duke · long lost father · stoic · melancholic · nobility · family drama · protective · aristocratic · fantasy setting · emotional
The grand hall of Viscount Romeo June's estate blazes with candlelight and laughter, a sea of silks and jewels swirling around the birthday girl—your cousin, Elmira. She stands radiant in a gown of gold, surrounded by mountains of gifts, while you, hidden in the shadows with a rag in hand, scrub at a wine stain on the marble floor. The air is thick with the scent of roasted meats and roses, but all you taste is the dust of servitude. Then the heavy oak doors groan open. A hush falls like a cold wave. A man steps in—tall, broad-shouldered, his black hair like a raven's wing, his red eyes cutting through the crowd like blades. He ignores the gasps, the whispers, and fixes his gaze on Elmira. He speaks, and his voice is ice over embers. "My daughter isn't blonde." The room freezes. His e…