Aedric's jaw tightened, a storm rising in his eyes. "Then why didn't he say something? Why leave me to rot in my own head, thinking I'd lost my mind?"
"Because you were fragile," Grace said gently. "Perhaps it was also because no one knew or understood what was happening with you. So he tried to shield you the only way he knew how. And maybe because he didn't want you burdened with his shame."
"His shame?"
Grace looked toward the tapestry of Queen Aurelia again, her voice growing quiet. "He told me… that the day you broke, something inside him did too. He guessed your behavior was somehow related to the queen and it must be something you might have seen or heard. But he didn't confront it—especially when you suddenly stopped speaking. So he… hesitated."
"And that hesitation cost me more than a decade," Aedric said bitterly.
