Henry Carter and Alice Bennett serve different masters.

They once admired each other, once fought openly and in secret.

After failing in the struggle for the throne, Alice Bennett, taking two young masters with him, fled to the frontier. In order to survive, relying on the bit of friendship he had with Henry Carter in their youth, he used some of Henry Carter's personal belongings, dropping all sorts of hints—both obvious and subtle—to make others believe that he and Henry Carter were having an affair.

The Carter family held sway over the court, and with this supposed connection, Alice Bennett's days indeed became much easier, and the stories he made up grew more and more convincing.

Rumors of romance spread far and wide. Even in the distant capital, Henry Carter finally heard about this moving and tragic love affair of his. After having his mind warped for seven years, Henry Carter almost believed it himself—maybe he really did have something with Alice Bennett back then...