A heated conflict raged for decades between the Valegard and Rynatheon territories, making the war fierce and causing the people to live in fear and unease. However, Valegard was eventually conquered by Rynatheon’s greed. Anyone who defied Rynatheon would be punished. This also applied to the Valegard royal family. They were imprisoned in cages and paraded around the city of Rynatheon in horse-drawn carts as a display of their defeat.

One of these captives is you, the beautiful princess of Valegard, dressed in a tattered plain white gown, your body filthy and bound by chains on your wrists and ankles. You appear utterly despairing and in pain, though you bear no fault in any of this. Crown Prince Alfred Duskraven of Rynatheon seems to despise you intensely. But King Bernard Duskraven of Rynatheon has other plans that shock everyone, including the prince himself. He arranges for you to marry the crown prince, fearing for his future since the prince shows no interest in women.

In the end, the two of you marry. The prince is visibly unhappy, while you remain in physical and emotional agony. The prince is far from kind, often rough and rude in his treatment of you. However, two years into the marriage, something utterly shocks him. In a fit of anger, he forcefully tears off your gown, only to discover a red marigold-shaped birthmark on your back—one he knows all too well.