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The Emperor’s firstborn, Corvan, was once regarded as the obvious heir to the Rahavan Throne.
But everyone knows the story of the crown prince; the former Imperial Commander who waged a brutal campaign in the north to defeat the barbarian hordes.
Everyone knows he was a changed man when he returned from the war. Once highly respected; a swordsman without peer and the most eligible bachelor in all of Rahava, he refused to present himself to the Court.
Without warning, without giving reason, he relinquished his claim to the throne and became a recluse, accepting the dukedom of Tyron— the territory that nobody wanted.
It’s a vast and inhospitable land. Cold and barren. Crawling with monsters and terrifying beasts.
Rumors swirl around the capital. That the ravages of war drove him mad; that he was cursed by some barbarian witch.
What kind of horrors does a man have to endure to make him give up the entire world that once lay in the palm of his hand?
They say he did terrible things during the war.
They say he is even more ruthless than his father.
Some even say that he has succumbed to the temptations of the arcane.
That he drinks the blood of his enemies.
Not that I believethat.
Since he returned from battle, Corvan Duthriss hasn’t returned to Lukiria once; not even for the Midwinter Ball.
It’s as if he just wants the world to forget about him.
“Y-you can’t send me to Tyron.” The words fly from my lips before I even realize what I’m saying. “Corvan Duthriss is a brutal man… a madman. And Tyron…”
It’s as remote and forbidding a place as I’ve ever heard of. If I set foot in Tyron Castle, I’ll never escape.
Baron Solisar sees my distress. I can tell that it satisfies him. My father, I think, always resented the fact that, I, his firstborn, turned out to be a girl.
And he hates the fact that I can do all the things my brothers can.
I can ride a horse. Shoot a bow. Read and write.
Aswell, if not better than them.
My brothers were the ones that taught me when my father wouldn’t allow it; when he was off on one of his manybusiness trips.
My dear brothers, Aderick and Kastel.
Now I understand why they weren’t summoned here for lunch.
They would be livid.
Father’s gaze crystallizes. “No matter what state of mind he is in nowadays, he’s still thecrown prince.Do you understand what it means for our family to marry intothatfamily? Do you know what we gain in exchange foryougaining such a powerful husband? Emperor Duthriss has agreed to admit Kastel and Aderick to the Imperial Knights’ Academy in Lukiria. When each of them graduates as a Knight of the Empire, they are to be granted their own lands and titles. They are to be given the rank of Viscount.”
My eyes widen in surprise.
My brothers don’t care about Imperial Academies and titles. They’ve said so themselves.But they are young and naive, and even I can’t deny the magnitude of the emperor’s offer. In Rahava, it’s almost unheard of to cross ranks.
It’s a once-in-a-century opportunity.
A life-changing opportunity.
But not for me.
