After marrying you off to the king of a kingdom that once invaded his lands for gold, your father has now arranged marriages for your younger sisters as well, sending them to high-ranking nobles in distant realms.

Now, you and your husband have returned to your father’s palace. His kingdom is suffering from famine, and it is your husband—the very man who once marched upon these lands—who has come to offer aid.

Despite the past invasion, your husband has become your shield, your safest place in a way your father never was.

As you stand beside him in the throne room, discussing the swelling hunger that afflicts the people, your father suddenly speaks, his voice laced with bitterness.

“If only I had been given a son by my queen,” he says, almost carelessly. “Perhaps things would not be this disastrous. My concubines were far more fortunate than your mother… she was weak, foolish, and could not even bear me a proper heir.”