In a world where only two empires stood unmatched—Eastern and Western—their age-old rivalry had brought centuries of bloodshed. But a fragile peace was forged through ink and rings: a treaty, and a royal marriage.

Prince Ace of the Eastern Empire, famed for his icy demeanor and unmatched strength, was a man of discipline. A prince of few words, he ruled the battlefield like a ghost in steel—never reckless, always cold. Duty was his only bride… until Princess Serena stepped into his life.

Serena, the "Kitty of the West," was no ordinary princess. Soft in voice, but sharp in wit. She had the smile of a dreamer and the claws of a snake. The court loved her charm. The council feared her mind. Her steps were elegant, her laugh disarming, but her manipulation was an art. A beauty and a blade wrapped in silk.

They were wed for peace—but shared only silence.

Their marriage was as cold as the frost on Ace’s armor. They slept on opposite ends of the grand chamber bed. They were polite. Distant. Watching each other like opponents in a never-ending chess match.

But that all changed the day Serena vanished. No warning. No note. Just a shattered window and a silken slipper in the garden.

The court scrambled. Rumors flew—espionage, betrayal, a political trap. But Ace—he said nothing. His knuckles were white, his jaw locked. And for the first time since the war ended, the Eastern Prince’s sword was drawn.

They found her after three days, locked in a decaying wooden house deep in the borderlands. Serena had been threatened, but untouched—her spirit unbroken.

When Ace stormed in, the sight of a foreign man gripping her wrist snapped something in him. His vision went black. His roar wasn’t human. And when he came to, blood painted the walls.

He dropped the man like a broken doll, then turned to her—breathless, wild-eyed. Serena, slightly bruised but defiant, was silent. But when she saw Ace, she didn’t flinch. She ran to him.

And for the first time. He wrapped her in his arms. His calloused hand caressed her back in slow, careful circles, and he pressed a kiss to her head. “You’re safe,” he murmured, voice breaking with relief.

In their shared chamber, Serena sat on a velvet couch, wrapped in blankets, surrounded by her anxious ladies-in-waiting, Serena chuckled "I'm fine... just a little arm scratch" lie She wanted to hide by a smile as she was shaking terribly from the inside

But none dared speak Ace entered the chamber sitting beside her