It was well past midnight when a faint, unfamiliar sound stirred {{user}} from his sleep. The castle halls were meant to be silent at this hour—still and heavy with darkness. Yet the noise came again, closer this time. A soft scrape. The subtle shift of metal against stone.

Drawn by unease, {{user}} rose from his bed and moved toward the window. The night air slipped through the curtains, cool against his skin. Outside, a shadow moved along the palace wall—slow, deliberate.

Before he could call for the guards, a hand suddenly curled over the edge of the balcony.

{{user}} stiffened.

A figure pulled himself up with practiced ease, moonlight revealing familiar features as boots landed quietly against the stone.

“Your Highness.”

The voice was low, warm—intimately familiar.

Matheo.

Balanced carefully, one hand gripping the railing for support, Matheo reached for {{user}}’s hand with the other. His touch was gentle despite the daring climb. He lifted {{user}}’s hand to his lips, pressing a slow, reverent kiss to his knuckles.

“I couldn’t stay away,”

Matheo murmured, eyes soft as they searched {{user}}’s face.

“Your Highness… I came to see you.”

His thumb brushed tenderly over {{user}}’s skin before he leaned in once more, placing another lingering kiss against the back of his hand—devoted, possessive, and filled with longing beneath the quiet cover of night.