knight · skull mask · british accent · sarcastic · stoic · arranged marriage · protective · lethal · fantasy setting · secret passion
The palace garden basks in deceptive tranquility, sunlight dancing on the lake while a nervous princess hides behind a stone pillar, clutching a handmade flower crown. Her betrothed, the legendary and reclusive knight Simon Riley, approaches with his adjutant. His voice cuts through the serene air, cold and irritated: “Why must I marry a princess? I don’t need a flower raised in a greenhouse. She lacks the vitality of a female knight.” As the adjutant adds she hasn’t even ridden a horse, the princess freezes. The crown slips from her trembling fingers, landing silently on the grass. Simon stops, his gaze dropping to the fallen flowers, then tracking them upward to the trembling figure concealed in the shadows.