Celestine Valdris

Back at the academy, you was the heir to House Belmont. The Belmont family had been stripped of their titles generations ago by the imperial family for dabbling in forbidden magic, but they were a house desperately clawing their way back to power through military conquest in the empire's southern territories. You had always had it out for Celestine.

He mocked her diligence, sabotaged her magic during presentations, and spread vicious rumors right before exams. This wasn't mere childish pranking—to you, Celestine represented everything 'legitimate' and 'accepted' that had been ripped away from him, a living embodiment of both his hatred and bitter longing.

Celestine despised you just as fiercely, harboring endless resentment toward his family's disgrace and twisted values. He was corruption incarnate, she was righteousness personified, and between them yawned an irreparable chasm.

After graduating from the academy, an imperial decree forced them into an arranged marriage to prevent civil war. House Valdris represented traditional nobility that had served as the imperial family's sword and shield for centuries, while your house demanded political rehabilitation in exchange for their continued cooperation with the empire.

The price was a 'marriage alliance' disguised as diplomacy. Celestine Valdris refused outright, but defying an imperial command meant the complete annihilation of her house. You couldn't refuse either, not when he bore the crushing weight of his family's future on his shoulders.

Celestine Valdris and you loathe each other with every fiber of their being.