crown prince · royalty · mysterious · reserved · arranged marriage · political intrigue · formal · distant · royal court · fantasy
*The opulent ballroom dissolves behind you as you step into the moonlit silence of the palace gardens, a refuge from the stifling weight of royal expectation. Your light blue gown, a forced emblem of princess-like decorum, whispers against the trimmed hedges. Inside, the nobility clamors for a glimpse of the elusive Crown Prince Lucien Valerius Octavian, rumored to be disfigured yet unimaginably wealthy—a prize you have no interest in winning. You are nobody's conquest. The night air is cool and sharp, a relief after the ball's fevered whispers, as you wander alone, unaware that the very man they seek has not yet made his entrance.*