"So, Captain Ezra, I heard you were on vacation in another kingdom," Alyce says as she takes a sip of her tea, her movements careful, practiced, like she had been taught to make even something as simple as drinking look graceful.

They all sat inside her gazebo in the middle of her garden, the air lighter there, shaded just enough to keep the warmth from becoming too much.

The chairs were cushioned, softer than what Ezra was used to, the kind that made it easy to sink into without realizing it.

Lior sat beside Alyce, close enough that their shoulders almost brushed, while Ezra sat across from them, his posture straight despite how comfortable everything else felt.

’She’s making small talk,’ Ezra notes immediately, watching the way Alyce holds her teacup, the way her tone stays light.

Alyce wasn’t getting straight to the point.

Even though they both already knew why Ezra was here in the first place.

It was odd.

Honestly.

Everything about Alyce right now was odd.

Or...

Maybe Ezra was being too sensitive.

Trying too hard to find something wrong, something out of place, something that would justify the unease sitting quietly in his chest.

Even though she had been nothing but kind.

Nothing but accommodating.

She even went out of her way to have special cookies shaped like animals made for Lior, neatly arranged on a small plate that Lior had already taken full advantage of.

’That’s not something someone with bad intentions would do...right?’ Ezra thought, his fingers resting lightly against the arm of his chair.

"Yes, I went to a neighboring kingdom. Not that far from here, actually," Ezra answers, keeping his tone neutral, careful, not offering more than what was asked.

He wasn’t comfortable saying where he went.

Not exactly.

Alyce smiles, her expression soft, almost pleased. "And I heard that’s where you met Lior, yes?"

"Uh huh!" Lior was the one to answer, his voice bright as he kept munching on his cookies, crumbs already gathering at the corner of his lips. "He saved me!"

Ezra resisted the urge to smile.

Just barely.

’Well done, Little one,’ he thought, his gaze flickering to Lior before he simply nodded in agreement, letting that answer stand.

"That’s noble of you," Alyce says, her voice lowering just slightly, more sincere now. "Many knights would just leave the child in an orphanage, but you chose to take care of him."

"I..." Ezra stops for a moment, the word catching before it fully forms.

He wasn’t expecting that.

"...saw a lot of myself in him."

The answer comes out quieter than intended.

More honest than he planned.

Alyce nods, her smile softening in a way that makes it seem like she understood without needing anything more.

Then—

Silence.

Not sudden.

Just something that settled in naturally.

Alyce drank her tea, her fingers steady around the cup.

Lior kept eating his cookies, completely unbothered, occasionally glancing between them like he was part of the conversation even when he wasn’t.

And Ezra...

Ezra just sat there.

He wasn’t much of a fan of tea.

Never really was.

And right now, he didn’t have the appetite to eat either.

So he stayed still, his hands resting where they were, his attention shifting without really focusing on anything.

’Why is it so awkward?’ Ezra thought, his gaze dropping briefly before lifting again.

Was it because of him?

Was he the one making it awkward?

Did Alyce feel it too?

He looks at her.

Really looks this time.

She was still smiling at Lior, her attention gentle, patient.

But there was something else there.

Something beneath it.

He could tell.

Alyce was thinking.

The kind of thinking that didn’t show on the surface unless you were looking for it.

Then she takes a deep breath.

It was subtle.

But not subtle enough.

Ezra catches it.

The slight pause before she sets her cup down.

The shift in her shoulders.

Finally, Alyce looks at him.

And when she speaks again, her tone changes.

More grounded.

More serious.

"Look, I don’t want to beat around the bush anymore."

’Oh,’ Ezra thought, blinking once. ’She’s actually admitting she was just beating around the bush?’

That was...

Unexpected.

And strangely honest.

"I know I can’t force Heli to love me," Alyce continues, her voice steady, but there was something fragile underneath it now, something she wasn’t fully hiding anymore, "but he committed."

Her fingers curl slightly against the edge of the table.

Not enough to draw attention.

But enough to notice.

"I’m scared he’s going to eventually break that commitment," she admits, her gaze not leaving Ezra’s, even if there was a flicker of uncertainty there now.

"So I want to be able to convince him to marry me this year," Alyce says finally.

"But, Princess, I already told you why he won’t marry you this year, right?" Ezra says calmly and gently, though there was a slight hesitation beneath it, like he was choosing each word more carefully than usual.

"Yes." Alyce nods, her gaze steady. "But can I be honest with you, Captain?"

"Of course, Your Highness."

"I don’t believe that reason at all." Alyce leans back in her seat, the movement slow, deliberate, and Ezra’s eyes widen just slightly at how direct she was. "Heli, I know, wants to be king first, but why?"

Wasn’t it obvious?

"What...do you mean?" Ezra asks, his brows pulling together faintly, though he already had a feeling where this was going.

"Why does he want to be king first?" Alyce continues, her voice calm but firm, not letting the question fade. "What does that have to do with marrying me?"

"I believe he wants you to be queen right away as soon as you marry him," Ezra answers, the response coming naturally, like it was something he had already convinced himself of long ago.

"Then why get engaged to me so early?" Alyce asks, not missing a beat.

Ezra pauses.

Just for a moment.

"I don’t think he expected that the king would take a long time to decide," Ezra answers again, but this time, it didn’t feel as steady.

And Alyce notices.

Of course she does.

She frowns, her brows knitting together slightly as she shifts in her seat.

"And that’s when he should’ve decided to marry me," Alyce says, her tone sharpening just a bit, the frustration finally slipping through. "Look, we are almost thirty, and a woman at that age has a hard time having children."

Her arms crossed over her chest, not defensively, but like she was holding herself together.

"My father is getting impatient, I’m getting impatient," she continues, her voice lowering slightly, but the weight behind it growing heavier. "A woman shouldn’t be engaged this long. What use is his honor and pride, if my own honor and pride are being tarnished?"

Ezra couldn’t speak.

Not immediately.

Because she had a point.

A strong one.

One he couldn’t just brush aside.

’...she’s right,’ Ezra thought, his jaw tightening slightly as he looked away for a brief second, the words settling in deeper than he wanted them to.

It was scary.

How similar she sounded to Kaelis.

Not in tone.

But in reasoning.

Every time Ezra tried to defend Helios—

There was always something.

Something factual.

Something he couldn’t argue against without sounding like he was just...making excuses.

"This is why I believe he doesn’t care about me as much as everyone believes," Alyce says, her voice dropping into something quieter now, almost fragile, like she didn’t want to hear herself say it out loud. "I have a feeling that if we don’t get married soon, all my waiting will be for nothing."

Ezra looks at her again.

Really looks.

And for once—

She didn’t look like a princess.

She looked like someone waiting for something that might never come.

"Why do you think that?" Ezra asks, his voice softer now, not defensive, not trying to correct her.

Just asking.

Alyce holds his gaze for a second.

Then answers.

"Because I think he’s going to divorce our engagement eventually."