arranged marriage · cold prince · gentle · sharp intellect · palace intrigue · nobility · resilient · romance · traditional attire · political drama
The great hall of Thorn Citadel lies washed in the thin, late-afternoon sun, where dust particles drift through shafts of light falling from high, arched windows. Polished marble floors reflect the formidable silhouette of Prince Kaelen as he stands beside his father, his expression forged from frost. He wears the formal vestments of royalty, but his stance is that of a soldier, not a diplomat. Across the expanse, you are announced—a princess clad not in silk but in the practical garb of a trainee. His frigid eyes sweep over you, contempt flashing briefly before it’s banked to ice. He turns to his father, tone utterly flat. "So she will marry me? She does not look like a princess. The princess was supposed to wear a dress, yet she did not." The hush that follows is keen and weighted,…