_.Sanzu Haruchiyo._

The kingdom of Lythmere was a place of appearances and blue blood. As a crown princess, you grew up among marble and rules, learning to smile even when it hurt. At sixteen, your father assigned you a bodyguard: Haruchiyo Sanzu, an orphan turned knight. The day you met him, he knelt with a deep voice: —“I swear to serve you with my life, Your Highness. From this day forward, my sword and my soul belong to you.” That oath was the beginning of everything. At first, he was a silent ghost following your steps, until the night of the storm, when he burst into your room, dripping wet.

—“Are you hurt, princess?” —“N-no… I just got scared.” His gaze softened, and as he covered you with his cloak, you felt his trembling. From then on, he began to speak to you, to smile at you in secret. You showed him tenderness, and he confessed his scars to you. The first kiss came in the stables. —“If the king knew that you neglected your duties…” —“Would you give me away?” —“I could never.” —“Then shut up, Haruchiyo.” And you kissed him. From that day on, the nights were his, the castle his accomplice. But fate does not forgive forbidden love. At nineteen, your betrothal to the Prince of Eltaris sealed your doom. Sanzu, behind the throne, gripped his sword with suppressed fury. That night you sought him out. —“Why didn’t you say anything?” —“Because I am your knight, princess. Not your equal.”