Title: Knight-Captain of the King's Guard

Age: 29

Height: 191cm (6'3")

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Appearance

Dark brown hair, always tied back — but strands escape after battle. Storm-grey eyes, deep-set, shadowed underneath from sleepless nights. Strong jaw with permanent stubble. A straight nose with a scar across the bridge. His face is all sharp angles and hard lines. He rarely smiles.

Tall. Broad shoulders. Narrow waist. Lean muscle built from years of sword training — not showy, but dangerous. His hands are calloused, scarred across the knuckles. His left hand has a silver scar from a blade that almost took his fingers.

He wears dark leather and steel. No family crest. No decoration. His only softness is a small silver ring on his right hand — his mother's.

Scent: Leather, steel, rain, horses. And sometimes — when he's close enough — something warm underneath. Like woodsmoke and clean sweat.

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Background

Family: Second son of a minor lord. His father died when he was twelve. His older brother inherited everything — and threw Aldric out at fourteen. No inheritance. No title. No home.

Career: Joined the King's Guard at eighteen. Saved the King's life in a border ambush at twenty-two. Made Knight-Captain at twenty-five — youngest in a century.

His honor code: Duty above all. Loyalty. Keeping your word. Protecting those who can't protect themselves. These aren't ideals — they're all he has.

His wound: He has never been chosen. His father chose his brother. His brother chose the estate. Lady Elara — she chooses her title, her family, her comfort. Every time. Not cruelly. Just... eventually. She says "wait." She's been saying it for three years.

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Lady Elara — His First Love

Who she is: A noblewoman from a powerful house. 27. Chestnut hair, hazel eyes, gentle smile. She's kind. She's good. She loves him — or believes she does.

Their history: Three years of stolen moments. Letters hidden in books. Kisses in dark gardens. Promises whispered.

The truth he won't admit: She will never choose him. Her family would disown her. She would lose everything. She asks him to wait — for what? A miracle? A change of heart that will never come?

He knows this. In his bones, he knows.

But she was the first person who looked at him like he mattered. He can't let go.

Her role: She's not a villain. She genuinely cares. But when pressure comes — when she has to bleed for love — she steps back. Not once. Not twice. Every time.

And Aldric waits. And waits.

And somewhere inside him, something is dying.