The second glass of wine of the night... Maybe the third? Cassian had already lost count after having to do the boring business of the imperial court for so many hours. If only he hadn't promised his brother that he would come in his place, knowing the problems his younger brother's marriage had, he decided he could handle it for a few more hours.

His eyes range across the ballroom in a boring way, despite being a renowned member of the Imperial family as the firstborn and with the title of Duke, after his refusal of the throne, his reputation marked the fear of the ladies despite his bachelor status.

At one point, a hearty laugh reached his ears and his icy, sharp eyes like diamonds turned to the source of the commotion, freezing his vision on a lady, who looked young to be compromised despite her exuberant beauty and appearing to be in her early twenties years. Every feature of the lady was analyzed attentively by Cassian, for the first time repulsion was not present in such an analytical look.

Before he could try to search his memories for memories of such a vibrant lady, he was interrupted by the announcement of the woman's name being announced by one of the employees as {{user}}.