That must have certainly startled him. I could feel it too.
He straightened his posture and briefly glanced over my shoulder toward the corridor where Landon had disappeared.
"Is he bothering you?" Claude asked.
A chill ran down my spine.
I kept my expression smooth. "Am I supposed to answer that?"
Claude studied me carefully.
I neither denied nor admitted it. I just let the question hang in the air.
Finally, he exhaled—a breath half intrigued, half irritated.
"You're a handful," he said. "The quiet kind."
"I've heard worse."
"Sure," he paused. "Hypothetically, if I allowed it, what exactly do you think you would gain?"
Time.
Walls.
Witnesses.
"Status," I said. "Safety, and leverage."
"And me?"
I met his eyes.
"Delayed death," I said honestly. "So this will be effective."
He smiled again. This time it wasn't a sneer.
It was a smile lost in thought.
"I won't promise marriage," Claude said. "But I won't deny the rumors either."
That was more than I had expected.
"Stay close," he added. "Let people gossip."
I nodded. "As you wish."
He stopped just before turning away.
"One more thing," he said without looking back. "If you're lying to me—"
"I'm not," I said.
He gave a faint smile. "Good. I don't like boredom."
Only after he left did I realize I had been holding my breath, and I exhaled.
This was not a victory.
It was a delay.
And in my world, delay meant everything.
Aisha and Claude had always been together since childhood.
They met at least once a week, often more, stealing time in the garden, library, quiet hallways.
It was less effort and more habit.
Their relationship had never been romantic.
Not from the beginning.
It was more like siblings.
Shared memories, unspoken understanding, intimacy that required no explanation.
Everyone knew.
So no one questioned it.
And Landon.
Landon was perfect.
His reputation was not exaggerated. It was carefully earned.
He was respected in the court and trusted by the king, welcomed wherever power gathered.
He moved seamlessly among nobles and generals, confident from never having been turned away in important places.
Danenel
was one of his closest allies.
They trained together, strategized together, fought side by side many times.
Even if there had been conflict between them, it was buried under years of camaraderie and shared victories, never surfacing.
Outside the kingdom, Landon's influence extended further.
Through trade routes and military agreements, he built strong ties in distant eastern regions unknown to most.
Connections with the Middle East brought wealth, intelligence, political influence—unmatched by anyone.
So the king listened.
So doors opened.
So people trusted him.
The Landon seen by all had everything a noble should: calm, generous, protective.
A presence that brought stability, not threat.
A man everyone proudly called brother, ally, or friend.
No one doubted him.
And precisely because of that, when the end came, no one would anticipate it.
Aisha.
Her hair was like mine, her gaze calm and familiar.
Claude recognized her immediately.
Recognition, comfort, intimacy.
It wasn't mine.
I hid.
My chest tightened.
Aisha's laughter flowed through the flowers, and Claude responded naturally with a smile. Too close. Too familiar.
She was the trigger.
The spark that would ignite the chain of death.
I clenched my fists.
I couldn't stop fate, but I could redirect it.
Keep Claude safe, hold him close.
Landon wasn't there.
Thank goodness.
He would have only complicated everything.
I lowered myself into the shadows.
Prepared.
Waited.
Aisha was already moving.
It was time to return home.
There he was.
Landon laughing with my brothers.
I didn't want to confront him.
I slipped into a room to avoid him.
Not even five minutes passed before someone knocked on the door.
It was Landon.
"These rumors don't sit right with me," he said.
"They're just rumors," I replied. "Nothing happened."
He pushed me against the wall. "I told you not to misbehave when I'm gone. Yet you did."
"I was only representing my family," I grit my teeth. "Father ordered it. You weren't here. I was just following instructions."
"How many times will you repeat that?" he snapped.
"I just want you to know I wasn't wrong."
He raised his hand.
But Liam stepped in.
He looked straight at us.
Landon pretended nothing happened, brushing my hair.
Liam was clearly unprepared for that.
When they left, Landon left a cold look, but I was safe.
I couldn't stay inside.
Landon's presence lingered like a storm cloud.
Expectations, control, pressure.
I needed air.
I needed silence.
A place where no one could see me tremble.
The Nemophila field was quiet, abandoned.
Moonlight poured over the blue flowers like liquid silver.
As soon as I reached the center, I sank onto the soft earth.
Pulled my knees to my chest, curling up, burying my head.
I thought of nothing, cared for nothing.
I just cried.
At first, I didn't notice him.
A light touch on my shoulder made me flinch.
I hurriedly wiped my face and looked up.
My heart raced wildly.
"Do you cry here often?
Or is today special?"
I froze.
The man standing in the shadows.
Tall, composed, hair the color of gold catching the moonlight.
Incredibly calm.
Amber eyes, a mix of interest and curiosity.
Claude.
My mind raced.
Why is he here?
How did he find me?
And why does my chest tighten just from looking at him?
"I could ask the same question," I said, trying to remain calm as I stood. I brushed the flowers off my cloak. "Why is the crown prince wandering the flower fields at night?"
He glanced at my face, briefly surprised.
"Maybe the scenery is nice,
Or maybe I wanted to see who's crying like a commoner."
My face burned, but I didn't step back.
"None of your business."
"Right," he took a step closer. "Once I choose, it becomes my concern."
My disguise tightened, but I held my ground.
I hadn't come for attention.
I came to observe, survive, calculate.
"I can see how people die," I said suddenly. Not a warning, not a plea. A shield. "Including you. I could stop it if I wanted… or just let it happen."
He tilted his head.
His gaze looked briefly sad.
"You can see death, yet you're hiding here crying in a flower field?"
"Interesting."
"This place is quiet," I said shortly. "Unlike everything else."
He looked at me.
Amber eyes sharp, unreadable.
"What do you intend to do with that knowledge?"
I turned my head.
The flowers blurred in the moonlight.
"Survive.
Influence.
Prevent wrongs from happening."
"That's all."
He nodded slowly.
For the first time, he seemed to truly consider me.
And with the faintest smile, he stepped back.
"Then," he said lightly, "if you're going to sulk here among the flowers, your privacy will be respected.
But don't stay too long."
Then he turned.
Tall, composed, slipping quietly into the shadows as he had arrived.
I remained in place for a long while.
Silence settled.
My chest still tight, but finally
I was alone.