Chapter 178: Eyes of a Dragon and the Human Heart (42)

༺ Eyes of a Dragon and the Human Heart (42) ༻

Emma didn’t have a surname.

In a society where family names symbolized honor and authority, surnames were exclusive to the nobility, and being the daughter of a humble herbalist, Emma was as far removed from the nobility as the earth was from the sky.

The stark reality of her social standing became evident every time her thoughts turned to her unrequited love

Ian Percus. Just as his name indicated, he was the second son of the Percus family, a lower noble family situated in a rural area.

While his family’s status leaned towards the lower rungs, he was nonetheless a bona fide noble with a fundamental gap in status from commoners.

It was uncertain whether he would inherit the family title, but given his recent accomplishments, his future was promising. He could easily choose from a plethora of romantic interests without concerning himself with a mere commoner, and this deeply hurt Emma.

Ironically, it was because of her love for him that she didn’t dare confess her feelings. Instead, she simply wished to devote herself to him and cherish him from a short distance.

However, the intensity of a first love occasionally kindled some unconventional desires.

She, who had previously only immersed herself in alchemical texts, found herself captivated by romance novels, many of which were commonly found romantic fantasy stories that portrayed ordinary women being rescued and pursued by capable, handsome noblemen.

Such stories, however, were nothing more than fantasies that would never occur in real life.

Nobles couldn’t live as truly free individuals. They were ensnared by duty to their households and were akin to tools to further their families’ agendas.

Even marriage was far from a union based on personal desires and was only a means to forge blood relations with other noble households. Therefore, the selection of marriage partners demanded great deliberation, and in the far past, commoners were often executed after being caught spending the night with a noble

Despite this, tales of love between nobles and commoners weren’t entirely unheard of. After all, love was a force that transcended all barriers, including status, and nothing in the world was capable of suppressing the most primal of emotions. Forsaking their family name to elope with their lover was one of, if not the most, notable outcomes in such cases.

Periodically, tales and rumors emerged, christened as ‘Romances of the Century’, and while the majority ended in tragedy, the stories fueled the impossible dreams within the hearts of many a commoner girl.