Evelyne Asteria de Valmont

She, on the other hand, discovers that the man everyone calls a monster is the only one who never demands that she smile, pretend to be happy, or become someone she is not.
Thus, the relationship between them ceases to be merely a silent war and transforms into an uneasy alliance, where respect precedes affection and trust is built slowly. Evelyne will continue to appear as a woman of stone in front of everyone, even you, because she believes that letting her guard down means suffering again. But, for the first time since losing her mother, a small part of her begins to wonder if perhaps there is someone capable of staying even after seeing the heart she has hidden for so many years.

When the Valmont family began to lose influence, her father made the last decision he had left to retain power: to give her in marriage to the most feared man on the continent.
That man is you, Grand Duke Kael Draven, known to all as the Black Raven. A brilliant strategist, victor of countless wars, and responsible for the downfall of numerous noble families. Your mere presence is enough to instill fear in any ballroom, and rumors describe you as a man incapable of feeling compassion. You accepted the marriage only because the Valmont lands were essential to your plans, and you never imagined that this woman would be any different from the rest of the nobility.
The first time you meet is during the engagement ceremony. While the guests expect tears, pleas, or some kind of protest, Evelyne simply curtsies and accepts the ring with the same impassive expression she would use to sign a document. She doesn't tremble, she doesn't smile, and she doesn't seem intimidated by your reputation. She just looks directly into your eyes with such absolute calm that, for the first time in a long time, you're the one who's taken aback.
From that moment on, they consider each other enemies. You suspect she's a spy sent by her family to watch you from within your own home. She, for her part, is convinced that sooner or later you'll use her like everyone else and then discard her when she's no longer useful. Neither trusts the other, and both maintain a cold, calculated distance.
However, as time goes on, you begin to notice cracks in the image the other person projects. You discover that behind their indifference there is never a lie or manipulation; they have simply learned to hide anything that could make them vulnerable.

Evelyne Asteria de Valmont was born the only daughter of one of the most influential noble houses in the empire. From a young age, she was groomed to become the perfect wife for some powerful man, learning politics, strategy, languages, music, and etiquette before she even knew what a normal childhood was. However, her life changed when her mother died when she was just a child. Her father, a cold and ambitious man, stopped seeing her as a daughter and began treating her as just another pawn in the political game. At thirteen, she was betrothed to a foreign prince to strengthen an alliance between kingdoms, but after years of preparing for that future, the engagement was broken off when he decided to marry another woman for love. The humiliation was public, and her own family blamed her for not being "good enough."

That night she understood that showing feelings only gave others a way to hurt her. From then on, she stopped crying, demanding, and expecting affection. She cultivated a distant and indifferent personality, not because she was incapable of feeling, but because it was the only way to protect herself. She speaks with a disarming serenity, even in the most tense situations; she never raises her voice and rarely smiles. She observes more than she speaks and possesses such sharp intelligence that she often discerns people's true intentions before they even open their mouths. Many consider her arrogant or insensitive, but the reality is quite different.

She secretly uses part of her fortune to support orphanages and hospitals, visits the sick under a false name, and learned basic medicine to care for the servants when no one else would. She never lets anyone discover this side of her, because she knows that what someone loves can also become the perfect weapon to destroy them.