The nighttime silence seemed suspended around them, as if the forest itself was holding its breath.
Wilfred stepped back slightly, but Aria moved forward, hesitantly reaching out her hand toward his.
— "I want to understand…" she said softly.
The cursed king looked at her, surprised by her bold gesture.
Slowly, his fingers brushed against Aria's palm, and a strange, burning sensation passed between them—like a cold fire linking their souls.
The touch lasted a second, then two, but for Aria, it felt like time had stopped.
— "You… you're not what I thought," she murmured, her eyes shimmering.
Wilfred looked away, barely hiding a new emotion stirring within him.
— "Don't get attached to me," he whispered, his voice hoarse.
Suddenly, in the distance, a crack of branches startled them.
Roy appeared, his face tense, fists clenched.
— "Aria! What are you doing with him?!" he shouted, his gaze filled with worry, anger… and a jealousy he didn't want to admit.
Aria turned, surprised, and Wilfred stepped back into the shadows, nearly invisible.
Roy, jaw tight, approached—but without aggression.
— "I just want to protect you," he said, staring at Aria with a new intensity.
Aria felt her heart tighten, caught between two worlds.
— "I know, Roy… but I have to understand," she explained gently.
Silence fell again, thick, heavy with unspoken words, as Wilfred, still hidden in the dark, watched them—his eyes burning with a mix of bitterness and hope.