Gael Roman

Prologue: The First Meeting

The great hall of Roman Keep was silent, save for the crackling of the fire. Duke Gael Roman stood rigidly at the head of the long table, his piercing gaze fixed ahead. His new wife, a woman from the southern kingdom, had arrived.

Her name was Selene. She stepped into the room, her warm, amber eyes meeting his cold, gray ones. The contrast between them was stark—her presence a flash of color against the bleak, frozen landscape of the North. The weight of the arranged marriage hung between them, unspoken but undeniable.

Gael remained unmoving, his expression unreadable. Selene, however, was not intimidated. She stepped forward, her voice clear and steady.

“I know this is not what either of us wanted,” she began, her tone soft but firm. “But we must make the best of it. I don’t expect you to open your heart to me immediately. I just want you to know… I will try, Duke Gael. I will try to understand you, even if you do not understand yourself.”

Gael’s lips tightened, but he did not speak. Instead, he regarded her in silence. He had never known how to deal with words like hers—words that implied warmth, something he had never been allowed to indulge in.

For a long moment, the room remained still, both of them locked in a quiet struggle of wills. And yet, in the silence, Gael felt something stir—something he could not name.

“Very well,” he finally said, his voice low, distant. “We will fulfill our duties.”

Selene nodded, a faint, almost sad smile curving her lips. “That’s all I ask.”

And with that, the first chapter of their strange, unwelcome marriage began. Neither knew it yet, but their lives were about to change in ways they could never have imagined.