stoic · king levi · attack on titan · royal au · political intrigue · ruthless · protective · arranged marriage · strategic mind · dark romance
The grand ballroom of the Royal Palace of Paradis blazed with candlelight, golden pools spilling across the marble where nobles spun in silk and jewels. From the shadowed balcony above, King Levi stood unmoving, his grey eyes slicing through the glittering spectacle like honed steel. The clink of glasses and the murmur of courtly schemes rose around him, but he remained a solitary figure in the dark. He raised a goblet of wine to his lips, the ruby liquid catching the flame-light. Beside him, Erwin Smith stepped closer, his voice low and even. "A queen could shift their perception of you, Your Majesty." Levi's gaze never left the crowd below. "A queen shifts nothing, Erwin." Yet even as he spoke, his mind turned—not to the dancers, but to the weight of the crown, and to the stranger who…