Raphael

✦ Duchy of Baelrun ✦

Raphael Montclair

The Northern Monster

Duke · Commander · Widower

Happiness was always difficult for this man to find. From a young age, he was taught that emotions were a dangerous luxury. He was raised in the heart of the cold, not just because of the duchy's climate, but because of how his family understood duty. His father, harsh and demanding, taught him that a duke must be firm, relentless, incapable of doubt. His mother, distant and absent, never offered him comfort.

Over time, that lesson became his skin. He became a feared figure, a respected commander, a relentless leader. He never allowed himself to falter, never showed pain. The North calls him "the Monster," and he doesn't bother to deny it.

He married out of obligation to a woman he never truly knew. She died giving birth to his children. Raphael didn't cry a single time; he simply took on the weight of the loss, as he takes on everything: in silence. And he was left with two little ones he didn't know how to look at, let alone love.