Prologue

What would you do if love alone wasn't enough to make a relationship last? That was lingering in Kier's mind. She looked at herself in the mirror, sighed, and called his personal maid Tatiana. It has been almost four years since Kier has lived in the Shield family residence; she has known Elijah Christopher Shield for almost half of his life. He is a handsome young man and the sole heir to the House of Shields, the only house directly under the royal family and the only Grand Duke in this kingdom.

"Tatiana, would you like to bring me the amethyst necklace the young lord gave me?" "I will wear it now." Kier smiled sweetly. She wore a white dress with asphodel crocheted at the hem.

"Darling, you are so beautiful tonight," she heard his beloved fiancée say. Elias was leaning against the door; his arrival was always almost silent. I smiled and glanced at him briefly.

"Young lord," I say as gently as I can. I want to tease him. Tatiana giggled softly next to me. I always call that man "Young Lord" when I want to tease him. "You can't just walk in through the door to pick up your beautiful fiancé while she is getting dressed," I chuckled.

"Ah, pardon my rudeness, my lady; pardon my lack of etiquette," he added, but I saw him from the corner of my eye and I knew he was getting in on our game. He showed his sweet smile.

"Ah, young lord, you must be severely punished for trespassing," I said, clearing my throat and laughing.

"I'm very sorry for the way I behaved." "I will accept all the punishment with open arms, my lady," he added. He makes a gentlemanly gesture by bowing his body.

"Of course you have to be severely punished, and the punishment is," I suddenly ran to him and hugged him. I kissed his cheek and whispered, "Love me until the end of your life." I hugged him tightly. Now he smiles, and I am embraced in his arms.

"You already had your punishment, and now I'm ready to be escorted to the ball." I clasped his arm out of habit, and as usual, he led me to the hall where the ball was about to start. I'm glad this guy just looks at me the whole time I'm being his fiancée. He even coldly refused the offer of the princess dance. I don't even know how to react; his loyalty is chewed up even among the commoners. Who doesn't know how loyal the young Master Elijah Christopher Shield is? They are admiring him and can only be admiring the young duke and envying me as well.

We arrived on time, but the dance had not yet started. When we entered the hall, not even the Grand Duke had appeared. A waiter approached us carrying a tray with two glasses of champagne. The color of the champagne is a pretty rose pink. I took it according to custom; El and I have a habit of drinking a glass of champagne before starting the dance. I forgot where it started—maybe at my debutante, where Elias gave me a glass of rose wine for mocking me. I immediately finished my champagne, in contrast to El, who will enjoy it slowly. Tonight, his eyes were calm, and he looked as handsome as ever, especially when he was dressed in his paladin uniform, the white robe. I adore him, especially when he wears the Paladin uniform.

I rubbed his cheek and kissed him on the cheek. People already know that we are quite a romantic couple.

I was smiling softly; I leaned against his chest, and we danced slowly. My sweet prince Elias is actually quite good at dancing.

"Do you remember, dear, our very first meeting, if I remember correctly, that time you were wearing a red dress with white roses engraved on the collar of your dress, and you were angry that time because I spilled your apple juice?" He smiles, but now he's hugging me tightly, as if he doesn't want to be apart from me, and I can hear sadness in his voice. I hugged him back and whispered, "I remember almost all the time I spent with you, dear." I smiled softly as the song ended, and we bowed to each other.

As usual, he doesn't allow other women to come close to him; after all, he's a young duke and no one will complain. Since I can't just dance with him, I spend a moment dancing with the second prince, Richard, before going back to dancing with him.

"Honey," I said as I approached Elias just before the last song was played. If I'm not mistaken, there were still two songs left, but Elias was already pale. I cupped my hand on his cheek. "Honey, what's wrong?" I asked in a worried tone. He has the appearance of a corpse.

"Honey, what's wrong with you?" "You want to go back to your room?" I asked warily, but he just smiled and slung his robe over my shoulder. "May I have the honor, young lady, to dance the last song with you?" He smiled, bowed, and hugged me. Elias looked a little different tonight; he appeared a little pale, but I'm not sure. I just felt he was a little softer, almost like a man who was about to say goodbye to his love; I felt he was a little more serious. "Something bothers you; tell me, honey," I said as he shook his head and kissed my forehead, then cupped my cheek and kissed me deeply, which was unusual for him. He has never shown any affection in public like this before. No matter how intimate we were, I'm pretty sure he would never kiss me in public. I was flabbergasted, and my cheeks instantly flushed. "Honey," I said softly.

He smiled softly and waited for me to take his hand. I quickly did, and he wrapped his hand around my waist.

"I adore you, honey!" He whispered when we danced, and he hugged me tighter than usual. Now he whispered intimately as if trying to remember our togetherness, and the lights dimmed. But I still saw the handsome face of the young duke turning pale. I'm really worried about him. He put his head on my shoulder, and he suddenly vomited a lot of blood on the white dress I was wearing. "Honey, you're bleeding; I'll call the priest; wait a minute, dear." I was so panicked that I tried to let go of his arms. I wanted to scream so that everyone turned I cried silently, and the tears streamed down my face when I heard him whisper, "Honey, please stay; don't do anything." "I want to be in your embrace, at least now. Don't let go of me. This is my last request. I stammered, feeling his body go limp; my body was almost full of fresh blood that he vomited; I was in pain; and finally, I heard Elias whispering to her me, his last words: "I love you with all my soul, my dear; I never thought that we would separate like this; I know this must be my appearance; I'm feeling terrible right now." He chuckled and whispered, stammering as if he could no longer say a word. I'm so sorry for everything I ever do, but my darling, You are the best thing that has ever happened to me. "You are and will always be the only woman I will ever love for the rest of my life." Elias smiled as he closed his eyes and his body went limp.

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