Selen Ravenhurt has always believed in luck. Why, you may ask? Simply because she was the very embodiment of luck. She was born into the prestigious Ravenhurt family, one of the founding families of the empire.
"You are very lucky, Princess. You are beautiful and kind; the crown prince cannot help but fall in love with you."
Selen was ten years old the day her head governess, who was also her nanny, repeated these words to her. It wasn't the first time she had heard them, however, because she had known since she was a baby that she was tacitly promised to the crown prince by the entire empire.
"Today we are going to review the history of the empire, Princess. You mustn't forget it tomorrow if His Majesty asks you questions."
Selen knew the history of the empire by heart; it had been told to her over and over again since she was a baby. The empire was proud of its history, and everyone, from the poorest to the noblest, knew it. Nevertheless, she listened attentively when her tutor began her story, for she was gifted at storytelling.
"The kingdom of Belladore was created thanks to the courage and efforts of our three knights: Artheris the Wise, Belladore the Saint, and Silvermoor the Strong. All were supported by the two great families, the Ravenhurts and the Clovers. These three knights fought heretics and barbarians for the kingdom. More specifically, Saint Belladore? Do you know why?
Selen did not answer. She knew her tutor liked to tell stories without being interrupted, and that the questions she asked were only to keep the story going.
Belladore was the empire's first female knight. Not only was she skilled in alchemy, but also in magic, and above all, she was able to heal entire battalions. Without her, the empire we know today would not exist. And at the end of the glorious battle, Belladore married the handsome prince Artheris, and they formed the strongest royal alliance on the continent. At that time, magic was everywhere, famine did not exist, and heretics had all disappeared.
The governess sighed. Selen knew why she was anxious. The saint's blessing had not fallen on the kingdom for two hundred years. Every hundred years, the saint had to be reincarnated to make magic flourish and perform miracles. Each time a saint appeared, she had to marry the crown prince of the kingdom, or if he was already married, she automatically became his second wife.
Selen did not want a saint to appear, even though she knew it would save her kingdom.The heretics were growing in number and, according to some reports, had even taken control of several neighboring regions. If a saint appeared, she would inevitably marry the crown prince, regardless of her status.
Selen had no feelings for the crown prince; she had met him once or twice, and he was colder and more sinister than a raven.
What she wanted was power, and even at only ten years old, she knew that the position most worthy of her rank was that of empress. In all recorded cases, the powers of the saint almost always manifested themselves in a woman from a poor background or minor nobility, so for Selen, sharing her place as empress with a poor woman was out of the question. She prayed and begged heaven day and night that this would never happen.
The next day, she rose early as usual, dressed and prepared like all the young noble girls and boys in the kingdom. It was the law of the empire that at the age of ten, they all had to be officially presented to the emperor and recognized. That day, she was accompanied by her brother Damian and her mother.
"I can't believe Father could miss your presentation ceremony."
"Enough with your complaints, Damian."
The duchess's voice cracked like a whip. She was a strict woman devoted to her family, or rather to its honor. Being herself the cousin of the current emperor, she had been raised to be a noblewoman of the highest order from the cradle. Selen admired her mother, despite the fact that she had never shown her any maternal affection. She was certain that her mother was the most noble woman in the empire, not the empress, who she had heard had serious anger issues. Her mother was always reserved, as if she were made of different stuff.
"Still, our precious Selen deserves better."
"You should listen to Mother and be quiet, Damian. Father is certainly busy."
Her brother smiled at her and Selen got goose bumps. She never knew what was going on in his head. He sometimes seemed so kind, yet one day she had caught him whipping a servant until he bled just because he had kept her waiting for ten minutes when she was supposed to go into town to run some errands. She knew that some nobles were quite strict with their servants, but coming from her kind brother, it had surprised her.
They arrived at the palace and Selen presented herself to the emperor. He was seated in a solid gold chair, with the empress sitting next to him in a silver chair. The latter looked her up and down with pure disdain. Selen knew that the empress had few people in her heart, and she was clearly not one of them.
"I salute Their Majesties, the Sun of the Empire and the Moon of the Empire."
She glanced to the emperor's right, where the crown prince was standing. He was seventeen years old, seven years older than her. He had silver hair and eyes as black as coal. He barely glanced at her.
"Selen, my dear little one, bless you. I see that your mother has taught you well. I hope that your life will be filled with good fortune and that you will honor the Ravenhurt family."
