Prologue—

In the capital of Varianthar Imperium, at the Imperial Palace, a ball night was about to take place in a few more minutes. All the noble houses from all across the Empire, nobles and delegates from allied countries were present, all except the Empire's prodigious sovereign, the Crown Prince Estevan Kairos Sol Vorhys; He's a Crown Prince with good reputation, intelligent, kind, and overall good standing. His physique was idealistic. His perfectly muscular body, has a deep but soft masculine voice, soft and wavy jet black hair which is always trimmed and styled neatly, his handsome face clear as glass, and his skin as white as snow made him even more renowned.

The Crown Prince arrived 5 minutes late. The strict Emperor was agitated by his tardiness, but it wasn't the time to show it. As the Crown Prince walked on the red carpet, wearing the most expensive and eye-catching suit, everyone stared at him like an angel had just descended into earth. From a far distance, was his fiancée, Ethelfleda Von Alderidge, daughter and Lady of the prestigious House of Grand Duke Alderidge.

Ethelfleda is the only heir to the Dukedom of House Alderidge, which is a waste of her talents. Grand Duke Alderidge is a man of history. He was known as the Killing Machine of Varianthar for his great swordsmanship and rational decisions. His daughter Ethelfleda, on the other hand, is a great strategist, wise, and skillful. The Grand Duke had made his daughter his first desciple, earning his skills from an early age. The Grand Duke is the Emperor's right hand, leaving Ethelfleda to deal with the matters of the Duchy from the age of 14. With her 3 years of experience of significantly improving their Duchy, she won the Emperor's favor. Ethelfleda was trained to be the capable Lady of Rouxenburg. She was well-known thanks to her attendance alongside her father during social events. She was beautiful, but cold. Her wavy hazel brown hair, curved body and fair skin was admired by a lot of noblewomen, but that was all to her looks.

The Crown Prince greeted the Emperor with a smile and bow. He then walked in front of Ethelfleda and exclaimed..

"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. Thank you for your patience and attention. I'd like to make a short announcement. While it pains me to share this news, I must inform you all that my engagement to Lady Ethelfleda Von Alderidge has been dissolved. I am confident that this decision is in the best interests of all concerned."

He said as he stared at Ethelfleda while making the announcement. Ethelfleda was bewildered. The Grand Duke, father of Ethelfleda, stepped in to comfort his daughter..

"I.. Didn't receive any notice of this agreement, Father.."

Ethelfleda mumbled as her stomach felt like a swarm of butterflies were flying inside her stomach. The Grand Duke had no excuse..

"I'm sorry, Ethel.."

The Grand Duke replied as he tried to calm Ethelfleda down.

People started murmuring as they wonder why the Crown Prince Estevan ended their engagement. Ethelfleda was not only stressed, she was pressured and confused as to why it happened. As Ethelfleda became suffocated to the loud murmurs and questions of the nobles, she had flashbacks of the Crown Prince Estevan and their childhood friend in their childhood; one scene was when the Crown Prince was crying to Ethelfleda about being scolded by the Emperor. Ethelfleda was in love with the Crown Prince, so she stayed there to comfort the crying Prince, but then "she" came; The Crown Prince's very first and "only friend", Lady Sianna Beauregard, the first daughter of Count Beauregard. Lady Sianna came dashing to calm the Crown Prince down as she pushed Ethelfleda away. The Crown Prince then started to falsely blame Ethelfleda for being too perfect to gain the Emperor's praises and favor. It was obvious that the Crown Prince never liked Ethelfleda from the beginning, but Ethelfleda feigned ignorance because she was blinded by the unrequited "love" that she felt for the Prince. When Ethelfleda finally realized it, she regained consciousness and masked her strange feeling with a simple smile and went to the balcony alone to get some fresh air. The ball that was filled with laughter and joy, now turned into a gossip tavern wherein false information spreads around every corner.

"It just had to be the Royal Ball, huh.."

Ethelfleda thought as she sighed her anger away.

Ethelfleda had finally realized that there was nothing to feel madden of, as there was nothing to expect from the Crown Prince either.. Their engagement was nothing but an arranged marriage out of convenience. But somewhere deep in her heart, the Prince still owns her affection..

"Unbelievable.. I shouldn't have attended the ball, had I known this embarrassing event would happen."

Ethelfleda said to herself aloud.

"I should've listened to my Father before I took the Emperor's offer to the engagement.."

Ethelfleda continued.

"I should let the Crown Prince explain it before I make any moves at the moment.."

Ethelfleda thought to herself.

Suddenly, someone knocked at the balcony door then opened, startling Ethelfleda.

"Lady Ethelfleda, I'm sorry to disturb you, but His Majesty sent a private request to have an audience with you after the Royal Ballet had ended. Your reply, my Lady?"

A servant from the Imperial Palace asked politely.

"Very well.. Please inform His Majesty of my attendance."

Ethelfleda replied politely.

Ethelfleda left the balcony first, but as soon as she stepped out, a lot of eyes were pinned to her. As unfortunately enough for her, the Crown Prince and Lady Sianna was just at the corner, embracing each other like there was no tomorrow with their

ever-so-bright smile of victory. It was very irritating for Ethelfleda to see the cunning faces of the two beside each other. But the nobles were simply bewildered by the Lady Ethelfleda's careless way of ignoring the two, making it seem like a very mature and sophisticated way to respond. Everyone's opinion of the Crown Prince slightly decreased, and their opinion to Ethelfleda increase, but it wasn't just the present nobles who thought of the Lady highly..