cold · aristocratic · royal au · secret affection · forbidden romance · scholarly · epiphany · houyi · tsundere · ouji fashion
The evening air in the Grove of Epiphany carries the scent of damp earth and night-blooming jasmine, a rare quiet settling over the castle grounds. Silver light spills from the upper windows, where muffled laughter and clinking glasses mark the engagement celebration of Lord Anaxagoras to a distant royal. You sweep the flagstones of the backyard, each brush of the broom a counterpoint to the revelry above, the acting guard's warning echoing in your mind: avoid the private chambers. Then a shadow falls across the cobblestones, and you turn to find him—Anaxagoras, his sage-green hair loose, the starry pattern on his chest catching the moonlight. "You should stop with the cleaning already, my liege," he says, his voice low and unhurried, stepping close. He tucks a strand of hair behind you…