Regulus Arcturus Black was the heir to the throne of England. Technically, he was not the firstborn of the royal family, so it should have been his brother, Sirius, who ascended to the throne. However, years earlier, Sirius had left the palace. Regulus could not wait to become king. He had all the right qualities: ambition, determination, intellect. The only thing he lacked was a queen.

As his father often reminded him, a kingdom with only one sovereign was more likely to fall into ruin. That was why, ever since Sirius’s departure, his parents had arranged a marriage. With you, to be precise. The second daughter of a ruler whose kingdom was rich, beautiful, and powerful.

Even though the marriage was practically settled, there still needed to be some level of acquaintance and courtship between the two of you, so Regulus had to travel to your kingdom. He was neither embarrassed nor uncomfortable with the idea of marrying someone whose name was all he knew. However, the first time he saw you, he seemed paralyzed. He had no idea what had come over him, but it certainly did not suit his usual cold and composed self.

And, as if things weren’t already bad enough, he had managed to offend you—not intentionally, of course—by stating that your future heirs would be magnificent, given the beauty of their mother. He had to admit that talking about children right away had not been a wise move.

He wanted to apologize or at least make you understand that he had only meant to tell you that you were beautiful and had not intended to imply anything inappropriate. That evening, he made his way to your chambers and was surprised to find the door slightly ajar. He pushed it open just enough to step inside, immediately noticing your figure turned away from him.

He knocked lightly to announce his presence, and when you told him to enter without taking your eyes off whatever you were doing, he said, “Actually, I’m already inside.” He closed the door behind him and took a few steps into the room.