Priscilla was exhausted. She hauled many baskets of laundry from the Seventh Prince's estate to the laundry wing of the palace. There were many maidens at work here, thoroughly washing clothes, sheets, and anything that required their tough hands.

  Her entire body was sticky and dirty from the heat. She felt uncomfortable in her scratchy handmaiden clothes. Her skin wasn't familiar with this quality. She was used to wearing the most expensive pieces of material, but only once. Then, she'd have it discarded.

  After Priscilla finally finished the task, she went back to the tiny room she shared with the other servants. She couldn't change out of her uniform, since she only had two. Instead, she freshened up her appearance. She dabbed her lips with the stained red paper.

  "So little is left…" Priscilla murmured.

  The sheet was beginning to lose its color. Priscilla's belongings were taken from her shortly after she got off the ship. She only had what she had carriedon her body when she arrived, which consisted of a small make-up pouch.

  "I bet the Princess will have some," Priscilla realized.

  Priscilla used to apply the rouge to her lips from a stained sheet, only using it onceand without care, she'd toss it away.

  Priscilla was the daughter of a wealthy aristocrat and could afford everything in the world. That is, until her father gambled his inheritance away… it'd explain why he sold himself into a loveless marriage with a woman who possessed wealth, but no background or social status

  Her stepmother needed a fancy title and her father needed money. He was so desperate for it that he didn't even hesitate to sell off his only child.

  Holding back a sigh, Priscilla decided to return to the Seventh Prince's estate. Her body was drenched in sweat, but she had to trudge onwards.

  The minute she walked into the hallways, a cool breeze filled the air; it was so refreshing that it almost tasted sweet.

  "Phew…" Priscilla sighed in relief.

  If only she had the luxury of living in this estate for the rest of her life. Well, there was one way to go about it—kicking out the main lady of the Seventh Prince's estate.

  "Where's the Princess?" Priscilla asked the guards stationed outside of the grand bedroom doors.

  "The Princess is practicing swordfighting in the fields," the guards responded to her.

  He had seen Priscilla around the Prince and Princess often. Thus, he trusted her.

  "And the Prince?" Priscilla asked.

  At this, the guard hesitated. As much as he had faith in her, she was too bold. He was worried he'd get in trouble if he said something. His colleague nudged him for a response.

  "We're not obligated to answer that," he finally said.

  "Fine then." Priscilla was irritated by his behavior.

  Priscilla heard the Princess could treat the Prince's people as she pleased. In this estate, no one dared to question the Princess' actions anymore. Her word might as well have been law.

  Priscilla used to wield this kind of power too. It was back home, in her large mansion where the servants weighed on her every word. If only that wicked stepmother of hers hadn't chased her out!

  "I hail from House Hart," Priscilla angrily muttered under her breath.

  Priscilla hated this country. She hated this palace. She hated the food. Everything she could hate, she despised. She wanted to go home. But where was home? Her parents had shipped her here. They didn't want her anymore.

  Tears burned in her eyes. Home.

  When will she ever call a place by such an affectionate name?

  "What?" The guard asked, not hearing her properly.

  "Nothing," Priscilla mumbled.

  Priscilla turned around and stalked off. Fine. If the guards wouldn't tell her where the Prince was, she'd just find him herself.

  A powerful and dedicated man like him could only be in three spots: the training grounds, private study, or library.

  Since he exercised and monitored his soldiers this morning, it couldn't be the first. And since it was too early in the morning to read, it couldn't be the library. That left his private study as the only valid option.

  Soon, Priscilla stopped right in front of the Seventh Prince's private office. The doors were large and tall. They loomed ominously over her, reminding her of the great beast lying ahead.

  Gulping down her fears, Priscilla glanced at the two armed guards. They showed no inclination to see her. It was their usual protocol.

  "You remember me, don't you? I was dragged in there screaming and kicking the first time I got here…" Priscilla trailed off, hoping it'd jog their memory.

  Shortly after she had been auctioned off like an animal, Priscilla was sent to the Seventh Prince's office by rough servants. There, he was able to give her an ultimatum.

  Either die screaming or live in silence. She chose the latter, but only after he had explained to her what happened. Her parents wanted her dead, but without anyone knowing. So, they shipped her to the East with hopes she'd die at sea.

  When that failed, the captain of the boat spoke to a merchant, who kidnapped her due to her hair color and eyes.

  Priscilla could've sworn she heard something about a Golden Rose? She had tried to research what it was, but came across nothing.

  "I must see the Seventh Prince, it's about the Princess," Priscilla said to the guard.

