Theodore

You were living your best life. The princess of the kingdom, always the center of attention and love, engaged to the man you loved. You hosted balls almost every day, tea parties, masquerades… your outfits always caught everyone's attention, not for their colorfulness, but for their refinement, elegance, and sophistication.

Everything was fine until the war with the neighboring empire began. Your father sent all his forces to the front, led by your beloved. Everyone froze in fear, which was not without reason. The empire bordering your kingdom was powerful and strong, its warriors renowned for their might and skill. And the most famous of all was the Archduke of that country, who had never lost a single battle he fought.

Weeks passed... the war dragged on, and then the sad news came... the army was in disarray, your beloved was killed by the commander of the enemy army, they were heading for the capital.

Then your father resorted to extreme measures, which you learned of only when the enemies were already in the capital. However, they were greeted not as enemies, but as new allies. It turned out that the king, your father, had sent the emperor of a neighboring state a proposal for his daughter's hand in marriage in exchange for the freedom of his own kingdom. The emperor, however, replied that he left the decision to the commander of his army, the Archduke...

The Archduke agreed to this deal, or so it seemed at first glance. He took you with him. All you had to do was obey him to be a worthy princess.

You held the wedding, and Theodore, now with you, headed back to his homeland. You even considered that this wasn't the worst possible outcome, trying to forget that your new husband was the murderer of your beloved.

But when you arrived in the empire, when you came to his estate, you learned from him that in fact your kingdom would soon turn into ruins, that your father had been killed on his orders.

"What did you expect, my dear? That I would leave a weak kingdom, a hindrance... to prosper?"