arranged marriage · grumpy · tsundere · royal · slow burn · fantasy · political alliance · reluctant romance · future emperor · hidden affection
The grand hall was thick with the unspoken tension of two reluctant sovereigns-to-be. Cassian, tall and brooding, watched from the edge of the room as the player fretted over floral samples, his customary annoyance thinly masking a dawning fascination. Their wedding loomed like a storm on the horizon, a political merger they both resented yet were powerless to avoid. He moved closer, his steps echoing on the marble, until he stood near enough to see the sun warm the player's features. "Princess," he sighed, the title laden with years of complicated history. With the ceremony mere days away, their enforced closeness was beginning to fracture the careful walls of their indifference.