  At the mention of the Seventh Prince's wife, the guards finally shifted. One of them abruptly left their post and knocked on the door. There was a faint voice inside. A moment after, the doors opened, and out walked Sebastian.

  "Who is it?" Sebastian demanded, irritated at being interrupted.

  When Sebastian saw the blond woman that matched the rumors, he paused. Then, he glanced back to the sliding doors that led to the private study.

  "You are?" Sebastian finally said.

  Sebastian took a good look at her golden hair and green eyes. He was a highly educated man. There were many women in the West who fit this description. However, none of them stood out as much as the one directly shipped to Ritan. It was like fate that Priscilla ended up here.

  Surely, she had to be the woman of the legend? The one that spoke of a girl known as the "Golden Rose." There were rumors quickly spreading amongst kings and rulers that deflowering the woman, with hair the color of the sun and eyes the color of the great earth, would grant immortality.

  Sebastian believed this woman was Priscilla. He believed it was the only reason the Seventh Prince had taken an interest in her. It was a miracle that a random woman who fit the description just showed up at their doorstep like this.

  Luckily, the Emperor was far too senile and stupid to have heard of the rumors about this particular "Golden Rose." The legend was just a fairytale told by travelers going through the country.

  "Priscilla," she deadpanned.

  "Right…" Sebastian muttered. "Come in then."

  Priscilla jutted her chin in the air. She pushed past him like she owned this place and he was in her way.

  Sebastian admired her haughtiness. He might be a half-blood Ritan citizen, but he grew up with women fawning over him. Seeing her stubborn behavior, he took an interest in her. How fascinating. Though, she was rude.

  "Kade," Priscilla instantly said.

  Sebastian froze. He might as well have stopped breathing right then and there. What the hell? What gave this little servant the right to call the Seventh Prince by his name?!

  Not even Sebastian dared to utter it. The audacity!

  Somehow, the Seventh Prince wasn't fazed. He simply continued writing, as if he had given her permission to address him in this manner.

  "Can I talk to you in private?" Priscilla asked, glancing at Sebastian.

  Kade didn't respond. He continued working on the document involving this next year's military budget. The war between Ritan and Teran had been put on hold, but not officially ended. With the rate things were progressing, the budget would need to be increased.

  "Hello?" Priscilla called out, growing irritated.

  Seeing her behavior, Sebastian quickly came forward. "The Prince is—"

  "Speak," Kade calmly said. "What do you want?"

  "You."

  Kade paused. It was for a millisecond. Then, he began to revise the numbers again. The military would need to allocate higher-quality food to give their soldiers enough fuel to build muscle.

  The plan was working, but they needed to control their strength. There were a lot more wooden spears being broken, thus, he was calculating on average how much was being broken per soldier, the total required—


  "I'm serious," Priscilla insisted.

  Kade ignored her. He continued doing his calculations. What'd take ministers an entire day to figure out only took him a few seconds.

  "Done." Kade handed the parchment to Sebastian.

  "Already, Commander?" Sebastian inquired, taking the paper. He quickly went through the numbers, but couldn't calculate them without the right tools. He was quite envious of the Commander's wits.

  With the Commander's long list of accomplishments, it wasn't a surprise his desk was always filled with letters from ministers selling their daughters off as concubines.

  Sebastian glanced at the desk. Sure enough, there was an untouched stack of letters collecting dust. It was funny how quickly people changed their minds when power was gained.

  Back then, no one would even look the Prince's way, except to gossip about him. Conquering battles one after the other, saving villages from being ransacked, and remaining aloof during court, it was no surprise the Seventh Prince gained a large cult following.

  "So you're just going to ignore me?" Priscilla demanded.

  Sebastian pretended to not hear her. The day was just starting and the Seventh Prince had many things to do.

  "It's very hot today, Commander. Should we check up on the new soldiers-in-training?" Sebastian inquired.

  Usually, the inspection would take a while. If the Commander noticed a mistake, he'd personally train the newbie. As nice as it sounded, it was dubbed "Train Until You Drop or Die." The routine was difficult, but it was meant to toughen the hearts of young men in training.

  "Of course." Kade rose to his full height.

  Now that Kade thought about it, Lina was training too. His lips twitched at the thought of watching her. She'd be a sight.

  Kade could already picture it—her body drenched in sweat, the clothes sticking to her curves, her lips pink from panting, and her bosom rising with each strike.

  "Alright, then, Commander," Sebastian said.

  Kade brushed right past the two and began to saunter out of the study. Then, Priscilla opened her mouth and dropped a deadly piece of information.

  "Don't you want to know what the Princess thinks of you?" Priscilla asked.

  At this, Kade slowly turned around. What did she just say?