Alessa enters the garden with a great smile, eagerly waiting until she sees him arrive; the young man looks at her tenderly and approaches with enthusiasm.

"Lady Alessa, you look so beautiful today," he said, making a slight bow.

"Greetings to the crown prince, it is a pleasure to see you, Your Majesty" she performed a lovely curtsy while looking at him shyly.

"Miss Alessa, I am grateful that you accepted my invitation to meet. I want to express my feelings for you; I am determined to ask for your hand and have you as my princess. I love you with all my heart"he said, taking her delicate hand and giving it a soft kiss.

Alessa is 16 years old, beautiful, sweet, the personification of innocence. She is intelligent, the daughter of Duke Duncan, though she is the child of a concubine. Her mother was a lovely noblewoman forced to marry the Duke but passed away a few years after giving birth to Alessa. The legal wife, Duchess Duncan, despised her since the Duke only visited her occasionally after he took her as a concubine.

Alessa has an older sister, Magenta, who is the heiress of the duchy. The duke only had female heirs, even with his other two concubines, but those girls are terribly bullied by Magenta. Only Alessa is somewhat protected by the Duke, as she is the daughter of his favorite concubine and he does not allow her to be mistreated like the other girls.

The sweetness and beauty of Alessa had caught the attention of the crown prince. He was dazzled by her; he had seen her only a few times in the city because Alessa had not yet attended social events; she had not made her debut. She would turn 17 in a few months and would present herself to society, but Renan, the crown prince, wanted to name her his betrothed that day, before another noble sought to marry her, and no one could complain.

"Your Majesty, I am so happy for your proposal, but I am just the daughter of a concubine of the Duke. I think you might have problems"she said sadly, knowing her position was too low to marry the crown prince. Although she loved him, she was aware that their love would be difficult.

"They will not be able to separate us; you are my greatest love. Just accept my proposal when I make it publicly. Now let’s take a walk; I want to show you everything"said Renan as she nodded and took his arm to stroll.

The crown prince had always been very respectful toward Alessa; to him, she was a delicate flower, and he treated her as such.

Meanwhile, a pair of hazel eyes were watching them from afar, fists clenched in indignation. That was something he would not allow.

Hours later, Alessa arrived at the ducal residence. As soon as she entered, she received a tremendous slap that knocked her to the floor. The girl looked up and saw Flavia; the duchess gazed at her with indignation.

"Have I raised a strumpet? How dare you go out alone to meet a man? Dragging our family name through the mud, you are punished; you will not go anywhere without my permission, do you understand?"the woman said, burning with fury. Magenta had told her that she saw that little wretch with the crown prince, and that was the most detestable thing at that moment, that this bastard had caught the prince's attention while her daughter Magenta was being accepted by the emperors to be the princess. Though the prince did not know yet, her plans would change in an instant.

"Mother, I’m sorry; I didn’t think it through. I apologize and I will retire"said Alessa, tears in her eyes, as she left for her room. She felt an emptiness in her heart; if only her mother were alive, she would not be so alone in this mansion. Her sisters at least had their mothers; meanwhile, she had only the support of her father on rare occasions.

Later, in Duke Duncan’s study, Flavia and Magenta were talking with the duke, who was upset by what he was hearing.

"Husband, that girl wants to cause trouble with Magenta’s engagement. She doesn’t have the status to be the heir princess, but the prince is very interested in her. If he can’t make her his empress, he will ask for her as a concubine, and our daughter will be sidelined; she will become the emperor’s favorite. You must do something" the woman said indignantly.

The Duke nodded, knowing his wife was right. He needed to devise a plan to permanently distance Alessa. He couldn’t simply let her go; he must marry her off the moment she debuts. Otherwise, the prince might claim her as a concubine, and their daughter would be in a poor position, no matter how much of an empress she might be. The crown prince’s interest in Alessa was indeed quite apparent.

"I will speak with the emperor. I am sure he will understand the rivalries among wives and concubines. I think I have someone in mind; she would be truly far away" the man said with a grim look, determined not to let youthful infatuation ruin his plans.

Meanwhile, in her room, Alessa lay on her bed, rubbing her cheek. She would not be able to see Renan due to her punishment. As she contemplated, the door opened slightly, and a curious head peeked in. A girl of about her age entered, her maid’s attire marking her as the maid of the ducal house, though she was actually Alessa's maid.

"My lady, how are you?" she asked, quite distressed, pulling out a damp cloth from her apron to place it on her lady’s cheek, then scolded her.

"I told you not to go alone. That sister of yours is a wretched one; I’m sure she was following you" the young woman said while tending to her mistress.

