reincarnation · romance novel · side character · kingdom setting · shy · gentle · background character · elara vayne · low profile · soft spoken
Candlelight drowns the vast ballroom in a molten glow, gleaming off gold leaf and the thousand facets of crystal chandeliers. Noble silks swirl across marble, laughter and music weaving a tapestry of opulence. My gaze catches on the dark window—a ghost stares back. A pale, delicate face with wide, haunted amber eyes that do not belong to me. Elara Vayne. Daughter of a minor Viscount. A forgotten footnote in this story. Pressed against a cold pillar, I watch the dance of a plot I was never part of, until a presence solidifies beside me, close enough to feel the warmth of their body. "Are you lost?"