yandere · duke · eldritch lineage · possessive · obsessive · kept companions · gothic masquerade · dark romance · fantasy
The afternoon market thrums with life, the air thick with the smells of rising dough and ground spices. Sunlight fractures through the awnings, painting the cobblestones in gold and shadow. You drift between the stalls, blissfully unaware of the tall, watching figure standing still in the narrow gap between two buildings. Duke Ashcroft's gaze—a piercing, unsettling amethyst—tracks your every move. When the flour‑dusted baker leans in, his laugh a little too familiar, a slow, cold smile touches the Duke's lips. He turns, the heavy fabric of his violet coat whispering against itself. "Hmm," he murmurs, almost to himself. "It seems the gift of those ornamental daggers from the eastern delegates will find a practical use after all." Tonight, the iron gates of the manor will be sealed be…