Roy stood outside, leaning on the railing of the old balcony. The night wind whipped through his hair, but he didn't move.
He replayed the scene — not the anger, not the fear.
No. What he saw again and again were Aria's eyes.
The exact moment she had hesitated, reached out her hand toward Wilfred. That look… that silent regret.
Roy clenched his jaw.
— I saw it, he thought. I saw her look at him… the way you look at someone you don't want to lose.
A dull ache settled in his chest. He almost hated himself for thinking it.
> Is that love? Is that the look I've never received?
He couldn't bear it. Not now. Not when he had always believed, deep down, that Aria belonged to him a little — even if he'd never dared say it aloud.
He closed his eyes.
And for the first time, Roy understood that his true rival… was not Van.
It was a broken king, hidden in the shadows — and in Aria's heart.