The fight had ended, but the silence afterward was even worse.

Austin stood by the window of his room with his back to her. His shoulders were tense, carrying the weight of the duchy, his hidden sister, the coming inquiry, and now Alina’s secret too.

Alina sat on the edge of the bed, twisting her fingers in her lap. She wanted to go to him, to hold him and apologize properly, but she knew she had lost the right to stand on moral ground tonight.

They stayed like that for several minutes. Alina was sure Austin won’t talk to her. Finally, Austin turned around.

His anger was gone now, leaving only exhaustion in its place. He crossed the room and sat at the foot of the bed, facing her.

"I understand why you did it," he said.

Alina looked up, surprised by the gentleness in his voice.

"I understand the women in the pact," he continued. "Your cause is noble and I have no problem with it. But the secrecy... that I don’t understand."

He shook his head.

"I was afraid of your reaction and decision," she finally said.

He nodded.

"I might have said no to the timing but not to the cause," he looked at her with tired eyes. "I’m scared for you, Alina. Every problem keeps stacking on top of the next one until I can barely see where the ground is anymore."

Alina lowered her gaze.

"You’re not a messiah," he said gently. "You’re exhausted. You’ve lost weight and you barely sleep. It’s not your responsibilities to save everyone."

Her throat tightened. Austin reached for her hand carefully, like he was afraid she might pull away.

"I need you to take a step back from the pact from now," he said.

Austin was right, she knew it. But making that decision was hard for her. She sat quietly for a long moment before finally nodding.

"I’ll pause," she said at last. "But only a pause. I will not stop."

"Agreed."

She closed her eyes, then moved closer and wrapped her arms around him. The embrace was full of too many things to say aloud:

I’m sorry. I understand. I hate this. I love you.

He held her back just as tightly, his arms telling her the same things in return.

The next morning, Maren entered Austin’s study without knocking.

"The king has responded," Maren said. "The king wants you both in front of him in two days."

"Two days?" Alina was shocked.

Maren nodded.

"The revelation of your royal heritage has accelerated the timeline."

"We knew this was coming," Austin said, as he held her hand to calm her.

"But..."

"Don’t worry. We’ll proceed according to the plan,"

Alina nodded but she was still scared.

In the evening, Alina went to the east wing alone. Austin was busy with Maren, handling final preparations for the journey to the capital.

Cecily sat at her window, watching the garden below. She turned and took one look at Alina’s face and sighed.

"You’ve been crying," Cecily said.

"I haven’t.

"Your eyes are swollen and your nose is red," Cecily tilted her head. "At least lie convincingly."

Alina sat on the sofa and smiled despite everything,

"Austin and I had a fight."

"About what?"

"I kept something very important from him a secret and he found out,"

Cecily moved to the sofa and sat beside her,

"What did he say when he found out?"

"He was furious. He dragged me out of the sewing circle in front of everyone."

"He dragged you?"

"He grabbed my arm and walked me back to his room while everyone watched."

"That sounds like Austin at his absolute worst," she commented.

"It was," she agreed. "And the worst part is...he was right."

She then told her everything. Cecily didn’t rush to reply. She listened to her quietly without interrupting her.

"Did you work it out?" she asked eventually.

"Somewhat," she replied. "I agreed to step back from the network until the inquiry ends."

Cecily then took Alina’s hand,

"Can I tell you something about Austin?" she asked.

"You always tell me things about Austin."

"But this one is important," she said. "His anger isn’t rage. It’s terror. Austin doesn’t get angry when he’s... just angry. He gets angry when he’s terrified."

Alina looked at her, her eyes stinging again.

"I know."

"His love can be ugly when he is scared. The ugliness isn’t an excuse but rather an explanation," Cecily said. "He needs to learn to love properly. You’re teaching him. But it will take time."

Alina closed her eyes, letting the words sink in.

"Fight with him not around him."

Alina nodded, smiling through tears.

"That’s what I tell him every time he visits too." Cecily smiled. "I know you’re both brilliant when you’re alone. But together? You’re unstoppable. You prefer to handle things alone because it feels like control, and control feels like safety. But safety is the addiction you both need to break."

Alina let out a small laugh.

"You should write a book."

"I’ve thought about it. I’ve already lot of material. And I have also have thought of a title: The Duke’s Bed Warmer: A Study in Mutual Stubbornness."

Alina burst out laughing this time.

"Thank you," Alina said.

"For what?"

"For being the only place in this castle where I can cry, laugh, be wrong, be forgiven, and hear the truth."

Cecily leaned her head against Alina’s. For a moment, neither of them spoke.

"You know," Cecily murmured after a while, "when Austin first brought you in the castle, I thought he’d leave you within a month."

Alina laughed.

"Honestly, so did I."

"You were terrifying."

"I was angry."

"Exactly," Cecily smiled faintly. "You talked back too much, making everyone your enemy. I used to see from the window."

"I was just trying to survive."

Cecily nodded.

"But look at you now," Cecily said. "Running sewing circles, building secret networks, and making my emotionally constipated brother talk about feelings."

Alina laughed again.

"The last one nearly killed me."

"It nearly killed him too."

The humor slowly faded.

"You don’t have to hold everything alone all the time, Alina."

"I know. I just... don’t always know how to stop."

"Then maybe you both can teach each other."