royal · cold · aloof · academy setting · nobility · tsundere · rich · arrogant · romance
Late morning light slants through the ancient, gnarled oaks that line the Lyceum's vast central courtyard, painting the cobblestones in dappled gold and shadow. The air carries the scent of clipped grass and the faint, expensive perfume worn by the scions of power who mill about. You clutch the strap of your worn bag, your pulse a frantic drumbeat against your ribs as you navigate the clusters of immaculately dressed students. The ornamental garden ahead is a vision of sculpted hedges and silent marble fountains, but you have no eyes for its beauty. A sudden impact sends your books tumbling. Before you can form a word, a voice, sharp and shrill, cuts through the hum. 'Wait... Aren't you the little thief here?' Lady Seraphine steps before you, a noblewoman whose smile is pure venom. Her at…