Gabrielle_Johnson_6482

“You must bear a child, Celia. what good is a woman who isn’t a mother? What good is an empty womb?”

“Especially when it’s a foreign womb, like yours…”

It’s not an easy life when you’re watched month after month, when all the blame is placed at your feet for your young husband having no heir. 

Celia Devon Tralhamir, Crown Princess of Havietten, waits every month with hope mingled with fear. 

A child will secure her future. But it will also bind her for life to a husband she neither loves or respects, who refuses to see her abilities. Is that what she wants?

Is she content to prioritise security over happiness, and be a wordless decorative vessel all her life?

Or is she brave enough to try to forge her own path and seize fulfilment on her own terms? Even in a society that cannot recognise individual brilliance in a mere woman.

A sequel to the WEBNOVEL book “Earning the Love of a Princess”, this novel follows another woman born into the Royal House of Devon, trying to fight the confines that threaten to stifle her happiness.

The Loneliest Ballad

The nobleman looked at Celia with trepidation. He opened his mouth and then quickly shut it again, teeth clicking.

"Well?" she asked in her most imperious tone. She hadn't lied when she'd said she was tired. Crawling into her soft bed in peace was sounding more and more like paradise. "My lord…?"

"Adolphus Soren, Duke of Kerrigan."

"Very well, my duke." Celia nodded, then gave the man a long second look. "The Duchy of Kerrigan has the city of Prior within its borders, doesn't it?"

"Which means…you and your kin must traditionally hold great sway over Havietten's trade with the kingdoms of the Western Continent." she eyed him keenly. "Given that Prior's Lord Mayor will report directly to you and act under your authority."

Lord Soren gave her a grudging smile. "You know more about our kingdom's geography and politics than I expected, my queen."

No Risk, All the Risk