a man whose notorious fame reached even such a distant empire, Emperor Cecil could only grit his teeth and smile.

"It seems that we underestimated the extent of the grand duke's reach. But I'm sure our genius tactician can handle it." Prince Aleric gave Vernon a smile that revealed his trust and confidence towards the man who has been with him ever since the beginning.

"Tch, I told you to stop with the genius." Vernon tidied his suit and headed for the door. "Iris will be arriving alongside a few more of our men in three weeks time. They should help me stretch my network farther. Still, it will take time to gain the information we want." Vernon paused for a moment and added. "Oh, and I don't know how you did it, but that hermit is with them."

\\\\\\\\\\\/

Darkness....

It was all Ingrid could see underneath her blindfold. Her heart drummed in an erratic rhythm as fear and panic sunk in. She tried to scream for help, but her screams turned into muffled noises against the cloth wrapped around her mouth. Her shoulders trembled as she wept helplessly. Had she not willfully asked her father to take her to the festival, this wouldn’t have happened.

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It was the last day of the hunting festival. People were gathered at the central plaza, where a giant feast made from the games hunted during the first day of the festival was prepared. It is said to be the most joyous time of the entire week of festivity.

Wanting to experience that, she begged her father to take her to the festival, despite the grand dukes reluctance. Though it is the most joyous time, it is also the most dangerous, especially for Ingrid, whom many people covet. But Ingrid was relentless. After a lot of begging and crying, the grand duke ended up agreeing. After all, who could bear to see the tears of such a beautiful child?

However, who would have thought that it was the moment that Ingrid’s captor had been waiting for all along?

During the peak of the festivity, one of the giant pots, a size taller than a man, filled with boiling soup suddenly broke, causing it to spill onto the surrounding audience. People started to panic, and before they knew it, a stampede had already occurred.

The grand duke grabbed his daughter in haste and brought her to safety, only to realize that it wasn't his daughter's hand he was holding but of her handmaiden, Lily.

“Is this her?” Ingrid flinched at the sound of a new and unfamiliar voice.

“Yes, your highness," responded one of her abductors.

Ingrid felt a hand touching the back of her head, causing her to shiver. The cloth covering her eyes loosened.

The first thing she saw in her still hazy gaze was a purple satin dress. Its wearer was still busy loosening the cloth tied around her mouth. So for some time, that was all she saw. However, despite the gentleness of the hands that were trying to free her, she couldn’t find any sort of comfort from its owner.

The man grabbed Ingrid's jaw, forcing her to look up. As soon as she met the pair of gray, stormy eyes filled with insanity, she trembled in fear.

“What a lovely face—no, lovely isn’t enough to express the amount of beauty you hold.” The man broke into a crooked smile, making his horrifying face even more terrifying. “Sssh, it’s okay. Don’t cry. I’m not going to hurt you.”

Ingrid whimpered at the sensation of the man's thumb wiping her cheeks. Her stomach churned, and it felt like everything she ate during the festival was climbing up her throat.

“Please let me go. My father is surely worried about me,” Ingrid begged in between sobs.

“Oh, don’t worry, my love; I’m sure your father will understand. After all, he can’t keep you by his side forever.”

Ingrid shook her head profusely. She couldn’t comprehend the meaning behind the words said by the monster in front of her. How come she can’t stay by her father’s side? She doesn’t want to be here! She wants to be with her father!

"Come, let me show you something.”

The ugly man held her hand and half dragged her to follow. He led her onto a balcony that overlooked the entire kingdom of which he was the ruler.

The sight of the beautiful structures created and powered by magic was a feast to behold for those who first set their eyes on it. But not for Ingrid. All she could see was the distance between there and home, her hope slowly dying as she thought of ways to escape her captor.

"Beautiful, isn’t it?” The man said, his mad eyes filled with great pride, shifted towards Ingrid. “Once you marry me, you will rule beside me and become the queen of this kingdom, isn’t that great?”

Ingrid shook her head and tried to pull her hand away, but the madman's grip on her tightened.

“My father will never agree to that!”

"Oh, I’m sure he will. No man can escape the temptation of wealth and power! Your father is no exception!”

“That’s a lie! My father is not like that! Let me go!”

“Is that so?” He asked mockingly. “When your father knows who I am, you best know he will offer you himself to me!”

“Then why abduct me!? If my father is truly willing to give my hand to you, then you wouldn't have taken me by force!”

The man fell into silence, dumbstruck. His grip on Ingrid loosened. She quickly took the chance and fled to a corner to create distance between them.

“My father chose me and my mother over a whole empire. He will never choose you over me, so don't you mar my father's good name!”

The man burst into a fit of laughter, startling Ingrid.

“Spells are indeed useless against the goddess's blood.”

Ingrid took a step back when the man began to walk towards her, his eyes filled with even more madness and greed. The icy metal railing pressed against Ingrid's back. Her eyes darted wildly around the tiny space as she searched for a place to escape.

“Well, it doesn’t matter what your father thinks of anyway. You’re in my kingdom now. What can he actually do once we have already tied the knot?”

Ingrid looked at the man with horror. “No!”

“Behave now, my little queen.”

“No! Nooo!!!”

“My lady? My lady! Wake-up!”

Ingrid snapped awake, her eyes wildly scanning the room like an anxious animal. She finally calmed down after sensing the familiar surroundings.

The sun's rays were already peeking through the still-closed curtains, signaling the start of a new day.

“Another nightmare, my lady,” Lily asked, filled with worry, as she handed Ingrid a glass of water.

With trembling hands, Ingrid accepted the glass of water and drained its content in a single gulp. Lily poured her another glass, which she drank about a half.

“My lady, is something bothering you?”

Ingrid shook her head. Lily has been her handmaiden since young. Apart from her father, she was the only person who consistently noticed the little changes in her emotions.

“Don’t worry, Lily, it’s nothing.” Ingrid tried to stand, only to fall on Lily’s arm, who was quick to catch her.

“Please get me a change of clothes,” she said with a sigh as Lily helped her sit on the bed. Her night clothes were drenched with sweat, and it’s making her uncomfortable.

“My Lady, I have been by your side ever since I could remember. I know that you have not been yourself these past few days.” Lily handed Ingrid the set of clothes she had chosen and helped wear them. “If there is anything that’s bothering you..."

Ingrid let out a deep sigh. She knew she couldn’t hide anything from Lily. The two of them had practically grown together. Lily was the only person she could call her friend and the only person who treated her like a normal person.

“I wasn’t myself because there is a giant play that I’m making, and it requires a lot of thinking. Don’t worry, once it’s finished, you will be the first to know.” Ingrid patted Lily on the shoulder as she walked towards the window with shaking steps.

Ingrid opened the thin curtains, allowing the sun to fully enter the room. Her face showed no signs that she had just woken up from a terrible nightmare. Like always, she glowed with youthful radiance as the morning rays touched her rose-colored cheeks.

There is a superstition in the Lennox's grand dukedom that whoever gets to grace Ingrid's face in the morning will have a day of luck and goodness ahead of them. That is why every morning the servant ladies in her residence would line up outside her door to greet her before they went on with their daily tasks.

“Lily, tell the knights to prepare my carriage.”

“My lady?” Lily’s brows furrowed. Her mistress rarely goes out, and when she does, she always briefs them ahead of time. Therefore, she was confused by Ingrid’s sudden announcement.

Ingrid looked at the baffled Lily and gave her a smile that did not reach her eyes. “I need to start working on that play I mentioned.”