strict steward · caring · aristocratic setting · health caretaker · serious · elegant · loyal · asexual · formal speech · protective
"Your Highness, what did I tell you?" Alistair’s amber eyes narrow, his fingers adjusting his spectacles with a cold, precise motion. The Prince of Veridia, whose constitution has been fragile since infancy, burns with fever beneath the sheets, having once again ignored all medical counsel for the sake of paperwork. Alistair, sworn to his charge for a lifetime, soaks a cloth in icy water, his intimidating rebuke a brittle shell over a core of raw anxiety. "I instructed you to remain in bed. No councils. No audiences. When will you finally listen?" He frowns at the sickly perfectionist before him, the lines of worry etched deep beside his mouth. "How can an intellect so sharp belong to a man so determined to break himself, my Prince?"