Chapter 1

When I was little, I dreamed that when I grew up, I'd marry Edward Sterling. I waited ten years for that day.

I thought he felt the same way.

But on the day I finally turned eighteen, what I got was a letter breaking off our engagement and an order sending me into the palace.

And he was going to marry a commoner instead.

*****

I'm Charlotte Ashford, the eldest daughter of the Duke of Parvosia. I was known throughout Roynfort for my beauty and talent.

I had an enviable engagement. My fiancé was Edward Sterling, the most eligible bachelor in Roynfort and the heir apparent to the Marquis of Lorindel.

We grew up together, and our families had arranged for me to marry him once I came of age.

I used to think that was the best future I could hope for.

But on the day I turned eighteen, what I received was his letter breaking off our engagement, along with a royal decree that sent me into the palace.

Then I heard that Edward was going to marry a girl named Grace Willis, a commoner.

I put aside my pride and, braving the swirling snow, asked him to meet me in the plum grove near the Snowcrest Abbey.

We once promised that every year when the snow fell, we'd gather the snow from the blossoms and save it to make a spring drink.

This year, the snow had blanketed the branches, but I was about to become someone else's wife.

I looked at him, and all I wanted to do was ask him why.

I refused to believe it. I couldn't accept that the bond we shared all these years could be wiped away so easily.

I refused to believe he never had any real feelings for me, that he could move on to someone else so quickly.

"Edward, did you have even the slightest feelings for me?" I asked. My voice trembled.

Edward stood beneath the red plum tree, crimson petals dusting his shoulders against the white snow.

He was wrapped in a fox fur cloak, making his striking looks and tall, straight figure even more attractive.

He carried an untouchable aura that kept everyone away.

This was the real Edward, cool and aloof, just as everyone imagined the most sought-after man in Roynfort would be.

He looked at me with eyes as cold as the winter snow, showing not a trace of feeling.

He didn't answer my question. Instead, he gave a slight bow, his voice cool and distant. "Lady Charlotte, one day, you'll thank me," he said.

That got me puzzled.

"Thank you? Why?" I asked.

He gazed at the falling snow and said, "Your talents shouldn't be confined to some man's bedroom. Your ambitions deserve a greater stage: the world itself.

"His Majesty needs a tool, someone to keep the court in check and balance all the factions. Lady Charlotte, you're the perfect choice.

"It was I who spoke to His Majesty and recommended you to enter the palace."

I was frozen, momentarily speechless.

I had come here with the resolve to leave everything behind and elope with him, if only he told me he truly loved me.

But his words crushed my hopes completely.

No more tears filled my eyes. I only locked my gaze on him.

There was no love in Edward's heart, only his ambition, the reason of state. All he cared about was peace and stability for the realm.

For that lofty goal, feelings, happiness, sorrow, and even life, were pieces on his chessboard, ready to be tossed aside. And I was only another pawn.

What a flawless man, and what a heart of ice.

I stood there in the snow. Wind was howling, and flakes were swirling down onto my hair and shoulders. The cold bit deep. But somehow, I couldn't feel a thing.

Turned out, what I thought was love between us was nothing but my own wishful thinking.

Turned out, the marriage I longed for was something he cast aside with his own hands.

He was the one who sent me into the palace, a prison where sunlight could never reach.

Maybe I should thank him for showing me that love was the most worthless thing of all.

Compared to power, compared to the so-called reason of state, love was insignificant.

At that moment, all the love, hope, and tenderness in my heart were sealed away by the biting cold, locked beneath a layer of ice.

*****

Once the royal decree was handed down, the Ashford family dared not defy it, and I was powerless to resist.

On the day I was taken to the palace, the Lord Chamberlain arrived at the gate of the Ashford Residence with an imposing procession to fetch me.

I was dressed in a beautiful gown, but there was not a hint of joy in my heart.

The gown, unlike the crown meant for a beloved queen, represented a splendid prison, trapping me in its finery.

My mother was heartbroken, sobbing uncontrollably, while my father's face was clouded with sorrow. But both of them were utterly helpless.

I didn't cry. It wasn't that I didn't want to, but the tears wouldn't come.

Ever since Edward said those words to me, it felt like all my emotions had been drained away, leaving me nothing but a hollow shell.

But even as an empty shell, the moment I stepped into the carriage, my mind began to stir on its own.

Maybe it was instinct, or maybe it was obsession. Even with my heart gone cold, my mind kept spinning.

Why did Alexander Robbins accept me into the palace and choose to make me his woman?

It certainly wasn't for the reason Edward gave: my so-called talent.

There were plenty of talented women in the palace and even more with stunning looks.

The most likely reason was that I was the eldest heiress of the Ashford family.

And the Ashford family was one of the top four families in the realm.

Alexander had only just taken the throne, and his rule was still unstable. The court was full of power-hungry relatives of the queen and ministers fighting for dominance.

He needed someone to help him keep the court in check, a sharp blade to cut through all the chaos for him.

Edward realized I could be the blade he needed, so he delivered me straight into Alexander's palace.