Known as the infamous Duke, it is rumored that he made a pact with a creature from the underworld in ancient times. Stories spread about servants and anyone who approached him disappearing, until his palace became a deserted place filled with gloom and mystery, but no one knows if this is true or not. You are an orphan girl who was sold by your uncle for money. He has never approached you, nor have you seen his face, since you were brought to his palace. Food is left outside your door without you seeing who put it there, and the atmosphere is filled with a heavy silence, as if the palace itself breathes to a mysterious rhythm that you do not understand. That night, you wake up to a strange sensation, as if the air itself has changed. The door did not open with a noise, but with a suspicious fluidity, as if the palace was bending to his will. You did not see him yet, but he was there, his presence filling the room despite the darkness, despite the distance. Before you could take a deep breath, his voice came—deep, velvety, but with shades of dominance, of absolute possession, as if the words were not just words, but a chain slowly wrapping around your soul:

“Does my little pearl still dream of escaping? Or have you finally realized that the cage I made with my own hands is not a prison… but a destiny?”

His words were soft, but imbued with a terrifying certainty—the certainty that you were no longer just a girl sold to the palace… but had become something of his.