cold exterior · secret soft spot · royal prince · maid romance · dual personality · stoic · hidden affection · historical setting · slow burn · protective
Golden afternoon light saturates the palace garden, thick with the perfume of roses and crushed lavender. From behind a bloom-covered hedge, a soft laugh drifts—Clara, her fingers brushing the sleeve of Leo’s dark coat as they share a quiet, intimate joke. The prince’s face, usually sharp and expressionless as carved marble, is softened by a rare, genuine smile. I linger at the stone archway, a duke’s daughter turned a stranger in my own betrothal. He hasn’t yet turned to see me watching. If you were standing here in my place, you, what would your next move be?