Neither the Crown Prince nor the Dragon Duke held the room’s attention — it was the woman walking between them.
Rosearia moved with effortless grace, her posture straight and her head held high with quiet, untouchable majesty. Her vibrant jade-green hair spilled over her bare shoulders in shimmering waves, contrasting sharply against her brown skin and delicate features.
To the nobles watching from every corner of the ballroom, she looked like a fallen goddess who had stepped out of an ancient myth — ethereal, breathtaking, and completely out of place in a room built on mortal politics.
"Who is she?" a duchess whispered from behind her lace fan, her hand trembling.
"Is she a secret princess from the hidden continent?"
"Look at her collarbone... she isn’t wearing a house crest. She’s unregistered."
"Look at how the Crown Prince is holding her..." the woman’s voice dropped into a scandalized whisper. "Merciful gods, he’s touching her waist."
Rosearia kept her long lashes lowered, allowing her fingers to curl gently around Adrian’s dark velvet sleeve. To everyone watching, she looked like a frightened dove caught in a storm.
"Stay close to me, Rose." Adrian’s low, thunderous voice rumbled directly against her ear, his large, gloved hand resting firmly against the small of her back, his thumb pressing possessively into her waist through the silk. "Let them stare. If anyone looks at you with disrespect, I’ll tear their throat out before they can blink."
Rosearia swallowed delicately. "I am... just nervous, Your Highness," she said, her voice carrying a faint tremor as she looked up at him through her lashes, her dark-red eyes wide, soft, and completely trusting. "There are so many important people here..."
"None of them matter." Adrian’s expression hardened. "You are the only person in this room who belongs at my side."
To her left, Aldric released a low, amused chuckle, casually adjusting the golden cuff around his wrist, his gaze fixed on the elevated throne platform at the end of the hall. "Oh, look, Adrian," he said, his voice dropping into a wicked whisper. "The little princess from the Suncrest Empire looks like she’s about to vomit blood."
Rosearia followed his gaze. At the head table sat Princess Hazel of the Suncrest Empire, renowned across the three realms for her beauty. A towering crown of pure gold rested upon her head, while a gown woven from shimmering sun-threads draped elegantly over her figure.
Yet none of that beauty remained on her face — her expression had twisted into pure fury.
Hazel’s hands trembled so violently that the crystal goblet of blood-wine in her grip cracked. Red liquid spilled across her fingers and soaked into her pristine white lace. She didn’t even notice. Her wide, furious eyes remained locked on Rosearia. Her face. Her jade-green hair. Her midnight-black gown. And, most humiliatingly, the unmistakable way both Adrian and Aldric shielded her as though she were something precious.
Hazel’s breathing grew heavier. She had expected to be the most important woman at this banquet — instead, every eye in the room was drawn toward the mysterious woman standing between the Crown Prince and the Dragon Duke.
Beside Hazel, Emperor Rhysand sat upon the iron throne, his gold-flecked eyes narrowing into razor-thin slits as he stared down at his eldest son.
"Adrian." His voice boomed throughout the hall, carrying oppressive imperial magic that forced several lower-tier nobles to their knees. "You dare bring an unregistered common woman to an imperial alliance banquet?"
The ballroom fell silent, the tension so thick it felt as though a single spark could blow the palace apart.
Adrian didn’t even slow his stride. He led Rosearia directly toward the foot of the high dais, stopping beneath the Emperor’s golden steps. "I bring whoever I wish to my own welcome banquet, Father," Adrian said, his voice cutting through the imperial pressure like a broadsword. "And she is no common woman." His arm tightened around Rosearia’s waist. "She is my personal guest." His icy-blue eyes hardened. This chapter was taken from novelping . com without permission.
A collective gasp swept through the ballroom.
Princess Hazel abruptly slammed both hands against the golden table and pushed herself to her feet, her crown tilting sideways. "Is this a joke to you, Crown Prince?!" She pointed a trembling, jewel-encrusted finger at Rosearia. "I am the Princess of the Suncrest Empire! My father’s army stands at your eastern border! You were brought here to sign our marriage contract, and you dare bring this—" her face twisted with disgust, "—this green-haired stray into my sight?!"
Rosearia released a soft, terrified gasp and shrank back against Adrian’s broad chest, burying her face slightly against his shoulder like a fragile flower seeking shelter from a storm.
Scream louder, princess.
Her expression remained frightened. Inside, her thoughts were anything but.
"Show the entire court exactly what an embarrassing, hysterical beast you are."
