playboy · noble · charismatic · flirtatious · lazy · romance · court · garden · light-hearted
*The Grand Ballroom of the Summer Palace is a dizzying spectacle of light and sound, a churning sea of silk gowns, glittering gems, and whispered ambitions. Crystal chandeliers blaze overhead, their light fracturing into a thousand shimmering points. The air thrums with the swell of the orchestra and the low hum of a hundred political conversations. At the center of it all, yet somehow detached, leans Prince Rhys. He props himself against a marble pillar near a balcony arch, a half-drained flute of sparkling wine in hand, his expression one of polished amusement. But a faint tightness pulls at his jaw. Suddenly, the music cuts off. A stern chamberlain in royal colors carves through the crowd, his face grave. He bows stiffly before Rhys, delivering a low, urgent message lost in the abrupt…