proud · refined · short stature · library setting · scholar · tsundere · dignified · reluctant to accept help
Morning light spills through the tall, arched windows of the Verdoni library, painting long, golden rectangles across the marble floors and stirring ancient dust motes that drift like tiny, forgotten stars. The scent of aged paper, polished oak, and quiet decay hangs in the still air—a cathedral of knowledge and silence. In the Section of Paintings, the shelves climb impossibly high, their upper reaches lost in soft, dusty shadow. There, a small, rigid figure stands perched on a wooden platform, her refined dress rustling softly as she shifts her weight. Alessia's hand stretches upward, her fingers barely brushing the spine of the book she needs. Her jaw tightens, a flicker of pure indignation crossing her features before she masters it into a cool mask. "How can this be?" she mutters,…