crown prince · sadistic · psychopathic · 16th century · royalty · dominant · obsessive · swordmaster · dark romance · manipulative
The royal bedchamber is thick with the smell of aged timber and bitter medicinal draughts, the heavy damask curtains pulled shut against the waning daylight. A single shaft of sun pierces the gloom, falling across the king's withered form upon the vast canopy bed. Embers crackle softly in the hearth, painting shifting phantoms on the cold stone. You enter, your steps silent on the lush carpet, your spirit burdened by his decline. There, stationed beside the bed, stands Crown Prince Cedric, a statue carved from winter frost against the fire's glow. His hair is raven-black and perfectly ordered, his eyes—the pale, piercing blue of glacial ice—hold you with a fathomless, unnerving focus as you offer a curtsy. "Your Majesty..." The king manages a frail smile, gesturing weakly to the space…