Third Person POV
The story "Lethal Love" revolved around the third prince who would soon become the emperor, Cain Lewis Vistronde, who was arranged to a marriage with a duke's daughter, Yllaria Madeleine Sedillon.
Cain Lewis Vistronde was the third and youngest prince of the Nycasia Empire. He has two elder brothers, Azrael and Bryzel Vistronde. He wasn't the original heir of the throne, but with his outstanding intelligence and strength, he managed to surpass his elder brothers. This caused for his brothers to grow more envious of him, especially since Cain wasn't the empress' son. He was a child of the emperor and another noble.
Cain was often mistreated and gossiped. He was said to be cursed, saying he sold his soul to a demon in exchange for his skills. At a young age, he was smart enough to act maturely, not minding the words of the people and keeping an emotionless expression.
Yllaria Madeleine Sedillon was the daughter of the right hand of the the emperor. For the public, she's the most sophisticated lady in the whole empire. Everyone loved her musical skills, her embroidery, her songs and dances, everything about her was loved. Little do they know that there was a secret behind the true identity of Yllaria.
Yllaria is not the biological daughter of the Duke Yves Sedillon and Duchess Leanne Sedillon. Their real daughter died when she was 2 because of a flu. Due to the duchess' depression, the duke resorted to adopting a child that looked a lot like his own daughter, who was the 'Yllaria' that all people know about in the present. The head of the orphanage said that the child was originally named "Adelle"
The Sedillon family is characterized by their red hair and emerald eyes. Unfortunately, Adelle got none of those features. She had a silvery-white hair that shone like the moon light and gold orbs that glowed like the sun. No one knew that the real Yllaria died, except for the duke, the midwife and the duchess. Despite that, many maids are bullying Adelle because they started rumors that she isn't the true lady of this house.
Aware of these things, the duke didn't do anything. Instead, he even hurt Adelle physically whenever she broke something unintentionally. The duchess also noticed this, but didn't act because she knew that the girl wasn't her real daughter. The innocent girl suffered through hell, even without knowing the reason.
Despite this, she still took classes for the ladies. She thought that her parents or the people in the mansion would acknowledge her, so she always did her best and got outstanding results. She lived her young life without being accepted, until a surprising news awaited her at the age of 12.
She was engaged to the third prince, who, at that time, was already 15.
After being informed of her engagement to the third prince, she transferred from the duke's mansion to the emperor's palace. She stayed in her fiancée's manor, where she was treated better.
One of her maids was named Lilliane, Lily for short. At first, Yllaria was hesitant and shy to ask for anything to them, simply because the maids in the duke's mansion mistreat her. She only started to open her heart when Lily took care of her when she got a fever. Slowly, she also started to trust the other maids and people in the manor, soon filling the whole place with happiness.
3 years passed when Yllaria started staying in the manor and during those years, she never caught a glimpse of her fiancée. That was the case not until the afternoon on her fifteenth birthday.
Yllaria hosted a small tea party in the afternoon and after it ended, she saw the most gorgeous man with her own eyes. She was stricken with amazement because of Cain's features. The servants left, and they were all alone in the garden. It was quiet but not awkward. They both stared at each other's eyes and Yllaria noticed Cain's cold eyes that were shooting her threats. Despite that, instead of a greeting or a smile, the first words that came out from her mouth were,
"Why do your eyes look so lonely?"
The wind blew hard after that question. The tension was high, and Yllaria can't help but to be nervous. She was slowly regretting for the slip of her tongue.
Meanwhile, the third prince who was an expert in controlling his expressions, can't help but wonder about the lady's question. How did she know?
The tension broke when Yllaria heard the third prince's voice for the first time.
"How can you tell?"
Yllaria took a deep breath when she heard Cain's baritone voice. It took her a while before she smiled gently while meeting the eyes of her fiancée.
"I just know."
Cain felt more intrigued about Yllaria. There was something about this lady that gave warmth to his heart. He felt at ease seeing her face and presence. Her smile was pure, it gave no lie, only sincerity and peace. He knew it would be disrespectful, yet he can't help but bury his face on the lady's neck and embrace her tight. He felt the latter's shock, but he didn't mind.
Yllaria wanted to push him away, but she felt like she shouldn't. Cain's presence and expressions were cold and threatening, but she also felt his loneliness, just like hers. Instead of struggling, she raised her right hand to caress Cain's hair, causing the latter to flinch. They stayed like that for a while until they both noticed the stares of the butlers and maids who were secretly peeping.
They stared at each other and for no reason, they laughed.
Since that day, Cain went to the manor frequently. He also assigned one of his loyal knights, Nathaniel, to protect Yllaria. They continued to develop feelings for each other and soon fell in love.
The two got married when Yllaria turned eighteen, and that's when the series of tragedy and betrayals started.