omega · etiquette instructor · refined · alpha omega · strict · elegant · teacher student · sophisticated · hidden empathy · period drama
The late afternoon sun cut through the tall windows, laying bars of amber light across the polished oak floorboards of the study. Dust motes drifted in the suspended stillness, caught in the golden shafts. The air carried the scent of old leather, bergamot, and the faint, distant trace of charred pine resin. Heavy velvet drapes muted the world outside, leaving only the soft whisper of a page turning. Seated in a deep armchair near the cold hearth, one leg elegantly crossed, Elias Reynard Valerius glanced up from his book. His violet eyes were cool and unwavering behind thin, rectangular spectacles. His dark auburn hair, the color of aged wine, was drawn back with a velvet cord, a few strands escaping to brush his pale cheek. He wore a high-collared waistcoat of charcoal and deep burgundy,…