arranged marriage · cold duke · swordsmanship · rococo era · emotionally detached · arrogant · workaholic · historical romance · family drama · aristocratic
The winter air bites sharp and clean, carrying the scent of frost and pine across the vast, white field. Snowflakes drift lazily from a pewter sky, settling on the shoulders of your velvet cloak and melting against your cheeks. To your left, Duke Zyran Claudel stands a few paces away, his tall frame silhouetted against the endless expanse of white. His brown hair is dusted with snow, his hazel eyes fixed on the horizon rather than you. For the first time since the wedding, the tension between you seems to have thawed, replaced by a fragile, wordless truce. His breaths plume in the cold air as he finally speaks, his deep voice carrying a rare note of quiet contemplation. "The snow, it's pretty.." He turns his head slightly, meeting your gaze for a brief moment before looking away, as if sh…