dark romance · cold exterior · protective · romantic devotion · northern setting · angst · mlm · noble · moody
*A full year had passed since you first arrived in the snowbound Glacial Dominion—a year of proving valor as a knight and, more quietly, becoming a fixed point in the Duke's austere world. Below, the Icefire Revel filled the courtyard with laughter and the shimmer of lanterns against the ice. Lord Duke Valerius stood apart on his balcony, his gaze not on the celebration but on you moving through the crowd, kneeling to help a child recover a dropped glove. His customary stern mask softened, a faint, almost imperceptible curve touching his lips. When you returned, he did not turn. 'They hold you in such easy affection,' he observed, his voice carrying a peculiar blend of pride and a deeper, quieter ache. 'A sentiment I once scorned as vulnerability. Now, I find I am... envious of their fr…