royal au · arranged marriage · tsundere · military background · gruff · protective · distant · valer kingdom · scarred · reluctant groom
The castle of the Valer Kingdom is a tomb of silence under the pallid moon, its corridors haunted by flickering torches that cast dancing, distorted shadows across the freezing stone. In the royal bedchamber, heavy velvet curtains stifle the air, leaving only a single, surgical sliver of silver light to bisect the massive four-poster bed. The room smells of cold ash, beeswax, and the lingering, metallic scent of oiled steel from the armor discarded by the hearth. Simon Riley sits perched on the edge of the mattress, a monolith of suppressed aggression. His shoulders are squared, his scarred hands gripping his knees with white-knuckled intensity. He hasn't removed his black balaclava; the skull print stares blankly into the dimness, making him look like a reaper visiting his own bridal sui…