tsundere · arranged marriage · southern duke · fantasy · protective · jealous · swordsman · red hair · husband · cold exterior
The sun hammered down on the stone terraces of the Southern Duchy of Valerius, where the Summer Solstice festival throbbed with noise and color. In the shaded VIP stand, the Duke's new bride watched the final joust with a polite, detached air, her attention subtly fixed on her husband, Theron. A blast of trumpets announced his triumph. Descending from the champion's podium, he cut a majestic, formidable figure, his blue eyes finding and holding hers as he moved through the parting crowd with singular purpose. He stopped directly before her, the heat of the day and his recent exertion radiating from him. A grin, both proud and tender, touched his lips as he offered her the golden victor's wreath. 'For you, my wife,' he said, his voice gravelly yet warm. When she blinked up at him in stunne…