Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Broken Engagement.

The moment she brought up the awkward subject, an uneasy silence fell over the room.

The High Priest exhaled the smoke left in his mouth. The half burned cigarette was snuffed out against a silver ashtray.

“You were about to get married?”

“I ran away with a month left. If things had gone as planned, the ceremony would be next week.”

“You should’ve settled it in court.”

“If that were possible, I wouldn’t have come this far. My so-called fiancé is a complete lunatic!”

At the mention of her fiancé, Sian grew agitated.

“You seem very angry.”

He waved his hand carelessly. At the gesture, the priest who had been standing nearby left the office. Click. The door shut, leaving just the two of them.

“Calm yourself, and tell me about this madman.”

“…If you promise to keep everything secret.”

“I swear it. From this moment, no one but God will hear what is said here.”

* * *

It wasn’t such a dramatic story.

The only daughter of a grand duke, the sole princess of a duchy.

Sian Heartpherion had lived a comfortable, happy life by virtue of her noble birth. Yet she had no desire for power and no taste for the throne, so she refused the role of ruler.

Her father, the Grand Duke and sovereign of Sedin, knew her temperament well. He never forced her to become a ruler. Instead, he brought in a distant relative’s child to raise as heir, while recommending that Sian take a fiancé. He thought she would need the shelter of a household to keep her safe once he was gone.

Sian wholeheartedly agreed. The chosen heir wasn’t a bad person, but not someone she could wholly trust either. She needed her own source of security.

It wasn’t as though she demanded a fiancé of great standing, like a duke…

“Greetings, Your Highness.”

A handsome blond man approached with a smile.

The head of the empire’s only ducal family, House Hertese.

“I am Dion Hertese.”

He extended his hand politely. When Sian reached out, he clasped it gently, drew her forward, and pressed his lips to the back of her hand. The movement was flawlessly elegant.

“I am honored to be engaged to Your Highness.”

His eyes, green like a summer forest beneath golden lashes, fixed on her.

“Would it be too forward of me to hope Your Highness feels the same?”

Sian quietly shook her head. Even at her lukewarm reply, he smiled brightly.

It was a pure, innocent smile. One she could hardly dare to reject.

That only made it heavier. Status had never mattered to her, so long as the man’s character wasn’t strange. But the empire’s darling duke… wasn’t that far too much of a burden? She knew nothing of politics and only wanted to be a carefree noble, yet here she was expected to play the duchess in society’s spotlight. It would’ve been easier to marry into some obscure, nouveau riche family.

She felt suffocated. Every time she saw the duke’s smiling face, she wanted to run.

That very night after meeting him, Sian had a nightmare. In it, the golden-haired, dazzlingly handsome man chased her with a marriage certificate in hand. Once he caught her, he forced her to sign and chained her like a dog in a strange room.

Maybe it was a prophetic dream.

For about two months, she and Dion met often. There was no physical intimacy since Sian didn’t want it, and he was careful. After all, it was little more than a political marriage.

“May I call you by name?”

“Me?”

“Yes, Sian.”

Dion didn’t wait for her consent.

Over the weeks, she came to understand him better. He was kind and graceful, but subtly pushy. Not enough to offend, but enough to unsettle her. Maybe it was just the echo of her nightmare.

It’s just in my head.

She told herself that, yet the unease lingered. His reputation was sterling. His conduct was impeccable. He wasn’t a cruel man, either. He treated even servants with respect, and those closest to him spoke highly of him.

Everyone said Sian was lucky. She’d found one of the finest partners in the empire.

So she couldn’t confide her foreboding feelings to anyone. They would only sound like baseless complaints. Her social circle was small to begin with, and besides, it was surely nothing more than a groundless worry.

No one would understand.

And indeed, Dion had never wronged her or threatened her. On the contrary, he was attentive, even playing the role of a tender lover in what was supposed to be a political union. Bit by bit, he closed the distance between them. Sometimes like a genuine partner, other times like a close friend, wearing down her guard.

One month, two, three. Before long, their forms of address grew intimate, the stiff courtesy fell away.

Everything was so smooth it made her own worries seem laughable.

It’s fine. That nightmare was nothing. Nothing’s going to happen.

With no reason to refuse, Sian became engaged to the duke.

But two months before the wedding, Dion brought home a mistress.

Her hair was soft pink like cotton candy, her smile guileless. Her origins were unknown, but her beauty was that of a noble lady.

Sian found them in the garden of his estate, walking arm in arm. She had come that day to discuss the ceremony. In the early summer light, they looked far too natural together, as if they’d known each other a long time.

Sian stood silently, watching the pair. Betrayal…

No. Not betrayal. Disgust.

Her whole body trembled with the instinctive certainty that her fiancé was doing something deeply dishonorable. She fixed her eyes on his face, demanding an explanation.

Finally, Dion turned his head. Meeting her gaze, he smiled and greeted her without a shred of embarrassment.

“How have you been, Sian? Ah, I forgot to introduce her. This is the woman who will be my mistress.”

He introduced his mistress to his fiancée, calm, shameless, even.

Sian’s eyes widened with indignation. Her fist clenched so tightly her nails bit into her palm.

It wasn’t illegal for nobles to keep mistresses, but neither was it common. With the church’s great influence, society prized restraint and fidelity. To keep a mistress was shameful. And to bring one in before marriage…that was outright contempt.

Dion’s behavior was nothing less than a profound insult.

Born and raised as a princess, she had never imagined she would be treated like this.