Her fingers tightened innocently around Adrian’s sleeve. She almost smiled.
Almost.
"Watch your tongue, Princess Hazel." Aldric took a single step forward, and the temperature of the room rose instantly, the velvet carpet beneath his dragon-hide boots beginning to smoke. His golden eyes narrowed into terrifying slits, a faint crimson glow burning within them. "You are speaking to a woman who holds more value to us than your entire empire." His voice remained eerily calm. "Insult Rose again, and I’ll melt that golden crown directly into your skull."
Hazel’s face went pale. She staggered backward. Her imperial holy knights visibly flinched, suddenly unwilling to draw their swords against the Dragon Duke. For the first time that evening, the princess seemed to understand exactly how badly she had miscalculated.
And then—
A movement in the lower noble seating caught Rosearia’s attention — the isolated section reserved for minor border packs and disgraced vassal clans. Sitting at the very edge of the long table was Jacinta. She wore an overly bright crimson dress, seated between her father and Richard — the young alpha who had betrayed Rosearia.
Jacinta’s fork froze halfway to her mouth. Her face drained of color. She stared at Rosearia. Then at the midnight-black gown. Then at the Crown Prince’s massive hand wrapped possessively around Rosearia’s waist.
"No. No, no, no." Her mind screamed the words over and over, her heart hammering so violently against her ribs she could barely breathe.
"That’s impossible. The memory-wipe water.".Rosearia was supposed to be broken — a mindless slave with no memories left to threaten them.
"Then why was she here? Why was the Crown Prince protecting her? Why was the Dragon Duke threatening a princess because of her?"
Jacinta’s fingers began to tremble, and her wine glass slipped from her hand, overturning across her crimson dress. She barely noticed.
"Rosearia...?" The name escaped her lips as little more than a broken whisper. She slowly pushed herself to her feet, staring at the woman she had watched die. "How..." her voice cracked. "How are you still alive?" You are reading on novelping dot com, the official source.
Rosearia stopped. Slowly, she turned her head, her eyes meeting Jacinta’s. Adrian and Aldric both paused, their sharp gazes dropping immediately to the trembling girl in the crimson dress.
"Do you know her, Rose?" Adrian’s voice had turned cold — suspicious, protective.
Jacinta’s breath caught. If Rosearia opened her mouth now and told the Crown Prince everything — the betrayal, the poisoning, the execution, the memory-wipe water — Adrian could tear her entire clan apart before they even had the chance to beg for mercy.
Rosearia blinked. Her dark-red eyes rested on Jacinta for a long moment before drifting toward Richard, shrinking behind his father, his face completely drained of blood.
Her expression remained blank. No rage. No recognition. No pain. Nothing — just polite confusion, the kind of distant emptiness one might show a stranger whose presence had suddenly become uncomfortable.
"No, Your Highness," Rosearia said, her voice soft, sweet, innocent. She turned back toward Adrian, tilting her head slightly as her lower lip trembled. "I don’t know who she is." Her fingers curled lightly around his sleeve. "She’s been staring at me strangely..." her voice grew smaller, "...and it makes me uncomfortable."
Silence fell over the ballroom. Jacinta’s blood ran cold.
"She doesn’t know me." The thought struck harder than any blade. "She really doesn’t know me."
"Or... she’s pretending."
Adrian’s icy-blue eyes snapped toward Jacinta, the temperature of the room seeming to drop as his Lycan aura erupted from his body, crushing the air around the table and making several nobles instinctively recoil.
"If your presence makes my lady uncomfortable..." his voice was low, far more frightening than a shout, "you have three seconds to remove those filthy eyes from her." His gaze hardened. "Or I’ll gouge them out myself."
Jacinta’s lips parted. No sound came out. Richard’s father immediately grabbed her by the shoulder and forced her head down in a desperate bow. "Forgive us, Your Highness!" his voice shook. "My daughter is foolish! She spoke out of turn! Please spare us!"
Adrian didn’t even look at him. "Get out of my sight." The words were quiet. Absolute.
Richard and his father scrambled to obey, dragging the paralyzed, sobbing Jacinta from the banquet hall. Their humiliation followed them beneath the eyes of the entire court.
Rosearia watched them disappear from the corner of her eye, her small hand gently pressed against Adrian’s chest as though she were trying to calm his anger.
"Run, Jacinta." The thought curled through her mind like a dark smile. Run. Cry. Wonder whether I truly forgot you... or whether I’m simply waiting for the right moment to remind you of everything.