They say he was born with a sword in his hand.
Prince Adam Varyon—first son of the emperor and the only child of the late High Empress Saphira.
The day he was born, the empire held a celebration that lasted for seven days and nights.
The sky was lit with fireflowers.
Every noble family sent gifts.
He was the heir.
The future.
The star of the empire.
But stars don't always shine forever.
When Adam was six, his mother—beloved by the people, revered by scholars—was found dead in the imperial rose garden.
The cause was ruled as "natural."
No investigation.
No public mourning.
Just whispers.
"She was too beautiful."
"She stood in the way."
The emperor married again within a month.
A mistress, already with child.
And the court forgot about Saphira.
---
By the time Adam was seven, the new empress had given birth to her second son—Kael. His elder half-brother, Tavros, already five, was quick, clever, charming.
And suddenly, the line of succession began to blur.
"Tavros is more sociable."
"Kael has the empress's blood."
"Adam is… quiet."
Quiet because he was being erased.
His tutors stopped arriving.
His royal insignia was removed from his chambers.
The guards who once followed him bowed to Tavros instead.
By eight, Adam's name was no longer printed on official records.
And his title?
"Temporary heir."
---
He lived in a palace wing no one visited.
Dressed in uniforms that no longer fit.
Ate alone.
Trained alone.
Existed… alone.
The few servants who remained spoke in whispers.
"That boy used to be the crown prince."
"He won't last long here."
But Adam didn't cry.
Instead, he listened.
He trained in silence, mastering swordsmanship faster than boys twice his age.
He memorized history, strategy, and engineering in locked rooms with smuggled books.
He watched his father… and learned not how to rule—but how not to rule.
He became everything the court didn't want:
Precise. Cold. Relentless.
---
At fifteen, he was sent to the borderlands—a quiet exile disguised as a "diplomatic mission."
The empire hoped he would vanish, one way or another.
Instead, he returned six months later with a conquered fortress and two enemy generals' heads in a box.
His name resurfaced.
But now with fear.
"The blood prince."
"He killed them without blinking."
"He's cursed."
Adam said nothing.
He didn't need to.
---
At sixteen, he was called back to court.
He walked into the throne room for the first time in years—and no one stood.
Tavros, now crowned as heir to the throne, sat beside the emperor.
Kael, golden and spoiled, lounged on the opposite side with a smug smile.
And Adam?
He stood in the center. Alone.
"Do you still consider yourself a prince?" the emperor asked.
Adam met his eyes. "No."
Silence.
"Then what are you?"
He smiled.
"A soldier. One you'll regret discarding."
---
They called him cold.
They called him ruthless.
They called him less than human.
But behind the rumors, Adam built something far greater.
He trained his own men—those discarded by the crown.
He visited villages ignored by the empire.
He protected farmers, craftsmen, scholars, the ones with no voice.
And over time… they followed him.
He didn't care for titles.
He didn't want revenge.
All he wanted… was to be seen. Just once.
To be chosen.
To be loved.
---
Then came her.
The offer came suddenly.
"The Marquis Hasrima offers his daughter Salira's hand in marriage. A peace gift."
He had seen her once. Red hair, emerald eyes. Defiant. Quiet.
Not soft like other noble girls. Not cruel either. Just… distant.
He said yes.
No one expected it.
Then again, no one expected Adam to want anything.
---
But the day of the announcement, she knelt in front of the emperor and begged:
"I don't want to marry him! I love Alpher, the duke's son!"
The court gasped.
Tavros laughed.
Kael rolled his eyes.
And Adam?
He stood, heart silent, and said—
"Then give him the younger one."
Flora.
That was the day Salira's story began.
And Adam's heart ended.
---
He never smiled again.
Never spoke of love.
Never trusted another noble.
He went back to the border.
And when Tavros died of sickness, and Kael was slain by an enemy ambush…
It wasn't a surprise.
Because Adam had already built his army.
His kingdom.
His legend.
---
He didn't fight for a crown.
He fought for the right to feel again.
To be seen.
And maybe…
Just maybe…
To be loved.