Chapter 1
Act 1 – A Switched Bride
“I can’t do it,” Anna exclaimed. “Why don’t you just throw me into a beggar’s den instead? Because I won’t agree to this even if I die.”
Anna’s piercing shrieks reverberated throughout the castle, day after day. Her hysteria only escalated further with each passing moment. With her fine hair carefully coiled into a fashionable bun, emitting a golden glow, and her soft gray-blue silk dress, Anna stomped her feet and wept openly. She adamantly rejected the arranged marriage imposed by the newly enthroned king, Cayden. Hot tears streamed down from her shining blue eyes like rain. The delicate contours of her beautiful face, which had set many a heart racing, were now more pronounced than ever due to her ongoing hunger strike, which had lasted for several days.
“How can you sell me to such a poor excuse of a noble with commoner blood? I can never go. I’m not going! Haven’t you heard any of the rumors, father? About how low his status is? No matter how much the world has changed, the mere thought of having to breathe the same air as him is horrifying! Please don’t send me to an ignorant man who slaughters every day like a butcher!”
Anna’s wild words echoed through the room, and her father, Viscount William, stood nearby, visibly embarrassed. Beside him was her mother, Jocelyn, who bore the same face as Anna, albeit marked by the passage of years. She dabbed at her tears with an expensive lace handkerchief.
Anna had always possessed a strong will, and next to her, Viscount William seemed small and insignificant. He too felt the weight of the king’s decree, for he had hoped to secure a marriage for his beautiful daughter with the king himself. Yet, owing to his loyalty to the late King Ducain in the last civil war, he had no choice but to obey the current king’s orders for the sake of his family’s survival. Cayden, the victorious leader of the civil war, now seated on the throne, had granted the title of Duke to Eli, a brave commoner who had saved his life multiple times. Simultaneously, Cayden had ordered Eli to wed Anna, the daughter of Viscount William, aiming to legitimize Eli’s noble status.
As the date of the impending wedding ceremony drew near, Anna’s fierce resistance intensified.
With a tear-stained face, Anna coldly declared to Viscount William, “I’d rather die. If you send me like this, then I’d rather hang myself and die!”
“No, you can’t, Anna! How can you say that you’ll kill yourself in front of us when we have gone through so much to raise you? We don’t like him either, but if you don’t marry him, our family will be annihilated! What do you rather we do?” Jocelyn pleaded in a wailing voice.
But Anna stood her ground and addressed Viscount William firmly. “You ought to save me, even if it means surrendering all your wealth to the King. It’s not impossible, Father. What’s so important about this farmland and this old ruin of a castle that you’re sacrificing me to protect them?”
Viscount William clenched his lips, his silence revealing that he had no intention of relinquishing his land and title. Anna, the eldest of five daughters, found herself in the grim position of having to sacrifice herself for the sake of her family. If the King or Eli were to discover Anna’s unwavering determination, there was no doubt that a brutal conflict would descend upon his territory. In this dire situation, where he had to safeguard what little he had left, he shied away from the prospect of such impending doom.
“It doesn’t have to be me,” Anna implored, her voice filled with desperation. “You have my younger siblings. Choose one of them and send her. That would suffice.”
“But Anna, they’re too young,” Jocelyn protested, her voice trembling. “How can I marry off a child who’s not even 12 years old yet? If you alone endure it, then everyone else can live in peace and comfort. It’s high time you reconsidered.”
“No, I can’t accept that,” Anna persisted, her resolve unyielding. “Don’t let her go, even if you have to give up everything as I suggested. Please. If you send Anna away, I’ll also weep until I wither and die.”
Viscount William nervously tugged at his mustache in response to Jocelyn’s plea, torn between his wife and daughter’s opposing desires. His anger, barely contained, simmered beneath the surface. He believed that his overly affectionate parenting had led to this situation, causing trouble.
His sharp gaze bore into the pair of mother and daughter. Jocelyn’s breath caught in her throat as she recognized the dangerous glint in her husband’s eyes. She knew all too well his willingness to do anything to protect his wealth and status. Sending Anna to Eli was a mere inconvenience to him. Anna, too, was acutely aware of her father’s personality, but she saw going to Eli as a death sentence, making retreat an impossible option.
Chapter 1
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