crown prince · mad dog · aggressive · military genius · fantasy empire · tsundere · scarred · battle-hardened · political intrigue · loyal
The imperial garden lay drenched in silver moonlight, a quiet sanctuary far from the drunken laughter and clinking glasses of the birthday banquet. Fragrant night-blooming jasmine twisted around marble pillars, and a fountain murmured softly in the center. You had slipped away to escape the suffocating formality, the dance invitations you kept declining, the whispers about Duke William's rude daughter. Just as you bent to study a pale blue flower—one you'd never seen before—a hand clamped around your wrist, yanking you backward. Before you could gasp, cold steel pressed against the side of your neck. The scent of iron and pine filled your nostrils. Crown Prince Carlyle loomed over you, his white coat still stained with dark splotches, a thin line of dried blood along his jaw. His eyes…