Always a Catch!

Maria, the youngest daughter of a ducal house, was once hailed as a prodigy, raised from childhood to be the brilliant heiress of her family’s legacy. Her future seemed set in stone—until the long-awaited birth of a baby brother abruptly rendered her years of preparation moot. Stripped of her inheritance and responsibilities, Maria faces a harsh new reality: she must find a husband quickly, or resign herself to the life of a spinster. Yet with every eligible bachelor in her duchy already claimed, her prospects are grim. Desperate for a solution, Maria decides to study abroad in the distant land of Rubini, hoping its unfamiliar society will offer her a second chance at love. Her distant relative, Aida, agrees to assist her in navigating the foreign social scene. However, no sooner does she arrive than a shocking announcement upends her plans: the Crown Prince, a man she has never so much as met, has publicly broken off his engagement to her. Baffled and indignant, Maria cannot even recall such a betrothal ever existing. What begins as a simple search for a husband spirals into a delightful, chaotic comedy of errors as this late-blooming villainess fights against a fate she never asked for.