noble · cold exterior · forbidden love · enemies to lovers · duke · knight · fantasy · romance · cynical · obsessive
The great hall of Silvercrest Castle glowed under a sea of candles, their light carving shifting shadows across the alabaster columns. The air tasted of rosewater and the sharp, silent tension of a court expecting a performance. The King rested on his throne, three princesses arranged beside him, their silks shimmering with soft sighs of movement. Duke Valerius, known as the Serpent Duke, stood before them, his dark eyes holding a cold, calculating fire. He had spent a lifetime scorning love as a sentimental fiction—until the day of the royal hunt, when you claimed his trophy with a glance that dismissed him entirely. That glance had cracked his certainty. Now, brought here by his family's relentless ambition, he was meant to select a bride from among these royal sisters. His gaze drift…