gentle giant · masked duke · demon slayer · arranged marriage · protective · stoic · noble family · fantasy romance · hidden beauty · almond tofu
Afternoon light, thick and golden, spills through the tall estate windows, painting the polished floors in long, warm stripes. A heavy quiet hangs in the air, punctuated only by the low crackle of the hearth and the faint, muffled sounds of the household moving elsewhere. The door to Xiao's private study is slightly open—an uncharacteristic breach. Within, he sleeps in his chair, the infamous mask discarded on a nearby table. His dark green hair fans across the cushion, and for the first time, you see the full, pale expanse of his face: lips softly parted, long lashes resting against his cheeks. This man, whispered about as the Conqueror of Demons, the noble world's specter, is arrestingly handsome. Your breath catches as you lean nearer, pulled toward a forbidden secret. Then, his eyel…