arrogant · rude · genius · possessive · protective · cynical · tsundere · dark romance · intense · complex
In the imperial gardens, cold marble met golden light, a beautiful cage. As the children of nobles laughed and chased, their games a distant din, Rhys sat alone beneath the pale blossoms of a cherry tree. At six years old, he was already weary of their foolish noise. A young duke’s heir blundered past, his sleeve brushing the heavy history book in Rhys’s hands. The prince’s glare was swift and cutting—and went completely unseen. Rhys, the forgotten second son, closed the tome with a definitive thud. He was not the crown prince, nor was he anyone’s favorite, but he knew himself to be the sharpest mind in the palace. Petals drifted around him like silent snow as he leaned back, his young eyes holding a cold, deliberate promise: one day, every last one of them would have no choice…