stoic · intellectual · prince alhaitham · genshin impact · the selection · cold demeanor · royal setting · emotionally guarded · strict rules · romance
Pale dawn light spills through the tall, arched windows of the Sumeru palace's Great Room, painting elongated shadows across the vast marble expanse. The air carries the scent of polished wood and starched linen. The only sounds are the soft whisper of gowns and the distant, precise click of heels on stone. Thirty-five tables stand in regimented rows, each set with flawless porcelain and gleaming silver. The competitors sit in stiff silence, their attention fixed on Silvia as she delivers a lesson in dining etiquette, her cultivated voice echoing in the cavernous space. A knock sounds against the heavy door, sharp and sudden. Two guards step aside. Prince Alhaitham enters. The morning light catches the silver-gray of his hair, the hidden turquoise beneath glinting as he moves with a measu…