Morning in the palace was rarely quiet, but that day the silence felt rehearsed.
The corridors whispered instead of echoing. Maids walked faster, eyes lowered. Even the banners above the courtyard fluttered too softly, as if afraid to draw notice.
Prince Felix stood by his chamber window, his reflection pale in the glass.
Behind him, Hyunjin fastened his uniform belt.
Hyunjin: "You've been staring out there for an hour."
Felix: "It's strange. The garden feels different."
Hyunjin: "Different?"
Felix: "Like someone trimmed the roses just to make them bleed."
Hyunjin crossed to him, resting a hand on his shoulder. "You barely slept."
Felix turned. "Neither did you."
They exchanged a small, tired smile — one of those quiet ones that said we survived the night.
Hyunjin: "Whatever it is, we'll face it together."
Felix: "That's what worries me. Together is what they'll question."
Before Hyunjin could reply, a knock came — sharp, official.
Knight Eren: "Your Highness, the Queen requests your presence. Immediately."
Felix's voice was calm, but his pulse wasn't. "Just me?"
Eren: "Yes, sire. The other prince is to remain here."
The door shut, and the silence returned heavier than before.
Hyunjin stepped close, eyes dark. "Be careful what you say."
Felix gave a humorless laugh. "That's becoming my whole life lately."
They didn't hug — the walls had ears — but their fingers brushed briefly as Felix passed him. That was enough to feel the promise still alive between them.
---
The Queen's Chamber
Queen Elara sat by the tall window, the same one that caught the moonlight hours earlier. Now the sun struck her crown, turning it into a cruel halo.
Felix bowed. "Mother."
Elara: "Sit."
He obeyed. Her tone wasn't cold — it was measured, deliberate.
Elara: "Tell me the truth, Felix. Are the whispers true?"
Felix: "Whispers?"
Elara: "Don't insult me. You know which ones."
He met her gaze. "If they say I've disobeyed you, no. If they say I've loved wrongly…"
She flinched. "Then it is true."
Felix looked down at his hands. "I don't know what wrong love means anymore."
The Queen rose, the sound of her gown loud in the stillness.
Elara: "You are a prince, not a poet. The court watches every breath you take."
Felix: "Then let them choke on it."
Her voice sharpened. "Enough!"
Silence snapped like glass between them.
After a long pause, she spoke more softly.
Elara: "Lady Soprano came to me last night."
Felix: "I thought as much."
Elara: "She says you've bound yourself to Hyunjin in ways the council would call… unnatural."
He looked up. "And what do you call it?"
The Queen hesitated. "Dangerous."
Felix rose slowly. "Love isn't a weapon, Mother."
Elara: "In this palace, everything is."
They faced each other — mother and son, two halves of the same steel.
She whispered, "I want to protect you. But I cannot if the King learns first."
Felix: "Then protect the truth, not the throne."
He turned toward the door, voice steady. "If loving him is rebellion, then I suppose I was born to rebel."
Before he left, he added quietly, "You taught me that honesty is royal. I only remembered."
---
Elsewhere, in the East Wing
Lady Soprano stood with the King's adviser, pretending to admire a tapestry.
Soprano: "The Queen is troubled. That's always the beginning of order."
Adviser: "Did she believe you?"
Soprano: "Belief isn't required. Doubt is enough."
A servant approached and whispered that the King would see her soon.
She smiled faintly. "Then the rumor will have its crown."
---
Felix's Return
When Felix re-entered the shared room, Hyunjin rose instantly.
Hyunjin: "Well?"
Felix exhaled. "She knows."
Hyunjin stepped closer. "And?"
Felix: "She's afraid. Not of us — of what we make her remember."
Hyunjin brushed a lock of hair from Felix's face. "Then we stay careful."
Felix shook his head. "Careful won't be enough anymore."
They heard footsteps in the corridor — too heavy, too certain. Both froze.
The door opened. Two guards bowed.
Guard: "By royal order, Prince Hyunjin is to remain confined until further notice."
Felix moved instinctively in front of him. "On whose command?"
Guard: "The King's."
A long, still moment.
Hyunjin's hand brushed Felix's back, urging calm.
Hyunjin: "It's all right. Don't make this harder."
Felix: "Harder? You're being punished for standing beside me!"
Hyunjin smiled faintly. "Then at least it means I stood where I should."
The guards waited. Felix finally stepped aside, jaw tight, eyes burning.
When Hyunjin reached the door, he turned once more. "We'll find a way out of this."
Felix whispered, "I'll burn the way out if I have to."
The door closed between them.
---
Nightfall again
In her chamber, the Queen watched the garden. From above, it looked peaceful — but she knew peace was only the pause between storms.
She remembered Lady Soprano's words: Choose what silence protects.
Her hands trembled as she opened her writing desk. She began a letter, the ink bleeding faintly into the parchment.
> To the King — I beg you to remember mercy, for even a crown cannot command the heart.
Behind her, the candle flickered once, and the shadow at her door shifted.
Lady Soprano's voice, soft as lace:
"Mercy, Your Majesty? Or delay?"
Elara didn't turn. "You again."
Soprano entered, uninvited. "The King knows now. You should have acted faster."
The Queen closed her eyes. "What have you done?"
"Only repeated what was already whispered."
She smiled. "You taught me that silence is a weapon too."
In his guarded room, Hyunjin knelt by the window, hearing the distant bell that marked the evening watch.
Across the courtyard, he saw Felix on the balcony, candle in hand — a single small light against the dark.
They couldn't speak, but they both lifted their hands — slow, deliberate, a silent vow between windows.
Below, unseen, Lady Soprano watched from the shadows of the courtyard garden, her smile calm and unreadable.
Lady Soprano (softly): "Even velvet chains can strangle kings."