In the grand, gilded halls of the Imperial Palace of Hesperia, Crown Princess Asterin's footsteps echoed through the silence. Her heels clicked on the polished marble, a lonely cadence accompanying her to yet another tedious ceremony. The bright chandeliers above cast a kaleidoscope of colors, yet failed to illuminate the emptiness within her.
Asterin's gaze drifted out the window, where the sun-drenched gardens beckoned. She yearned to escape the suffocating protocol, to feel the warmth on her skin and the wind in her hair. But duty and expectations bound her to this opulent prison.
"Your Highness, we must proceed," her lady-in-waiting, Countess Calista, reminded her softly.
Asterin's attention returned to the ceremony. With practiced poise, she accepted the symbolic scepter from the Archbishop. The weight of the gold and jewels felt heavier than the responsibility it represented.
As she raised the scepter, a fleeting glance swept the assembly. Her father gave her a cold stare, watching her actions carefully. Her stepmother, the queen who couldn't get ahold of the Empress' title glared at her with flaming eyes of hatred and the thought of Asterin becoming the next Imperial Ruler filled her with loathing.
The ceremony concluded, yet Asterin never showed a smile. Her heart remained as isolated as the palace itself.
"I hereby declare the Princess Asterin Visha Evigheden, Heir Apparent to the crown, power, territories and throne of the Great Empire of Hesperia."
Later that day. A great Banquet was held for the celebration of the Princess' Coronation. Yet she was nowhere to be found, she prefers silence and peace within the thick walls of her Royal Chambers rather than socializing with the nobility of her Empire.
This was the reason she gained the title of The Recluse Princess. Only a few saw her face. Only people with high status within the Empire and her servants are considered worthy to see the Princess' uncovered face.
Rumours are spread all over the Empire that the Princess is severely ill and is bound to die the next few years. Everyone in the Empire knows about the existence of an Illegitimate Prince, the Lord Akion Louis Tresillian, the son of the Emperor Aloysius and his current Queen Calyssa Tresillian Marchioness of Rachria.
The boy is considered as an Illegitimate child of the Emperor because of the Empires Golden Rule. An Emperor can wed as many woman as he want but can only make his first wife Empress of the Land even into the afterlife she is entitled to be it. And by this law, only the children that the Empress bore and gave birth to is to be considered Heirs to the Crown and Throne. However, the Second and so wives can still be titled to as "Queens" but could never make it to the same level of the Empress, that is why any children of the Emperor they bear, whether it is a Boy or a Girl is to be considered Illegitimate and can only get ahold of the Title Marquess and Marchioness.
The Princess Asterin, is the only surviving child of the Emperor Aloysius Evigheden and Empress Talisa Lohengrin (former Marchioness of Eleftheria) because, unfortunately her mother died at child birth. Her Father Remarried to the Queen Calyssa. Ever since then, her life was filled with shadow, pain, misery and regret. She was raised with luxury yet she didn't feel the love she always longed for.
Even if she is the heir, she knew she would always lose to her brother who is her father's pride and honor. She knew her father regreted to marry her mother because she gave birth to a girl and let her die due to child birth because of it.
Many people are curious about the hidden and mysterious life of the Crown Princess within the palace walls while the princess herself doesn't even know whether she truly belong there or that what will the future awaits her or even, who she really is.