Winters in Celeste were always brutal for the unfortunate.
I stumbled through the woods, the temperature plummeting to thirty degrees below zero, yet my body burned with a relentless fever.
Fever.
It started with an overwhelming heat that consumed my body as I sought refuge.
My skin chilled, my head throbbed with pain so intense I feared it might explode, leaving my brain scattered on the icy ground, unrecognizable to any who might stumble upon it.
I panted, each breath labored as I struggled to evade capture. If they caught me, I'd be isolated, imprisoned-essentially left to die.
Was this all I meant to him?
The thundering hooves of the royal guards' stallions sent shivers down my spine, but still, I pressed on, until my legs gave out beneath me and I crumpled to the ground.
My body was a battlefield, with fever and chills waging war within me.
Each breath was a struggle, leaving me wondering if it might be my last.
It was by chance, a glimmer of hope, that Baron was out scouting for firewood for the Britannia orphanage when he stumbled upon me.
When I regained consciousness, I found myself in a warm room.
The crackling of wood in the fireplace filled the air as I lay in a bed.
"He's awake... My Lord, he's awake..." a woman's voice exclaimed, rushing out of the room in a flurry.
"Stay away from him, woman! Can't you see he has the plague?!" his voice echoed from outside the room, but despite his admonishments to the maids, he entered the room himself.
He was exactly as my mother had described.
A man of striking beauty and undeniable excellence, Sir Roman Klaus-the esteemed widower of Britannia.
His grey hair cascaded over his forehead, with broad shoulders and piercing electric blue eyes, he exuded an aura of commanding dominance.
As an alpha, he was among the finest this kingdom had ever known.
He bore a striking resemblance to my own father, the reigning king.
However, unlike the king, the Baron was adored by his people.
Though fierce on the battlefield, he was known as a devoted family man and remarkably gentle in his demeanor.
He immediately recognized me as one of the princes, evident in his hesitant mannerisms.
