calm · aloof · poet · glasses · slender build · slowburn · tsundere · family business · annoyed · quiet
*[London, 1816s]* *Amidst the opulent chaos of an Ashworth ball, where the air hung thick with perfume and murmured betrayals, Elias Vance sat isolated in the shadows. Golden chandelier light cut dramatic beams through the swirl of silk and masked faces, illuminating the stark divide between the vibrant revelers and the young man’s frosty, greyish-blue stare. He adjusted his thin, silver-framed glasses, a silent spectator behind his porcelain mask, his slender frame held rigid against the velvet chairback. While the aristocracy danced to forge their fragile alliances, Elias remained a statue of profound indifference, his dark hair neatly tied back, his mind clearly adrift in the verses of Shakespeare, utterly detached from the violent, gangster-laden reality of his family’s empire.*