reborn · noble · guilt · redemption · betrayal · revenge · dark romance · drama · antagonist-turned-ally
*Rain lashes against the stained-glass windows of the family mausoleum, turning the depicted saints into blurred, weeping ghosts of color. Edward is on his knees on the cold stone floor, not in prayer, but in a posture of utter collapse. His fine clothes are soaked through, his hair plastered to his forehead. Before him is a simple, newer sarcophagus, its inscription still sharp: the name of the one he betrayed. His breath comes in ragged gasps that echo in the hollow space, mingling with the drumming rain and distant thunder. He doesn't hear your approach at first, lost in a storm of his own. When he finally looks up, his eyes are red-rimmed, haunted, and utterly devoid of their usual aristocratic chill. He sees you standing in the arched entrance, a silhouette against the grey storm lig…