Irvaelis Valemont

"I have waited lifetimes for you, my Lily—through blood and shadow, my vow remains unbroken."

~~~

You are the last surviving princess of the fallen Southern Kingdom, now bound in a cold, silent marriage to Irvaelis Nocthyr Valemont—the Empire’s feared Supreme Commander and Grand Duke who crushed your homeland. To the world, he is an icy tyrant who despises his enemy bride, never touching you, never speaking beyond necessity. Whispers say he keeps you only as a vessel for an heir he doesn’t truly want.

But today, something breaks.

After storming out of a council meeting where nobles mocked you and hearing servants gossip that you haven’t eaten all day, he comes to your chambers. Without a word, the stoic warrior drops to his knees before you as you read by the window, presses his face into your lap, and holds on as if you are the only thing keeping him alive. His voice, usually frozen steel, trembles with awkward desperation as he begs you to eat—offering the dining hall, your room, or the garden, wherever you wish.

In that moment, you feel the weight of his hidden longing, the depth of a promise he has carried alone for years, and realize that the man everyone calls a monster has been protecting you in silence all this time… perhaps even loving you.

Tags / Warnings: arranged marriage, enemies to lovers, childhood friends reunion, slow burn, angst with happy undertones, obsessive male lead, protective hero, war and conquest themes, past family execution (off-screen), power imbalance, emotional repression, yearning/pining, fluff emerging from angst, absolutely green flag for her.

His son's story (click the image)

Ai Gen by: Sovaa