FORBIDDEN LOVE

The Encounter

FORBIDDEN LOVE

Chapter 1 — The Encounter

Years Ago

Before she became known as Sapherina Cyprus, she was simply a nameless child wandering through a village devastated by war.

She had no memories of her true parents.

No family name.

No home.

Only the distant sound of battle and the cold feeling of being alone.

One winter morning, an elderly farmer named Fredrick Cyprus found her near the edge of his fields.

He had already lost his wife years before, and his children had long since left the village. He lived alone on his modest farm, tending to his crops and livestock with little more than his memories for company.

When he saw the little girl sitting beneath a tree, he couldn't bring himself to walk away.

"What is your name, child?"

The girl stared at him silently.

She didn't know.

Fredrick sighed and removed his coat, wrapping it around her small shoulders.

"Then we'll find you one."

From that day forward, she became his daughter.

He named her Sapherina.

Years passed.

The frightened child grew into a young woman with a curious heart and an adventurous spirit.

Fredrick taught her everything he knew about farming, hunting, herbs, and surviving in the wilderness.

But Sapherina wanted to know more.

She wanted to see the mountains beyond the village.

She wanted to explore the ancient forests.

She wanted to know what existed beyond the horizon.

And most of all...

She wanted to understand the war that had taken so many lives.

"Father," she asked one evening while sitting beside the fireplace, "why did the war begin?"

Fredrick's hands stopped moving.

For a moment, his expression became strangely distant.

"Some questions," he said quietly, "are better left unanswered."

Sapherina frowned.

That answer only made her more curious.

---

Meanwhile, in the Royal Palace of Valdoria...

A completely different child was growing up behind walls of marble and gold.

Lucien Arcenvale, Crown Prince of Valdoria, had never known hardship.

From the moment he was born, servants bowed before him.

Whatever toy he wanted was placed in his hands.

Whatever food he desired appeared on his table.

Whatever mistake he made was forgiven.

And whenever he pointed at something and said—

"I want that."

Someone made certain that he received it.

Lucien quickly learned that the world revolved around him.

But there was another influence shaping the young prince.

His mother.

Queen Evelyne Arcenvale, the Emperor's favored concubine before she became queen, was an intelligent and ambitious woman.

She constantly reminded Lucien of his position.

"You are not like ordinary people."

"You were born above them."

"They will either obey you..."

"Or fear you."

Lucien listened.

As a child, he believed every word.

As he grew older, those lessons hardened into arrogance.

Compassion became weakness.

Kindness became foolishness.

And the suffering of common people became something beneath his concern.

Evelyne had only one goal for her son:

The throne.

"You must never forget, Lucien," she told him one evening, placing a hand upon his shoulder. "Everything you do must lead you toward the crown."

Lucien looked toward the enormous throne room.

One day...

That throne would belong to him.

And he would have everything.

---

Present Day

The royal carriage traveled through the countryside beneath a gray sky.

Inside sat Prince Lucien.

He stared through the window with visible irritation.

"This road is terrible."

His attendant lowered his head.

"My apologies, Your Highness."

Lucien scoffed.

"We're already late."

The purpose of his journey was simple.

The village near Valdoria's western war front had been selected as a temporary military base.

Lucien's mission was to personally deliver the royal decree.

The villagers would have to leave their homes.

Their farmland would become a camp for soldiers.

To Lucien, it was nothing more than an unpleasant task.

"They should be honored that the army is using their land," he remarked.

His attendant remained silent.

Nobody dared contradict the Crown Prince.

As the carriage continued through the forest road, Lucien leaned back.

He had no idea that this journey would change his entire life.

---

The Assassins

The attack came without warning.

A sharp sound cut through the forest.

Lucien's guards suddenly shouted.

"Your Highness!"

The carriage jolted violently.

Horses panicked.

Men rushed toward the surrounding trees.

Lucien barely had time to understand what was happening before another attack struck.

His guards formed a protective circle around him.

"Get the prince out of here!"

Lucien stumbled away from the road and into the forest.

"Wait!"

Nobody heard him.

He continued running.

Branches scratched against his clothing as he pushed deeper into the woods.

His breathing became heavier.

His strength began to disappear.

Then—

Pain.

Lucien staggered.

He looked down and realized that he had been injured.

His hand pressed against the wound instinctively.

"So this..."

His voice trembled with disbelief.

"Is an assassination attempt?"

For the first time in his life, Prince Lucien Arcenvale was completely alone.

No servants.

No guards.

No palace.

No mother.

No one to save him.

He stumbled farther into the forest before finally collapsing beside a tree.

His vision began to blur.

"Someone..."

He tried to call out.

But there was no answer.

Only the wind.

---

The Girl in the Forest

Sapherina was gathering herbs.

