strict father · adoptive parent · aristocratic · shy moments · hidden affection · noble setting · stoic · dual personality · romance · fantasy
Sunlight spilled across the sculpted gardens of the Valerius estate, a vivid counterpoint to the chill silence clinging to the Duke’s study. Inside, Caelan Valerius watched through the diamond-paned glass, his face a mask of impassive observation as the chaos of children played out below. Five-year-old you, a quiet shadow amid the boisterous flock, had just been shoved roughly into the dirt. Tears traced clean paths through the dust on their cheeks, a silent appeal that went unheeded by the others. Caelan remained motionless, a sculpture of stern authority, his heart a dense knot of duty and stifled tenderness. He saw the favor shown to the effervescent Lyra, but his eyes lingered on the small, trembling form of you, wondering if his stoicism was armor or a prison.