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
She performed a perfect bow before slowly stepping back and rejoining her mother and brother. She was officially blessed and recognized as a Ravenhurt, and her story was about to begin here. A story that she knew would start with once upon a time there was a princess...
Five years passed after that ceremony. Selen was 15 years old, and it was the first time she felt a crack in the perfect life she was supposed to have.
It was a winter day, how could she forget? She would always remember the whispers of the servants, her mother's even stiffer posture, but above all, what remained engraved in her mind was her father's coldness. The one who had ruined her life for the first time was none other than him.
That day, when she met the gaze of the young girl standing behind her father, she understood immediately. They had the same eyes, green irises flecked with gold, the same as her father's.
Her father had had an affair with another woman, which didn't really shock her since it was commonplace, but what did shock her was the fact that he had dared to bring his bastard daughter into the ducal residence.
The poor little girl has a knee disability, everyone said. The duke, in his immense kindness, adopted her—more nonsense. Certainly, her half-sister, for it had to be acknowledged that she was his, did have a knee disability and did limp, but what Selen did not believe was her father's immense kindness.
He could very well have raised his bastard daughter far from the duchy, but he preferred to acknowledge her and thus humiliate her mother. For what reason? Selen did not know. What she did know, however, was that she had no need for a sister, so she did what she knew best: she ignored the problem.
Some expected her to mistreat the poor girl, but she had neither the time nor the energy, and besides, it would have been too cliche. The poor adopted girl being harassed by the young lady of the house? What next? She was the protagonist of her own life, not the villain in someone else's. What's more, Arie—that was her name—kept her distance. She lived her own life, ate her meals in her room, and didn't show herself in high society. So we can say that the story ends happily.
After this incident, five more years passed. Selen was about to celebrate her twentieth birthday, and today was the long-awaited day, the day she would officially become the crown prince's fiancée.
She would remember this day for the rest of her life, that was for sure. She wore a dark green dress that brought out her milky complexion, her two-toned black and silver hair was pulled back, and two silver strands fell gracefully over her face. When the prince's arrival was announced, she, her brother, and the rest of her family were already in her father's office.
The prince was accompanied by his mother, which was not surprising since she was known to be obsessed with her dear son. They should have been engaged two years ago, Selen suspected her of being behind his unsuccessful negotiations, but it didn't matter because, in the end, she would have the last laugh. After the bows and greetings, the prince sat down opposite her.
They were going to get married, yet all they had exchanged over the years were useless words. Selen didn't really believe in love. She knew it existed, but having never had any tangible experience of it, she was indifferent to it.
From what she knew, the prince was as popular with the ladies as she was with the gentlemen. It was certainly his cold and distant side that must have made them fall for him, and then again, it must be admitted that he was really very handsome.
Selen was lost in her thoughts throughout the discussion between her father and the prince, and when she was handed the pen to sign the engagement contract, she blinked twice in confusion before realizing what was happening. She quickly recovered and signed without even reading it, because reading it now would only prove that she hadn't listened to a single word. In any case, she was now duly engaged, and her dream of becoming empress was finally coming true.
"We will leave you lovebirds to rejoice in this good news," exclaimed the duke as he left with the rest of the guests.
He seemed to be the only one rejoicing at this news. The duchess was as inscrutable as ever, and her brother had a sarcastic look on his face, as if he had just watched a bad play.
"So here we are, engaged, Selen. I hope you don't mind if we call each other by our first names from now on."
"Not at all, Light."
"That's what I've always appreciated about you. You're always calm and quiet with me. You don't try to engage in useless conversation like those idiots who claim to be my admirers."
"That's true. You should know that I also appreciate your indifference towards me."
Selen couldn't interpret the look the prince gave her that day. She didn't know if the words she had just spoken had annoyed him or perplexed him. In any case, it was the first time she had been able to read him even a little. He quickly regained his usual expression and gave her a big smile, which she took as the end of this strange conversation.
"I think we should go now."
What was that strange tone he was using to talk to her now? He kissed her hand while maintaining eye contact with her, his dark eyes seeming to ask her a question that only he knew the answer to. Selen wasn't very good at reading people's facial expressions, and it wasn't her fault, since most of the people she knew, including herself, did their best to keep their faces even more frozen than a statue's, no matter the circumstances.
That day, as she accompanied the prince arm in arm to join the rest of the family for dinner, she wondered for the first time if she was truly happy to have him as husband...