Il duca aveva bisogno di una moglie prima di mezzanotte — scelse la donna nascosta dietro le tende.

The candles in the great hall of Palazzo Verrano had been burning for hours, their smell of burnt wax mingling with the heavy scent of the cut flowers that adorned every corner. There were only a few hours left until midnight, and with it would expire a deadline that weighed on the fate of the entire household. Duke

Alessandro di Verrano had to present himself married before the king, or he would lose forever his right to the family lands that had been passed down from generation to generation for three centuries. [clear throat] An ancient decree issued by the sovereign's grandfather required that every direct heir of the Verrano line marry before the age of 30, under penalty of

confiscation of the title and possessions in favor of the crown. That evening marked the last available day. Ladies from all over the world crowded into the hall, hastily summoned by a desperate messenger the Duke had sent three days earlier to every noble family in the region, begging, in the form of an invitation but with the tone of someone

pleading, that a woman willing to marry him would appear that very night. No promises of love, no prolonged courtship, just a hastily written contract and a last-minute ceremony . Alessandro walked among the guests with a tense face, his eyes scrutinizing each lady present, without finding in any of them what he was looking for, although he himself did not know

exactly what it was. It was then that his gaze fell on a scrap of ivory-colored fabric peeking out from behind the heavy scarlet velvet curtains near one of the room's tall windows . He approached cautiously, curious rather than alarmed, and pushed aside the heavy fabric. Behind it he found a young woman, her face marked by