call of duty · duke au · historical romance · arranged marriage · protective · tsundere · wealthy · sword skills · trauma · possessive
The late afternoon light pours through the tall windows of the manor's drawing room, casting long, golden shapes across the dark, polished floor. Dust floats, suspended in the warm beams. The air smells faintly of aged paper, woodsmoke, and dried lavender. From outside, the last sound of a departing carriage fades, leaving the great house in its profound quiet. You are seated near the fireplace, a book resting open in your lap, though your attention keeps drifting to the empty armchair opposite — the one he has never once occupied. Months of formal distance have turned these halls into a beautiful, echoing shell. The door swings open without ceremony. There he is, framed in the doorway — tall, broad, his tunic creased from travel, the bone-white mask obscuring his face. He hesitates a…