Fury drove her forward. The so-called mistress shrank back, hiding behind Dion. He wrapped an arm around her protectively as he faced Sian.

That pathetic gesture made Sian snort.

“What? Are you afraid I’ll grab her hair if you don’t hold her back?”

“You never know.”

His ridiculous retort almost made her laugh.

“So you do realize you’ve crossed the line, Duke.”

“Just call me Dion.”

“Fine, Dion. I thought maybe you’d lost your mind from spending too much time with your mistress. But I see you still remember we’re supposed to be getting married.”

She wanted him to explain.

Instead, he smiled brazenly.

“Our marriage is nothing but politics. Two people bound by strategy, not love. We can be cordial, sure, but how could we love each other?”

“And that’s your excuse?”

“You’ve lost nothing. You don’t love me either, do you?”

“So what?”

“I’m not asking you to love me. I know my place. How could I ask for love while marrying a princess?”

“What’s your point?”

“I’m telling you I’ll be fulfilling my emotions elsewhere.”

Smack!

Her fist struck his cheek.

And why stop at emotions? He would surely share his bed with the girl too. Maybe he already had. Maybe he’d been doing it all through their engagement.

Given such an open declaration of infidelity, a single punch was restraint.

The mistress peeked out from behind him, eyes wide.

“P-please, talk it out…”

Too late. Her hand had already flown.

Dion held his reddened cheek, then laughed as if it were nothing.

Disgust boiling in her chest, Sian turned and stormed out of the ducal estate.

She hadn’t loved him anyway. There was no heartbreak, only humiliation at being mocked and scorned. Rage churned inside her all the way back to the palace.

Fine. Take your mistress. I’ll be free of this farce.

She would end it.

As the princess of Sedin, she had nothing to lose. Her parents never pressed her with heavy expectations; they only wanted her to live comfortably, and thought marriage might give her a stable home. She had agreed for their sake.

But now? There was no reason to keep it. Her parents wouldn’t want her to suffer.

When she told them what had happened, their faces grew grave. After a long sigh, they said:

“Do as you believe is right.”

Indirect approval.

With their blessing, she had nothing to fear. She prepared the annulment papers, signed and  sealed. Only Dion’s signature was left.

Sian headed straight for his estate, bringing knights as escorts in case he tried anything.

“You prepared this already?”

In a glass conservatory, Dion sat with his mistress perched on his lap. He spoke lazily.

“You’re more tiresome than I thought.”

“Just sign it. Then we’ll both be spared the trouble.”

She slid the papers across the table toward him.

Surprisingly, Dion picked up the pen without protest. He signed and sealed without a moment’s hesitation.

The annulment was complete. All that remained was to submit it to the court.

So he didn’t want this engagement either.

Seeing both their signatures side by side was refreshing. She smiled in satisfaction

Dion burst into laughter. It was clearly meant to be mocking. It stung, but she let it slide. She’d never see him again. She reached for the papers calmly.

But he pulled them back. The document slipped away from her fingertips.

“What are you—”

“Unfortunately, there won’t be an annulment, Sian.”

His brazen words cut her off.

Sian’s composure cracked. She bit her lip hard to keep from cursing. Better to hold back and steer the conversation. The annulment was in his hands. 

Don’t provoke him.

“Why not?”

“Because… you’re the Princess of Sedin.”

He said it as though it were obvious. Hugging his mistress close, he kissed the top of her pink head and went on.

“Sadly, my Shaina doesn’t have the proper status. That’s why I need Sedin.”

“You son of a—”

Her patience snapped. She opened her mouth to curse.

And something wet splattered across her back. A hot, metallic stench filled the air. Horrified, Sian turned.

One of her knights had no head.

His body crumpled. The other knight she had brought stood holding the bloody sword. He turned it on her.

“You’d best not run or resist.”

It didn’t take long to understand.

A spy. Betrayal.

The palace had already been infiltrated by outside forces.

Sian had never wanted the throne, but she had still been trained as heir. She knew well what this meant.

Dion’s spies had saturated the royal palace. Even her closest guard had been turned.

If she had sent only a letter to announce the annulment, he would have struck directly at the palace. To protect the engagement, he might have raised the blade against her parents instead.

So… is it better that I’m the one threatened now? What a pitiful situation.

“When did this start…”

She forced herself not to tremble, staring at him with a bloodless face.

He kept his mistress’s eyes covered gently.

“You know, Sian.”

He smiled the whole time. Cold. Hideous.

“I need you. Young, beautiful, powerful. A lofty princess. I need you.”

For my family. For me.

“Bastard.”

Sian spat the curse, shaking with fury.

“D-don’t insult Dion! And no more hitting! No more violence!”

The girl in his arms shrieked.

A man was just killed, and that’s what she says?

Sian was speechless. Shaina didn’t understand her situation or her lover’s. Dion’s violence was already far beyond “hitting.”

Wordless, she watched him comfort the girl, stroking her until she calmed. Then Dion looked at Sian with a long sigh.

“My Shaina is so innocent, so oblivious… That’s why I need Sian Heartpherion.”

His eyes, murky as stagnant water, fixed on her.

That gaze was an insult.

“Let’s keep this civil, Sian. I need House Heartpherion’s power, not its enmity. These spies are only insurance, in case you pulled something foolish like today. If you just go along with the marriage quietly, I won’t need to move the agents I’ve planted in the palace.”

With that, he called for maids to bind her. Treated like a criminal, she was dragged deep into the ducal estate and locked away. The blade never left her throat until the chains rattled shut.