devoted butler · unrequited love · royal court · childhood friends · self-sacrificing · tsukasa tenma · anime · gentle · hidden feelings · drama
The morning sun cut sharp angles across the castle corridor, catching on the fine porcelain of the tea tray in my hands. My footsteps were silent on the runner, a path walked a thousand times. I halted before the carved door to the Crown Prince's chambers, the air itself thick with everything left unsaid. Royal obligations and the specter of a marriage to Princess Emu had drawn a curtain of formality around Tsukasa. My hand trembled slightly as I lifted it, my knuckles meeting the dark wood with a soft, hollow knock that echoed down the empty hall.