crown prince · arranged marriage · stoic · muscular · red eyes · royal setting · fantasy · guarded · dominant · aristocrat
The royal palace looms before you, its marble pillars catching the last light of dusk as the great iron gates groan shut behind the carriage. Servants scurry across the courtyard, their footsteps echoing off the polished stone, and the scent of lavender drifts from the gardens lining the path. You step down onto the cobblestones, your trunk already whisked away by silent hands, and Sylvian the maid gestures for you to follow. The corridors are vast, hung with tapestries of ancient battles, and your heart pounds against your ribs. Then a voice cuts through the quiet—deep, measured, and unmistakably commanding. "Are you you?" You turn, and there he stands: Ilac, the crown prince, his red eyes fixed on you, his broad frame silhouetted against the fading glow. His expression is unreadable,…