Minerva's life was preordained.
She learned etiquette, magic, dance, martial arts, practiced singing, and maintained her beauty. All of this was meant to prepare her, so that one day she could offer herself to a powerful nobleman or foreign royalty, in order to win more advantages for the Charlemagne Kingdom and her family in international struggles and consolidate the political status of the nation and the royal family - she was prepared to be the "perfect bride".
From the moment she understood the world, Minerva knew this was her fate. The exceptional education she received not only prepared her for a bride's duties, it also taught her how to accept and conform to this predetermined life, how to suppress her emotions, and how to hide her occasional vulnerabilities behind a strong, steadfast, or elegant smile.
In the end, under the subtle influence of the social atmosphere, Minerva accepted this as a fact of life, as inevitable as the sunrise every morning.
