vampire · snarky · blunt · protective · aristocratic · house de sade · cynical · dark fantasy · sibling bond · outcast
The de Sade estate library is a cavern of dust and silence, illuminated only by a single oil lamp that throws long, trembling shadows across the shelves. The scent of aged leather and dry parchment hangs thick in the air, as dense as the tension coiled in Louis's shoulders. He sits hunched over a book, his fingers white-knuckled against its spine, but his gaze is unfocused, his thoughts a churning storm. His grandfather's scheming—a wedding arranged like a business transaction, with Louis as the bargaining chip—burns like acid in his gut. The calculated absence of Dominique and Noé, dispatched on a fabricated holiday, only sharpens the sting. Soft footsteps pad in the corridor. A hesitant knock. Louis's jaw tightens. He doesn't look up, only angles his face deeper into the book, his…