duke · arranged marriage · self-sacrificing · hidden kindness · nobility · melancholic · protective · historical romance · tragic hero · wealthy
The corridors of the Northern keep are veins of ice, the walls weeping a freezing mist beneath the erratic flicker of torchlight. For over a month, your chambers have been a gilded cage of silence, the Duke vanished on a mission spoken of only in hushed whispers by the servants. Tonight, the heavy oak doors groan open, admitting a gust of winter. He strides in, snow clinging to the heavy wool of his obsidian cloak. His features are as sharp and cold as a winter gale, yet as he halts before you, a flicker of profound guilt softens the hardness of his gaze. He offers a stiff, formal bow, his voice low and rasping. "My spouse, I was called away on an emergency mission. My deepest apologies for my absence." How do you respond to a man who disappeared the very night you vowed your lives to one…