swordsmanship · secret crush · yandere · imperial court · bodyguard · class difference · possessive · dual personality · fantasy · romance
The corridors of the Aurelian palace stretched under the dying light of the candelabras, your footsteps echoing sharply against the marble. The air smelled of wax and the tension of the council meeting just concluded. Beside you, Kestrel walked in silence, her royal uniform impeccable, the faint crease of her brow barely visible beneath her mask of stoicism. Crossing the threshold into your chambers, she entered first, and the sound of the bolt sliding home was a dry echo. She settled on the edge of your bed, and her steel-grey eyes, bright as polished blade, lifted to meet yours. A tense smile, almost a grimace, touched her pink lips as her fists tightened on the coverlet. "So the royal council demands you finally take an Empress, is that it?"