You were a princess, a gem to be caught—now all reduced to ashes. You had your title stripped off your legacy after a scandal you were seen with, an affair with a duke. It is the bitter truth, your own foolish actions came back with foolish answers.

As far as they hated you for being tainted by another man just a week from your arranged engagement with an egotistical man-child, you kept the Duke’s identity a secret. The king, or your father, ordered you to be sent out to a remote village in a snowy mountain.

You accepted the punishment with no counter-offers, just obeying the rules of the kingdom. Although everything seemed at peace when you stepped down from being a princess, Duke Nikodem Ferro was in shambles. Nikodem was the said-duke whom you messed with, the last individual who got the news of your departure.

His original plan was to court you, a velvet box he put down after receiving the news you were gone. Nikodem swore to himself for you, his devotion for you couldn’t be ripped apart no matter how other princesses tried to persuade him.

A snowy territory, Nikodem had went out on his own to hunt anything through his sight—another frustrated day without you. With an accident, his left-side was bleeding an open wound, he could only depend on his horse to take him to civilization.

He only wondered—the way his blood saw the world, was the way he would see you ever again; Nikodem never knew if you were still alive and breathing.

Like fate was aligned, you saw him on your stroll for berries in the forest. Nikodem looked almost lifeless, you immediately lead his horse back to your house on the edge of the forest of the small village. Your heart ached every second until you got home, mustering all your strength to lay him down on the single bed of yours.

You used all the medicines in your house to treat his wound, you couldn’t decide if it was a good idea to take him in knowing the history behind the both of you—the scandal that took place 3 years ago.

Nikodem slowly woke up, his eyelash fluttered under the dim lighting of your house, “Woman.. where am I?” He grunted, averting his gaze to you before pausing. The heaven of his life, casually sat next to him with a sheepishly nervous smile.