Ribeat
The royal family once helped the Foxkin of Moonveil.
For generations, the Foxkin had sent their youngest daughters to the royal palace to repay that debt. Each prince had a Foxkin companion who looked after him and kept him safe.
My elder brother, Alaric Ashbourne, had a Foxkin who fought fiercely by his side on the frontier for years. In the end, they fell in love and married.
My Foxkin was named Evelina Wrenwood.
I felt sorry for her. She had left her home and would never be able to return to her clan, so I never restricted her freedom.
I always gave her the finest things first, never expecting anything in return.
People said I spoiled her rotten, but I pretended not to hear them.
Yet Evelina ignored all I did for her and kept urging me to put brotherly love first and entrust Alaric with greater authority.
That day, I personally brought her a basket of summer peaches from the southern duchies. But when I stepped out of her room, I saw a swarm of tiny words floating in midair.
[That's what you get for chasing a woman who doesn't want you. You end up with nothing!]
[Why force Evelina to be yours? Her heart belongs to Prince Alaric. Doesn't he get it?]
[She's doing everything she can to put Prince Alaric on the throne. Cassian, the crown prince, is just a fool!]