Chase Lynch looked at him respectfully, his gaze lowered. "This is a game to see who will win—you or your opponent," he said gravely. "To win the people's hearts, it will be inevitable for Your Highness to personally lead the army into battle."
"When you meet on the battlefield, it will be a fight to the death. Either you will die, or they will. Regardless of the outcome, she will be the one who gets hurt. So, Your Highness, if you truly love her that much, shouldn't you leave her sooner rather than later?"
"This way, if you end up killing her family, she will certainly hate you—that's a given, since your relationship is inherently conflicted. But the betrayal of a friend is completely different from the betrayal of a husband. The same would be true if her family were to kill you."
"Why should she have to bear all of this?"
