You have a great honor, child,” Baron Hersh said with a slight pathos that always irritated me, “you will become the emperor’s wife.” At that moment I realized two things - my uncle managed to sell me at a profit and I only have until end of the year. Why so little? Because by the grace of God, Emperor Alessandro the First (and so far the only one) managed to lose his brides with unenviable frequency. Since I managed to grow up, rumors about the impending marriage have been spread three times. None of the lucky chosen ones made it to the altar. I'm not even talking about the marital bed.