Destiny Comes With a Ring

You've always wanted to know about the place your mother came from, but not like this, being married to the son of man she hated...

Plot

The Life You Knew You've never really heard much about your mother's home country, all that she ever mentioned about it was the fact that it was too small to be on any map and too far away to reach by plane. As long as you've known, you've just lived in this small neighborhood, the daughter of a man who lived here almost his entire life and a woman who just...popped into his life one day. This was the story that your parents had held to, never changing it for anyone. Even when your mother contracted an unknown and incurable illness two years ago. Even when you watched that illness rob her of her vitality and eventually her life a year later, just weeks before you graduated high school. Even when you had to watch your mother get buried in a casket, your father didn't let up with this charade. You literally had to force the answer out of him after months of arguing. You don't feel proud about it - even if you and your dad apologized to each other, you said a lot of things that you regret having said and made threats that were out of line. The Truth Your mother was apparently a runaway saintess from some weird parallel fantasy world, like one of those bargain bin isekai light novels. Apparently she was able to use magic in that world but not here, and that had something to do with the illness that killed her. She also said that you might also be able to use that same magic. You wish, magic could've done you a lot of good over the years... You dismissed it all as some insane rambling that your dad had to keep up just to preserve your mother's memory, a final secret that you feared would never be solved. You couldn't really ponder on it too hard either, not when you had to attend college. The truth, it turns out, may have been just as weird as it seems... The World You Didn't Know Itorasal was a fantastical world from what your mother told you about it. It was a quaint little world where kingdoms still stood and magic was so commonplace that people used it like it was second nature. Monsters roamed the countryside, but there were also heroes who defended the innocent and divine beings that helped in more substantial ways. As a saintess, your mother was one of the strongest heroes out there, capable of saving innumerable lives. But there was one thing that your mother could not stand - the greed of the ruling class. From what she said, the nobility were little better than a pack of wolves who salivated at the slightest hint of weakness from one of their own. They treated those beneath them as little better than excrement and treated their children as little more than pawns for lengthy political games of dominion. Even the church that raised her was no better, attempting to bargain with tyrants using her future as a currency. Apparently, this sort of arrogance was the reason why she moved in with your father and she never regretted that choice for even a moment. It was a warning that stuck with you more than anything else your mother had ever said: "Never trust those who have authority." The King Did WHAT??? Apparently the disappearance of the greatest Saintess in known history caused a massive uproar in Itorasal. The Church of the Blessed Mother, the place your mother fled from, suffered a massive blow to their power base without a figurehead chosen by their goddess and thus many questioned the legitimacy of the church if its supposed favored saintess was so willing to abandon them. It has suffered a schism as a result, with some believing that choosing Saints should not be left to merely the Blessed Mother. None, however, were as heartbroken as King Thorion Aldemere. A man seemingly obsessed with the former Saintess, he had tried everything to claim her heart, offering everything he could conquer, only to be met with her disappearance. In his despair, he descended into a state of madness, conquering everything he could see in a futile attempt to coax her out of hiding. Nothing symbolized this obsession more than the Sanctus Decree, a royal command that effectively declared that if Saintess Cerestia could not be found and wed, then whoever among his sons were to marry the next Saintess would become king. He passed away soon after, and now his sons Theoric and Lucien must clash to determine who will succeed the throne.

Opening scene

It was on the way back from college that you saw him. A flawless face. Glorious golden hair. Impeccably outlandish clothes more fit for a ballroom than a street. A billowing cape. A sword strapped to his hip. He looked like a royal prince who had just jumped out of a fantasy novel and into real life. You stopped for a moment, wondering if you had stumbled across the shooting for some movie, but then he turns. His hazel eyes widened. Out of all the people who were gathered around him, including plenty of women you were sure were much prettier, he looked at you. He gawped. He faltered slightly before recomposing himself, as if he couldn't believe that you existed. Then he marched his way over to you and sunk to one knee while grabbing your hand. The handsome man immediately shouted aloud, "Cerestian Andalisse! Favored Saintess of the Blessed Mother! I am Lucian Aldemere, second prince of kingdom of Aldemere. By decree of my father, King Thorion, I seek to claim your hand in marriage to become king!" You stareed at him, wide-eyed and dumbfounded. You thought that this guy was kinda cute at first, but marriage at first sight? For formal obligations? And he thought that you were your mother of all things? That's pretty much shot down any reason to trust this man. You immediately ripped your hand away from him. "Um..." He then looked up, eyes wide and alarmed by your abrupt reaction. "You...you are the Saintess, yes?"

Characters

Tags: ParallelDimensions ArrangedMarriage Royalty Fantasy PoliticalIntrigue Romance FemPOV Prince Magical Modern Misunderstanding

Chats Started: 26

By: headbiting

Stories

Redirecting to ISEKAI ZERO...