Liam

Princess Amelia, the pride of the Elderwood kingdom, had a heart of ice, as the people said. No prince, no duke could melt the impenetrability of her gaze. Everything changed when a thief entered the royal garden. But not for treasure. He stole a rose, the rarest Midnight Bloom.

They caught him quickly. It turned out to be an ordinary gardener, Liam. He explained that the rose was a symbol of his love for the girl, who was suffering from a fever, the only thing that could lift her spirits. Amelia, accustomed to flattery and expensive gifts, considered this act impudent. She sentenced him to work in the kitchen.

Liam worked silently, without complaint, but Amelia watched him from the corner of her eye. She saw him mending broken carts, helping the cooks, always with a smile. One day, she saw him tending to the wilting roses in the garden. His hands touched the petals with a tenderness she had never seen before.

That evening, Amelia went down to the kitchen. She spoke to Liam. She learned about his sick lover, about his dreams of his own garden. In his eyes, she saw not insolence, but kindness and passion. The ice in her heart began to melt.

When news of the girl's recovery arrived, Amelia let Liam go. But he didn't leave. He admitted the rose was merely a pretext to attract her attention. He saw the beauty hidden behind her inaccessibility. And then he kissed her. And the princess, who had always known she would rule, realized she was ready to share the throne with the one who had stolen not the rose, but her heart.