CH 1

"I'm sorry, Mariabelle. I want you to call off our engagement."

A bolt out of the blue, was Mariabelle's first thought when she visited the royal palace for the queen's education that day.

Even though this was her regular visit, what was waiting for her was not the typical bashful-looking tutor, but her fiancé, the crown prince, Edward.

"...What are you talking about all of a sudden?"

The first thing that comes to mind is the fact that the two of them have been engaged for a very long time.

Behind her, Mariabelle hears her maid of honor gasp.

Edward explained, "You know, I'm not saying you were at fault... This is just me being selfish... I have found true love."

Mariabelle didn't know what to say in response to Edward's words as he raised his downcast eyes and stared firmly into her eyes.

True love.

Mariabelle desperately recalled her previous education as a crown princess, wondering how she should respond to Edward's words.

But those words resounded in her head, interrupting her thoughts.

True Love... What is love, anyway?

When Mariabelle was seven years old, she was betrothed to Edward.

Edward's mother was from an old but not very vigorous marquise family. She had married the crown prince of the time, who was smitten with her beauty, but she struggled to have children. Eventually, gave birth to the long-awaited heir to the throne.

Later, his younger sister, a princess, was born, but Edward was raised carefully and tenderly as the only heir to the throne.

Despite his pampered upbringing, Edward has an honest and straightforward personality.

However, he tends to be too straightforward, so to assist him in this tendency, Mariabelle, the crown princess, was given an education that could be described as harsh.

She was well-trained in poetry, dancing, and embroidery, as well as in the knowledge of neighboring countries for the sake of diplomacy.

Although she could manage with the common language, she needed to learn the unique phrases of each country.

In this way, what Edward lacked, Mariabelle was supposed to bear.

For Mariabelle, who had been strictly trained as Edward's fiancée since she was a child, there was no other person she could think of to marry other than Edward.

And since she was marrying him, she didn't have to think about the meaning of love.

Among the books that Mariabelle was allowed to read, some are called romance novels. Certainly, the main characters in these novels overcame difficulties through the power of love.

But there were no stories in which they were united by 'true love'. Some fiancées, like Mariabelle, are asked to break off their engagement.

With no answers to the questions hovering in her mind, she wasn't sure what to do.

But, as her educator had always said, "You must follow the crown prince's words."

The role of the crown princess is to fulfill his orders and comfort his heart.

If that is the case, there is only one thing for Mariabelle to do.

"I understand," she said this with a deep bow of her head, and Edward let out a breath of relief.