Chapter 01
A torrential downpour crashed down as if the heavens themselves were collapsing. A sharp lightning bolt slashed through the dark sky, followed by a thunderous roar that shook the earth.
Blinding light flashes pierced the endless night, raining down on the ground like a judgment on the world’s end.
That night, Adeline lost her family and her homeland. To her, it was a memory of chilling terror and unbearable pain.
In an instant, her nation’s army, which had been swayed by the enemy kingdom of Kassel, took over the royal palace. The excuse was to hold someone accountable for a war they had no chance of winning. The once beautiful palace was soaked in blood.
“Your Majesty, this is for the greater good. Those who can live must live.”
“Commander Brendan! How could a proud soldier of Lechern commit such an act?”
“History will judge everything, Your Majesty. I have no more to say.”
On that stormy night, the entire Bernadotte royal family was massacred. The King and Queen of Lechern, the Crown Prince and his family, and even the eldest Princess and her husband were all killed.
Adeline’s parents, brother, and sister were shot at gunpoint by none other than the army’s commander.
“Adeline… Colin, please… take care of Colin…”
Her sister’s final words to entrust her sickly son were left unfinished.
Adeline’s nephew, Colin, had been fragile since birth, living almost entirely in a hospital. That fragile state had saved his life that bloody night.
Recalling her hospitalized nephew, Adeline bit her trembling lip. No matter how grief-stricken she was, she refused to cry in front of the enemy who had trampled her palace. Fighting back her tears, she drew a shaky breath.
“No matter what, I must survive.”
She had to stay alive to do anything for Colin. A six-year-old child, sick and alone, left without a guardian in this cruel world was unimaginable.
“Adeline Bernadotte.”
Repeating her name in her mind, her green eyes were as dry as a desert.
A month had passed since the massacre of the royal family and the end of the devastating war. Lechern had fallen, becoming a vassal state of Kassel. The once-proud Bernadotte royal name was now a relic of a defeated kingdom.
Still, Adeline held onto her name like a lifeline.
A week ago, her living arrangements under military supervision had been finalized. She was to leave for Kassel. It wasn’t a request—it was a demand.
“Princess, the war is over, and peace has finally come. In these pivotal times, don’t you think you must fulfill?”
“And that duty involves marrying Prince Lars of Kassel?”
“Yes, only you can fulfill this role.”
“Commander Brendan.”
“Kassel, as the victor, is extending a hand of reconciliation. Your marriage to Prince Lars will be the cornerstone of this unity. Although the prince is far from the line of succession, this is still an honorable match for someone with a tarnished engagement record, don’t you agree?”
His words were precise and cutting. The courtesy of calling her a princess was nothing more than mockery. Adeline understood; her opinion didn’t matter, and the decision had already been made.
Her past engagement was a sore point. Her fiancé had gone missing in battle and was declared dead. That made her, technically, a woman with a broken engagement. It wasn’t a lie, but it didn’t make the assessment hurt any less.
Swallowing her pride and grief, Adeline clenched her fists. She was alive only because they needed her alive. Fully aware of her precarious situation, she suppressed her emotions and prepared herself.
The youngest prince of Kassel, Lars Rosenbury, was infamous. Rumors of his debauchery and indulgence in vice were widely known. Nobles avoided offering their daughters to him, as his reputation was a scandal.
Thus, Adeline had been chosen as his bride—not for love, but as a pawn in Kassel’s grand strategy.
She had once thought death preferable to this humiliation. But for Colin’s sake, she had to live.
“Don’t even think about running away, Princess. Your departure will be finalized soon. Until then, please be wise and cooperative.”
And so, everything proceeded without delay. A week later, Adeline boarded a train bound for Kassel. The journey took two weeks, with the train crossing the border and never stopping.
When she finally arrived, everything felt foreign. The stark difference between Kassel’s untouched prosperity and Lechern’s ruin was undeniable.
Once in the royal palace, Adeline was told to wait to meet her future husband, Prince Lars. She waited for hours, but he never came. Eventually, a servant informed her that the meeting would be rescheduled.
Walking back to her isolated chambers, Adeline sat by a fountain in the courtyard, lost in thought. Her future seemed bleak, but she held onto the faintest hope for Colin’s sake.
As tears silently fell down her cheeks, she suddenly noticed the sound of unfamiliar footsteps. Turning, she saw a man standing nearby, his dark hair glistening under the sun. A lit cigarette dangled from his fingers as he watched her.
