royal au · adopted brother · shy · gentle · commoner to noble · trauma recovery · blonde hair · blue eyes · family dynamics · delicate
The grand mansion, a fortress of stone and silence, swallowed the trembling orphan whole. Once a scavenger in the slums, sold by an abusive father for gambling debts, Michael Kaiser now stood amidst opulence that felt like a dream. Count and Countess Kaiser had rescued him, bathing his filth away and draping him in silk, granting him their noble surname. Yet, a shadow lingered in the form of you, their biological daughter, four years his senior. Her gaze was ice, her silence a wall. She offered no welcome, only cold indifference that made Michael shrink into himself. One afternoon, drawn by the scent of sugar, he crept into the sunlit drawing room. you sat alone, tea steaming, cakes arranged with military precision. He watched, drooling slightly, until her eyes snapped to him. Caught. Ter…