She had wandered farther than usual that afternoon, searching for medicinal plants her father had taught her to recognize.

As she stepped between the trees, she heard something.

A faint rustling.

She stopped.

"Who's there?"

Nothing.

Sapherina cautiously moved forward.

Then she saw him.

A young man lying beneath a tree.

His expensive clothes were unlike anything she'd ever seen.

His dark hair was disheveled, and his face was pale.

Sapherina immediately rushed toward him.

"Are you hurt?"

Lucien slowly opened his eyes.

And for the first time...

He saw her.

Golden hair spilled over her shoulders like sunlight.

Her eyes were an unusual, deep shade of purple.

Her lips were naturally red, like the petals of a cherry blossom.

For a moment, Lucien simply stared.

Beautiful.

The word appeared in his mind before he could stop it.

To him, she looked like the definition of beauty itself.

Yet his pride quickly returned.

"Don't touch me."

Sapherina blinked.

"What?"

"I said don't touch me."

He attempted to move away.

The effort only made him wince.

Sapherina frowned.

"You can barely stand."

"I don't need your help."

"Clearly, you do."

Lucien stared at her in disbelief.

Nobody spoke to him like that.

"Do you know who I am?"

"No."

The simple answer stunned him.

Sapherina looked at his injury.

"If you keep arguing, you'll only make it worse."

Lucien frowned.

"Go away."

She sighed.

"Fine."

She turned around.

Lucien watched her leave.

For a moment, he felt relieved.

Then she stopped.

Sapherina looked back at him.

"...I can't just leave you here."

She walked toward him again.

Lucien immediately tried to push her away.

"Don't!"

Sapherina stepped back.

"You're stubborn."

"And you're intrusive."

"You're injured."

"And you're annoying."

"And you're going to die if you continue being stubborn."

Lucien fell silent.

Sapherina knelt beside him.

"I'll help you."

"No."

"Yes."

"No."

"Yes."

Lucien stared at her.

She stared back.

For perhaps the first time in his life, the Crown Prince encountered someone who simply refused to obey him.

---

An Unlikely Rescue

Sapherina opened the small pouch hanging from her waist.

"I need something to stop the bleeding."

She looked around the forest.

Then her eyes brightened.

"I know what to use."

She hurried toward a patch of herbs growing beneath the trees.

Lucien watched her disappear.

A few moments later, she returned carrying several plants.

"What are those?"

"Medicinal herbs."

"You expect me to trust those?"

Sapherina raised an eyebrow.

"Would you prefer to bleed?"

Lucien said nothing.

She carefully prepared the herbs.

Then she looked at his torn clothing.

"We need something to wrap the wound."

Lucien's expression changed.

"What are you doing?"

Sapherina grasped the edge of her dress.

"This."

Before he could protest, she tore a strip from the fabric.

Lucien stared.

"You just tore your dress."

"I noticed."

"You ruined it."

"It's fabric."

She folded the strip and prepared it as a bandage.

Lucien couldn't understand her.

She had no idea who he was.

She didn't know that the man sitting before her was the Crown Prince.

She didn't know that the royal court would consider touching him without permission an offense.

She simply saw an injured person.

And she wanted to help.

Sapherina carefully treated his injury and wrapped the cloth around it.

"There."

Lucien looked down at the makeshift bandage.

Then at her.

"Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why help me?"

Sapherina smiled faintly.

"Because you needed help."

Such a simple answer.

Yet Lucien had never heard it before.

People helped him because he was a prince.

Because they wanted something.

Because they feared him.

But this girl...

She had nothing to gain.

She didn't even know who he was.

For the first time, something inside Lucien shifted.

He looked at Sapherina again.

The golden-haired girl who had wandered into his life in the middle of a forest.

The girl who had torn her own dress to save him.

The girl who had spoken to him without fear.

He didn't know her name.

He didn't know where she came from.

And he certainly didn't know that she would soon become the person who would challenge everything he believed about his kingdom.

Sapherina stood.

"We should get you back to the village."

Lucien immediately frowned.

"The village?"

"Yes."

"Absolutely not."

Sapherina sighed.

"Why?"

"Because I have important matters to attend to."

She crossed her arms.

"You can't even walk."

Lucien looked away.

"...I'll manage."

Sapherina smiled.

"Then I suppose I'll have to help you walk."

Lucien's eyes widened.

Before he could protest, she offered her hand.

He stared at it.

A prince who had spent his entire life ordering others around...

Was now being offered a hand by a mysterious village girl.

And somehow...

He couldn't bring himself to refuse.

He slowly reached for her hand.

Neither of them knew it yet.

But this moment would become the beginning of a story that would shake the entire Kingdom of Valdoria.

A story of secrets.

A story of war.

A story of betrayal.

And a love that was never supposed to exist.