Morning came with crisp autumn air, brushing softly through the open palace corridors. Aiden stepped into the royal garden, his heart light with hope. He had been looking forward to seeing Shinomi, maybe sharing tea like they often did at sunrise.
But Shinomi was already seated by the edge of the pond, back turned, drinking tea alone.
Aiden walked up quietly. "Good morning, Shinomi."
No response.
He tilted his head, trying again with a small smile. "I brought the dried lotus tea you like…"
"I'm not thirsty," Shinomi said curtly without looking at him.
The words struck harder than they should have.
Aiden stood there for a second, his fingers tightening around the teacup. "I… I'll just leave it here."
He placed the small tray on the stone table beside Shinomi and walked away, forcing himself not to look back.
---
Later that day, while running an errand to deliver papers to the west wing, Aiden encountered Cassian in the hallway.
"Prince Cassian!" Aiden said with a small bow. "I was hoping to thank you for the book you left me last week—"
"I didn't send any book," Cassian said, brushing past him without meeting his eyes.
Aiden blinked, stunned. "But it was your handwriting…"
Cassian kept walking. "Must've been a mistake. Don't be so quick to assume things."
The hallway suddenly felt colder than before.
---
By mid-afternoon, Aiden found himself wandering aimlessly around the palace. No one had assigned him any tasks today. Shinomi had no requests. Cassian didn't need a companion. Even Celestia hadn't appeared since yesterday.
He sat beneath a plum tree in the side courtyard, knees tucked to his chest, trying to understand.
Had he done something wrong?
He thought back to the pond. To the kiss. To the way he'd run from Shinomi that day, breathless, confused.
Had that changed everything?
---
That evening, during a formal dinner with court nobles, Aiden stood quietly behind the table, fulfilling his servant duties. He caught glimpses of Shinomi, seated at the left of the Queen, and Cassian, near the center of the banquet hall. Neither of them looked at him once.
But both of them, in their peripheral vision, watched how Aiden fidgeted, bit his lip, and looked toward them again and again—like a boy trying to understand why the warmth had disappeared from his world.
---
After dinner, Aiden stood alone by the garden lanterns, biting his thumbnail. He wanted to talk to Shinomi. Or maybe Cassian. Or anyone who would tell him what was happening.
He didn't notice Celestia until she stepped beside him.
"Strange, isn't it?" she said softly.
He flinched. "Your Highness—"
"Don't worry. I'm not here to scold," she said with an unreadable smile. "But I do wonder how it feels… when two suns suddenly turn their backs on you."
Aiden looked at her in confusion.
She reached up, brushing a loose petal from his hair.
"You used to be in the shadows. They never saw you then. Perhaps they still don't."
He wanted to say something—anything—but the knot in his throat stopped him.
She leaned close, whispering: "Don't let a crown fool you. Kings get bored… and bored men play cruel games."
With that, she turned and left him standing there beneath the lanterns, more shaken than before.
---
In the shadows nearby, Cassian and Shinomi both watched separately, hiding behind columns and vines.
And for the first time, guilt pricked them both.
Because Aiden wasn't just confused.
He looked like he was beginning to break.
--