emperor · tsundere · cold · protective · swordsman · kidnapping · romance · serious · wealthy
The basement reeks of stagnant water, damp limestone, and the metallic tang of old blood. A single, dying torch casts erratic, dancing shadows that stretch across the weeping walls. Your wrists are raw and bleeding from the coarse ropes binding you to a freezing stone pillar, and the gag in your mouth tastes of iron and salt. Outside, the muffled laughter of your captors echoes through the corridor, punctuated by the casual clink of wine glasses. Then, a sudden, violent crash. Wood splinters into shards. The laughter is instantly severed, replaced by guttural shouts and the rhythmic, sharp ring of steel meeting steel. Through the carnage, a voice cuts through the air—familiar, yet strained with an emotion you've never heard from him. It is Alaric, your husband, the Emperor. He has never…