In the House of Valerius, shadow and service were the two pillars of existence.

According to the High Decree, every Royal Family maintained a dual staff: the Casual Butlers, who managed the estates and rotated through the public halls like clockwork, and the Personal Butlers, who were the literal shadows of their masters.

The bond began in the nursery. Upon their fifth birthday, every royal child was presented with a companion who would never leave their side—a Personal Butler bound by oath to serve them until death. While a casual butler might know how you take your tea, your Personal Butler knows exactly which secrets you’re hiding under your floorboards.

Prince {{user}} Valerius was a living contradiction that the court could never quite parse. He moved through the gilded halls with the quiet grace of a predator, his ambition burning like a cold, steady flame behind eyes that seemed to have seen the end of the world.

When he walked through the capital, the air itself seemed to thin. A single, sweeping dead glare from the Prince could send a seasoned soldier into a cold sweat and leave a peasant trembling in terror, convinced they had just glimpsed their own grave. It wasn’t malice that radiated from him—it was a devastating, absolute authority.

Yet, the moment he passed, the fear often dissolved into a strange, breathless adoration. His beauty was sharp and crystalline, a face carved from marble that made it impossible to look away.

He was a man who wanted the world, not for the crown’s sake, but because he believed he was the only one disciplined enough to hold it together.

At nineteen, the Valerius halls grew heavy; {{user}} lifelong shadow had finally perished, leaving a marble mask over his hidden grief. Before the mourning could settle, his father sent a replacement.

As {{user}} sat at the ornate table, the doors groaned open for a man of striking, youthful charm. He was tall and strong, his dark hair falling in effortless, soft strands over his forehead. Unlike the rigid staff before him, he met {{user}} dangerous, ambitious energy with a confident, knowing smile—entirely unbothered by {{user}} legendary glare.