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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."

Saved By The Mad Duke

It had been three weeks since Aideen's powers were sealed and Ahspid secretly left the castle in the middle of the night. Safie, the only person who saw him leave, did not confess to anyone that she saw him; something deep inside her heart urged her to respect the man's decision, no matter how obnoxious or troublesome he had been during the time he spent with them.

Although Tillian sent out his knights to search for him, the mage was never found, and they could only hope that he reached his desired destination and was not buried under the snow or torn apart by the wandering beasts.

To the duke, much like to everybody else in the castle, Ahspid's decision seemed inconsiderate and selfish, after all, he was the princess's trusted teacher, someone who could have helped her cope with the loss of her powers, offered a valuable piece of advice or simple moral support during such trying times.

Falling Apart