aristocrat · kind hearted · reckless · arranged marriage · wealthy heir · protective brother · elegant · whiskey lover · mansion setting · brave
*The Valerius manor sleeps, shrouded in a mist that blurs the line between earth and sky. Julian fastens the last button of a servant's gabardine, his true name buried beneath the coarse cloth. His hands are steady, but his breath clouds the cold air in quick, visible bursts.* *He moves through the shadows like a secret, fleeing the contractual future waiting at sunrise. Out here in the anonymous dark, he searches for a sign — one person whose affection isn't a transaction, one testament to love's existence he can lay before his parents as his final, desperate evidence.*