I thought it was a perfect wedding.

It was the wedding of Princess Dana of Rowen to a neighboring prince, a union that had been decided since she turned eighteen. Her fiancé, the prince, arrived in the Rowen Kingdom in a carriage adorned with gold, and everything was perfectly prepared. It all seemed perfect, she thought.

The warm spring brought clear skies and pleasant weather, and the wedding was celebrated with blessings. The prince, with his golden hair and sparkling golden eyes, had grown into a handsome young man, even more charming than the childhood portrait Dana had seen.

Although he did not look at her or speak to her, the prince stood with the upright posture and calm expression befitting royalty. She still didn’t know what kind of person he was. But the important thing was that this marriage represented a promise between kingdoms and a union of two royal families. She felt somewhat nervous about becoming someone’s wife. It felt like a new beginning.

After the reception and their first night together, they were supposed to leave for the prince’s homeland, the Heinz Kingdom. That would have happened if the prince hadn’t collapsed, vomiting blood after drinking at the reception. After that, everything fell apart.

The poison had been on the rim of his cup. The Heinz Kingdom was in an uproar. Although the prince was the second son, he was the beloved child of Queen Cladimien of Heinz. It was said that the crown prince of Heinz, the prince’s half-brother, had orchestrated the poisoning.

Rumors had long circulated that Queen Cladimien wanted to oust the crown prince, who wasn’t her biological son, and make Prince Ergart the next king. Her cherished son had been poisoned. As the prince hovered between life and death and was taken back to the Heinz Kingdom, knights from Heinz arrived.

Dana’s brother, King Taras of Rowen, made a bold move amidst the chaos. He sent a request to the Holy See of Bicantus to annul the marriage, arguing that since the princess hadn’t spent the first night with the prince, the marriage should be considered void. Hearing that the prince was poisoned and was on the verge of death, he wanted to quickly annul the marriage to present his sister back on the marriage market without any blemishes.

Unfortunately, it was revealed that a noble from the Rowen Kingdom was involved in the prince’s poisoning. Queen Cladimien was furious. King Taras’s swift attempt to annul the marriage only further enraged her. Although she couldn’t catch the crown prince who had pulled out at the last moment, her wrath was directed solely at the Rowen Kingdom.

As the tense atmosphere lingered, war broke out as early summer arrived.

“Brother!”

By the last month of summer, Dana heard rumors that her brother, King Taras, was planning to abandon the royal castle and flee. This was due to southern nobles surrendering to the Heinz knights and opening the way for them; it was said that the knights would soon reach the capital.

But for a king to flee was unthinkable. It was disheartening news for the knights defending the capital.

Dana had always been a quiet sister who never opposed her brother and had never spoken against any of his decisions. But this time, she felt she couldn’t let it pass. She went to the king’s audience chamber to persuade Taras.

“Brother, isn’t Lord Leonas fighting at the capital’s border right now? I’ve heard he’s an excellent knight! While the knights are fighting for their lives, how can you abandon the castle and the people?”

Taras shouted irritably.

“What can that lowborn Leonas do? He’ll just pretend to wield his sword and surrender to the Heinz knights! How can I trust him and stay here?”

“But brother, you are the king! You must have faith in the kingdom’s knights!”

“What?”

Taras’s face twisted with anger. Dana hurriedly added, looking at him earnestly.

“If you can’t trust that knight, then let me do something! I’ll summon my divine beast if I have to…”

At that moment, sparks flew from Taras’s eyes.

“Dana Rowen!”

Taras shouted furiously, swinging his arm. Smack.

“Ah!”

Dana’s head jerked to the side, causing her to stumble and collapse to the floor. Her cheek felt as if it had been seared. Instinctively, she lifted her hand to touch her cheek, feeling a dull ache in both her face and her mind.

“Princess!”

The startled maidservants rushed over, but there was nothing they could do. Taras shouted at the top of his lungs.

“What do you know! Who do you think you are! Just because you have a fancy divine beast, you dare to show off in front of me! Insolent girl!”

What was he saying now? Dana, struggling to raise her head, felt a surge of frustration as she glanced at her enraged brother. Weren’t the divine beasts meant to safeguard Rowen from such threats in the first place?

As she, confused, reached out to grab her brother’s robe, Taras, with a face twisted beyond recognition, shouted.

“Arrogant girl! If you’re so great, stay here and summon your divine beast or wait for that lowborn to save you! Guards! Lock the princess in her room! Make sure she can’t get out!”

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T/N: The word count for each chapter is on the lower end (around 500-1k words), so I’m planning to lower the amount of blooms required to unlock future chapters if this is the case. I know I can combine the parts but I feel like later on, I will be confused when buying the raws. I’ll just post it according to how they divide the chapters as well, but feel free to let me know what you think otherwise!