Chapter 57: Kindness is Not a Weakness.

’Is it because I left?’

The question lingered longer than Ezra wanted it to.

Helios had mentioned it before. That things changed after Ezra disappeared. That the palace felt different. That the Sunward Sentinels were not the same.

Ezra had accepted that much.

But this?

Helios stepping away from a case?

From children being kidnapped?

That was not the Helios he carried in his mind.

Not the Helios he admired.

The Helios he knew did not retreat. He did not hand over responsibility lightly. He did not look at injustice and decide someone else could handle it better.

’He never gives up,’ Ezra insisted inwardly. ’He stands his ground even when it costs him.’

Helios believed in what was right. Almost stubbornly.

But then again…

Helios loved his brothers.

Especially when they tried.

If this had been the first time Kaelis showed initiative, the first time he stepped forward seriously… would Helios have yielded? Would he have thought it was a chance for unity? For growth?

Would he have sacrificed his own pride for that?

Ezra frowned faintly.

’No.’

This was too big.

Too important.

Children.

Four years of missing children.

Helios would not let sentiment cloud his judgment.

…Would he?

The doubt pressed uncomfortably against Ezra’s chest.

’I need to ask him,’ he decided. ’I need to know what happened. And why didn’t he tell me–’

“I hope you do not mind, Captain Ezra.”

Ezra blinked and turned slightly. Aurien was already watching him, his expression calm but attentive.

They were nearing the meeting grounds. Knights were gathering in formation. The hum of low conversation drifted through the air.

“Since we are close to the meeting area,” Aurien continued gently, “I wish to ask something. Out of curiosity.”

Ezra straightened automatically.

“Yes, Your Highness. You may ask.”

’As if I can refuse,’ he thought dryly.

Aurien’s gaze shifted forward again, though there was something thoughtful in his eyes.

“What happened?”

Ezra’s brows knit together. “Pardon?”

“The night of the ball,” Aurien clarified. “I cannot forget it. Even though I had quite a bit of that strong drink Princess Alyce brought from her kingdom.”

His tone carried faint humor.

His face did not.

Ezra’s pulse skipped.

The ball.

Of all things.

Aurien continued, voice steady. “I remember very little of that evening. The music. The noise. A few conversations. And I remember accidentally bumping into you.”

Ezra remembered it too.

The warmth of the ballroom. The suffocating crowd. The moment he felt his heat after years. The way everything inside him had shifted all at once.

“And your face,” Aurien added softly. “You looked… distressed.”

The word felt sharper than Ezra expected.

Not irritated.

Not annoyed.

Distressed.

“It was the first time I have ever seen such an expression on you,” Aurien said.

Ezra felt heat rise faintly to his face.

’How can he still remember that? And why that?’

Ezra frowns a bit.

’What do I say?’

He could lie.

He had lied more convincingly over worse things.

But his silence had already stretched too long.

Aurien was observant. Far more than Ezra had assumed.

“I…” Ezra began, then paused.

He searched for something believable. Something controlled.

Something…believable, at least.

Ezra opened his mouth again.

Nothing came out anymore.

For the first time in a long while, he genuinely did not know what to say.

He was not the type to fumble for words. He did not grow anxious in crowds.

He did not shrink under scrutiny. He had stood in front of nobles who despised him, knights who challenged him, enemies who wanted him dead, and he had remained steady.

So why was this harder?

’Because there is no good lie,’ he realized.

If he said he was tired, it would not make sense. If he claimed he was overwhelmed by the crowd, Aurien would not believe it. Ezra had faced battlefields.

A ballroom would not unsettle him.

And if he lied poorly, Aurien would notice.

Aurien might be gentle, but he has now figured out that the prince was not foolish.

Silence stretched between them.

Too long.

Ezra felt it pressing against his ribs.

’I should say something,’ he thought. ’Anything.’

But every excuse sounded thin in his head.

After a few more steps, Aurien’s expression softened.

He smiled.

It was not mocking. Not knowing. Just… warm.

“If it is too personal,” Aurien said gently, “then you do not have to answer. I did not mean to corner you.”

Ezra blinked.

“I only wished to make sure you were well, and I worried that you left because of whatever happened that night.” Aurien continued. “You seemed so troubled. I hope whatever it was… has eased.”

There was no accusation in his tone. No probing curiosity. Just quiet concern.

Ezra felt something unfamiliar settle in his chest.

’He’s… letting it go,’ he blinks slowly.

He had expected persistence.

Or subtle pressure. Or political maneuvering disguised as kindness.

Instead, Aurien simply stepped back.

Internally, Ezra had always categorized him the same way many did.

Kind.

Soft.

And to Ezra, excessive kindness and softness had always bordered on weakness.

But maybe it was because he became a parent now, as Aurien walked beside him now, shoulders straight, voice calm, expression composed, Ezra found himself reassessing.

This was not a weakness.

This was restraint.

This was maturity.

Aurien had noticed something was wrong. He had asked. And when Ezra did not answer, he respected it.

Not many people did that.

Not even Helios, sometimes.

Ezra let out a slow breath.

“I…” he started again, this time more honestly. “I appreciate Your Highness asking.”

Aurien glanced at him briefly.

“And I am… doing better,” Ezra added.

That part, at least, was true.

Aurien’s smile returned, small but sincere. “I am glad.”

They walked a few more steps in comfortable quiet this time.

Ezra found himself speaking again before he could overthink it.

“Thank you,” he said.

Aurien tilted his head slightly. “For?”

“For not pressing, and I assume, for not telling anyone else..”

Aurien looked almost surprised by that. Then he shook his head lightly.

“There is no need to thank me for basic courtesy, Captain.”

’Basic courtesy,’ Ezra echoed inwardly.

Maybe he had underestimated him.

Maybe he had clung too tightly to old impressions shaped by favoritism and palace politics.

Aurien was still kind.

But now Ezra could see that his kindness had edges. Boundaries. Awareness.

And perhaps, strength.

They were nearing the meeting grounds now. The banners of the three orders visible in the distance.

Ezra straightened slightly.

’He’s changed,’ he admitted to himself. ’Or maybe I never looked closely enough.’

Either way, the image he carried of Aurien no longer fit as neatly as it once had.

And that unsettled him more than he expected.

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