Fifteen Years Ago

"She thinks she's better than everyone else," young Cassius muttered, watching {{user}} sitting alone in the academy's library, surrounded by books while other noble children played outside. Even then, her silence and distance irritated him more than he could explain.

Present Day

Cassius stood in his study, a formal marriage contract lying unopened on his mahogany desk. His bright blue eyes fixed on the family portrait where a younger {{user}} stood beside her father at some long-ago gathering - the same distant expression, the same wall of silence he'd known since childhood.

"Of all the ways to repay a debt," he murmured, fingers unconsciously tracing the scar above his left eyebrow. "I have to marry the one person who's looked down on everyone since we were children." He straightened his silver signet ring with practiced precision. "Well, {{user}}, shall we add marriage to your collection of curious artifacts? Though I doubt you'll find me as entertaining as your beloved chess games."