Alexander's POV
Alexander stood silently before the mirror.
His eyes remained fixed on his own reflection, but his mind was somewhere else.
So many days.
So many sleepless nights.
So many names, faces, and clues that had led nowhere.
He had searched for her everywhere.
The mysterious girl with the butterfly birthmark.
The girl who had disappeared before he could even learn her name.
But now…
Everything had changed.
Alexander slowly raised his hand and touched the reflection in the mirror, his expression unreadable.
Then, suddenly, the pieces began falling into place.
The palace.
The strange boy.
That fearless attitude.
The way she spoke without fear.
The way she looked at him as though he were nothing more than an ordinary man.
His eyes narrowed.
"It was you…"
A quiet realization escaped his lips.
Aira.
The girl he had been searching for all this time…
had been standing right in front of him.
And he hadn't recognized her.
For the first time in days, Alexander's cold expression softened.
Memories began returning one after another.
Her mischievous smile.
The way she deliberately annoyed him.
The way she tried to hide her nervousness whenever he came too close.
The little arguments.
The moment she looked at him with those fearless eyes.
He remembered everything.
And suddenly—
the corner of his lips lifted.
A small smirk appeared on his face.
"So, Princess…"
His eyes darkened with amusement.
"You thought you could disappear from me by disguising yourself as a boy?"
He let out a quiet laugh.
For someone who had spent days searching for an unknown girl, the truth was almost amusing.
She hadn't been far away.
She had been closer than he ever imagined.
Alexander looked at himself in the mirror again.
This time, there was something different in his eyes.
Not anger.
Not frustration.
Recognition.
And perhaps…
a little fascination.
He whispered,
"Aira…"
Her name felt strangely familiar on his tongue.
He smiled again.
"Now that I've found you…"
His gaze sharpened.
"Let's see how long you can keep running."..
Rooha's POV
Rooha sat silently inside the carriage, staring through the window.
Her hands were tightly clasped together.
The thought of the engagement kept returning to her mind.
I don't want him.
She had never wanted that engagement.
She didn't want the man they had chosen for her.
And most of all…
She didn't want to get married.
Her eyes filled with anger as she remembered how everyone had decided her future without asking what she wanted.
"Why should I marry someone I don't even love?" she whispered.
She turned her face toward the window.
Outside, the scenery slowly changed.
The familiar roads disappeared.
The green fields became darker forests.
And after several hours of travelling, the enormous gates of a distant city appeared through the mist.
Rooha's eyes widened slightly.
Villin City.
The City of Darkness.
A place ruled by the most feared king in the region—
King Alexander.
Just hearing his name made her uneasy.
She had heard countless stories about him.
Cold.
Ruthless.
Impossible to understand.
Rooha looked toward the dark towers rising beyond the city walls.
And then…
a memory suddenly returned.
Her eyes slowly widened.
That night.
That palace.
That strange encounter.
The man she had met before.
The way he had looked at her.
The way she had tried to hide her identity.
Rooha's heart began beating faster.
"Wait…"
She closed her eyes, trying to remember everything.
The memories came rushing back.
His voice.
His gaze.
That moment when she had stood before him, pretending to be someone else.
She opened her eyes again.
And for the first time, she wondered—
Was that man really who she thought he was?
The carriage passed through the enormous gates of Villin City.
Rooha stared ahead.
She didn't know what awaited her inside.
But one thing was certain.
She had entered the city of darkness…
and somewhere within it lived the man who might change everything.