"Celia, don't say that. Magenta is my sister; she only worries about me. But at my presentation, he told me he would ask for my hand as his heir princess. He loves me" Alessa said, letting out an excited sigh.

Celia lowered her gaze, knowing as a woman of low rank that her mistress had no chance, that things could turn very badly for her.

"My lady, just take care of yourself. I don’t want you to get hurt. Now come, you need to change, and I will put ointment on your face; it’s going to swell more" the young woman said, pulling Alessa towards the bathroom.

The next day, Duke Duncan meets with the emperor and empress; he must speak with them about the Crown Prince, things must be made clear.

“Your Majesty, greetings to the emperor and empress, suns of the empire,” the Duke said with a bow.

“Greetings, Duke, do you tell me you have something important?” the man says while looking at him with annoyance. If he weren’t the most servile and manageable duke, he wouldn’t marry his son to that fool’s daughter; the other nobles are more distinguished but don’t have the money that idiot has.

“Your Majesty, I come to ask that the Crown Prince stop looking for my youngest daughter, his interest in her is notorious, she is the daughter of a concubine, he walks with her everywhere; it will look bad if he ends up married to her sister, not to mention if he places Alessa as a concubine, the empress would be affected by favoritism,” said the man, looking sideways at the empress; he knows that this woman is most haughty and has made life hell for the concubines.

“Duke, that’s not going to happen, the concubines will be chosen by the council, your second daughter should stay away from the prince,” she said annoyed. She knows that a favorite concubine can overthrow an empress if she has the emperor's love; she knows it firsthand. She had had such a problem; the emperor’s first son is eight years older than him. During that time, the emperor had not touched her or the other concubines. She was the favorite, the great love of the now emperor. That son was a threat throughout her life.

“Your Majesty, he is the one who looks for her and invites her, she cannot refuse the prince, I suggest… I suggest betrothing Alessa to the Archduke of the North, the further away she is from the prince, the better to secure the young imperial marriage,” said the man hesitantly, knowing that the empress hates that archduke more than anything.

Both were startled. They didn't understand how he had come up with that, but for the empress, it was the best idea, to make that damn man an enemy of her son was the best thing, that way that man would never return to the capital.

"I don't think it's a bad idea, you should consider it, if she's married and far away, our son will have to resign himself," he said while the man felt annoyed. He doesn't care; he knows that the archduke is not going to accept that young lady, but he couldn't do anything, just hope that she gets out alive, unlike others he had sent as his betrothed and never saw again.

*_*

Meanwhile, the Crown Prince finds out about his engagement and that the future crown princess is Magenta Duncan, the sister of his great love; he is terribly upset that his parents did not consult him about anything; they always treat him like a puppet.

The handsome young man went to his father's study. He wanted an explanation. Renan couldn’t accept this; he had chosen Alessa. This wouldn't allow it.

"Father, how is it that I already have a fiancee? I'm not going to accept anyone other than Lady Alessa Duncan," the young man said indignantly, wanting to die of anger.

"First, don't talk to me in that tone, and second, that girl is the daughter of a concubine. She cannot be the crown princess. I can try to make her your concubine, but your mother doesn't want her around, she knows that she will be a wedge between you and the future empress, I will try to make her your concubine, but I don't guarantee anything,” said the man with the same disgusted face as always. He was a man who had given up, he did not contradict that woman they said was his empress. His son present there was faithful proof of his misfortune; if he had been strong, if he had had the courage, he would not be so alone, his great love and his beloved son were not with him out of cowardice, out of obeying everyone but himself.

"Father, please, help me, I don't want that young Magenta, it's Alessa I love," said the young man almost pleadingly.

“Well, if you make your mother accept that, I will support you, and if she doesn’t authorize you, you will have to break the rules, even stop being the crown prince. If that happens, I will support you so that you can marry her, it is your decision from now on”, said the man almost without looking at him, only looking at his documents while the young man is in a dilemma, so he went to his mother's rooms, she must understand.

This is how Renan confronts his mother; he would not allow something like this to happen; he loved Alessa.

“Mother, I want to talk to you about my fiancee, I had chosen Lady Alessa, I’m not going to marry Lady Magenta, she is arrogant, absurd, clumsy, and stupid, I will not allow it,” Renan said annoyed while the empress just looks at him without any reaction.

“Renan, sit down, now you’re going to listen to me, about being crown prince is a great responsibility and having an empress who lives up to you is more than important,” said the Empress, testing her son’s patience.

"Mother, I love her, she…" But the empress was not finished with her lesson.

