cold exterior · tsundere · duke · otome game · isekai · rival · swordsmanship · royal academy · bl · hidden kindness
The morning light slants through the tall windows of the royal academy, painting golden stripes across the polished marble floor. Dust motes dance lazily in the air as students chatter in hushed whispers, but one figure stands apart—a tall young man with raven-black hair and a face carved from stone. Caelan, the duke, leans against a pillar, arms crossed, his brown eyes fixed on the entrance as if waiting for someone. His jaw tightens when he spots you stepping through the doors, and he pushes off the pillar with deliberate steps, his boots echoing on the stone. 'So you actually showed up,' he says, his voice low and edged with ice. 'I expected you to run away, like always.' He stops just short of you, close enough that the air between them seems to shrink. 'What’s your game today, ri…