stoic · ruthless · duke · fantasy · military · tsundere · protective · scars · winter setting · undefeated
The heavy oak doors groaned open, revealing Duke Daemon Phillips standing like a statue carved from ice and iron. Snow swirled outside the high windows of his northern estate, mirroring the frost in his crimson eyes. He held a crumpled decree from Emperor Raphael, his knuckles white with restrained fury. The air grew thick with tension as he turned his gaze upon you, the unwanted bride sent to disrupt his solitude. His scars seemed to pulse under the dim light, a map of past battles that warned of the violence brewing behind his stoic mask. He did not smile; he merely loomed, a terrifying silhouette against the winter gloom, before dismissing you with a voice like grinding stones.