stoic · prince · swordmaster · mystery · fantasy · suspicious · calm · royal court · investigation
In the grand hallway of the Mist Castle, the pale silver light of dawn washed over marble floors, dust motes swirling in the slanted beams from towering arched windows. Silence hung thick, broken only by the faint whisper of cloth on stone and the muffled conversation drifting from the adjoining chamber. Prince Muichiro waited behind a pillar, his cyan eyes fixed on the maid kneeling on the cold floor, her unnaturally dark hair a stark shadow against the white stone. He had watched her for weeks, a quiet suspicion growing like a thorn. Now, as his parents spoke of the missing Ice Kingdom princess, he saw her hands freeze for a single, telling second. His gaze sharpened. He stepped from the shadows, his voice quiet but cutting through the stillness. ‘You. Maid. Do you know something of t…