“Yes, yes, you love her and she is the love of your life, but… are you willing to sacrifice her for your love? Assuming I allow you to make her empress, well, the nobles will be terribly hostile towards her, they will not accept her and the worst thing will be when you have concubines, they will destroy her no matter how much you want to take care of her, even worse if you love her, they will not allow you to die dry, sooner or later you will get into their beds, will you give her the pain of sharing you with other women? I don’t think she’ll feel good about that.

"Let it be clear to you that your mandate will be weak and without important support, sooner or later you will have to remove her as empress to protect her, and that will be a dishonor to her.

“If you want to put her as a concubine it will be worse, your empress will harass her because she has your heart, she will be your weak point and you will be hers.

The empress looked at her son showing pity for his fate.

"Now I want to know if you are willing to see her suffer all that just because you 'love' her? Are you that selfish? Let her go, your destiny is very different from hers, you will be unhappy and you will make her unhappy, now, accept your destiny and stop being childish, if you want to stop being the crown prince remember that outside these walls and without that title you are no one, you don't know how to work like a commoner, you will subject her to a life of sacrifice and deprivation even more so when she is the one who has to support her home, now withdraw, come back when you are willing to give up your title and be a commoner for her, in the meantime, you will marry Magenta Duncan, and that's it — said the woman while Renan is speechless, the cruel reality of his fate has left him shocked, he can't find a way to have Alessa without hurting her and without him losing his title, it is something he doesn't want to give up, he is the crown prince and the future emperor.

*_*

Two months later, the debutante ball had arrived, Alessa had not heard from the prince since that day, she was distraught, there was a pain in her heart, something told her that trouble was coming, and it was not just a premonition, Alessa kept a big secret, something she had hidden all her life, a letter her mother had left her told what was going on, this made Alessa know that her life would not be normal unless she kept the secret.

Alessa was surprised to see that her father had brought her a beautiful dress, she really appreciated it, anyway, it was her debut, so she didn't take it as anything too strange.

The whole family went to the imperial palace, Magenta looked at Alessa mockingly, however, she didn't care, her older sister always bothered her, but Alessa loved her, she understood that her sister is loyal to her mother, who was jealous of Alessa's mother and that's why she justified her.

When they arrived, several young nobles looked with interest at the beautiful Alessa, Magenta was outraged, Alessa's beauty was remarkable, more than remarkable, the ladies of society were annoyed to see their sons, looking excitedly at the beautiful girl, but being the daughter of a concubine, she was undesirable to them, except as a concubine of their sons, but to bring such a beautiful young woman into their home was a double-edged sword for themselves, their husbands might desire their son's woman.

The Duchess was annoyed, when Magenta debuted she had several suitors, but Alessa had attracted the attention of suitors of higher rank, sons of archdukes from other empires, they looked at her with great interest.

When the event began, the debutantes were announced, everyone applauded, but when Alessa Duncan was announced, the applause was louder and more enthusiastic, however, a tall figure dressed in black watched from a corner, watching the situation impassively, the silver mask with black covering any emotion he might have.

The emperors entered and everyone greeted them, the crown prince accompanied them along with his brothers and sisters, who were the children of the emperor's concubines.

Renan, at 18, should already have a fiancee, he had been delayed, however, seeing Alessa so beautiful standing there, his heart was about to break knowing what would happen, however, Alessa's heart was racing, seeing Renan standing there so elegant and handsome reassured her, her heart leaped at the expectation that he would propose to her.

"Welcome everyone, it is an honor for us to hold this debutante ball, and even more so because today the crown prince will announce his engagement and we hope it will be at a good time," said the emperor with false joy, he knows he is condemning his son to a life of grief and pain, of loneliness and fury, however, he had not fought for that love, like him, he loved his beloved Rosa madly, but he could not take care of her, he could not do anything for her, he could not even prevent her from being murdered, even though she was so different and special, unique in the world, his beloved son that he had with his beloved had to be taken away so that he would not die at the hands of his enemies, he is hated by the fruit of the love with his beloved, his son repudiates and abhors him.

Renan took courage and stepped forward, he had to do his duty, what he considered to be for the good of the empire, he had not made the slightest effort for her, but he justified himself with that.

"I have made the decision to take as my fiancee a young lady of society for her virtues, she will be a worthy representative of our empire, so I invite you to join me in..."

"Lady Magenta Duncan, eldest daughter of Duke Duncan, who will be the empress and mother of the empire," he said, averting his eyes from Alessa's surprised gaze.

The beautiful girl was stunned, hoping she had not heard correctly, but when she saw Magenta approaching Renan with a dazzling smile, she almost fainted from the shock, she realized that they had made a fool of her, now she understood Magenta's mocking look, the duchess's perverse smile, only she had believed all this, a crown prince in love with the daughter of a concubine, a useless and useless daughter.