The royal garden had fallen silent hours ago, but the echoes of its whispers still clawed their way through the palace walls. Now, inside a chamber veiled in candlelight, four figures stood — shadows cast long against stone and silk.
Felix paced slowly near the arched window, his reflection caught between glass and moonlight. "They're saying it more boldly now," he murmured, voice low. "Every servant's glance feels sharper. Every bow slower."
Hyunjin leaned against the carved pillar, arms folded, eyes glinting like polished steel. "Let them whisper. I've survived worse than cowardly tongues."
Felix: "You don't understand. Rumors like this… they're not born naturally. Someone feeds them."
Adrian stepped forward, still wearing his armor from the patrol. "Felix is right. The tone changed overnight. I heard a court lady mention your name, Hyunjin — and hers."
Asher, standing just behind Adrian, spoke softly: "Lady Soprano."
The name seemed to sour the air.
Hyunjin: "Her again."
Felix (quietly): "She moves like smoke. Smiles while she poisons."
Adrian: "She's gathering the council's ear. And the King listens when she speaks."
Silence stretched — tense and heavy. A candle hissed as it burned too low.
Hyunjin: "Let them come. I'll face the King myself if I must."
Felix (turning to him sharply): "And do what? Defend us with your sword? Or your pride? Neither can undo what's been said."
Hyunjin's jaw tightened, his gaze flickering toward Felix. "I would burn the entire court before I let them touch you."
Felix: "And that's exactly what they'll use against you."
The words hung between them — dangerous, tender, and unbearably honest.
Adrian shifted uneasily, glancing at Asher. The younger knight's eyes darted from Felix to Hyunjin, confusion written across his face.
Asher (hesitant): "Is it true then? What they whisper?"
Adrian (warningly): "Asher—"
Felix (softly): "What do they whisper, Asher?"
The knight swallowed. "That you and Prince Hyunjin… are not just allies. That your bond—"
He trailed off.
Felix's lips curved into something between a smile and a sigh. "Our bond frightens them. That's all it takes to make a monster in their stories."
Hyunjin (coldly): "They can name it whatever they wish. It changes nothing."
Adrian studied him carefully. "It might change everything, Hyunjin. If the King believes Lady Soprano, you'll lose command of the guard. Felix might lose his title."
Hyunjin: "Then so be it."
Felix (turning sharply): "You can't just throw your future away—"
Hyunjin (cutting in): "My future is already bound to yours!"
The chamber stilled.
Felix froze. The firelight caught the gold thread on Hyunjin's collar — and for a heartbeat, the world felt smaller, quieter.
Felix (softly): "You shouldn't say things like that. Not here."
Hyunjin (stepping closer): "Then tell me where I can say them."
Their voices were low now — almost a whisper. Adrian looked away; Asher fidgeted with his gloves.
Adrian (grimly): "This is madness. The court eats scandals like bread. If you give them truth, they'll never stop."
Felix: "And if we give them silence, they'll invent their own."
Asher: "Then… what do we do?"
Hyunjin: "We don't hide."
Felix turned to him again, incredulous. "You'd walk into the court tomorrow and dare them to say it to your face?"
Hyunjin: "If they must. Better their blades than their tongues."
Felix (quietly): "You're impossible."
A faint, unwilling smile touched Hyunjin's mouth. "And you love that."
Felix's breath caught — not from the words, but from how easily they slipped between them. He took a slow step back, as though the distance might steady him. It didn't.
Adrian (clearing his throat): "Enough of this. We need strategy, not sentiment."
Asher: "He's right. Lady Soprano's playing a deeper game."
Felix: "She always does."
He crossed to the desk, rifling through sealed letters. "She's been speaking to the Duke of Varlen — the one who's always despised Hyunjin. If she convinces him, the rest of the court will follow."
Hyunjin: "Then we find her before she finds him."
Felix (tired smile): "You can't just hunt a rumor like prey."
Hyunjin: "Watch me."
Adrian stepped closer, lowering his voice. "If you go after her, you'll prove her right — that you're acting out of fear, or love, or both."
Hyunjin: "And if I stay silent, I'll prove her right too."
Felix: "So what then, Hyunjin? Fight the entire court? Bleed for a truth they'll never accept?"
The air thickened again, that fragile thread between defiance and confession pulling taut.
Hyunjin (quietly): "I'd bleed for you."
Felix closed his eyes, a tremor barely visible at the corner of his mouth. "Don't make promises in a room that might be listening."
Hyunjin: "Then let them listen."
A long silence followed. Even the candles seemed to flicker slower.
Finally, Adrian spoke, voice heavy. "We can't protect you both forever. If Lady Soprano reaches the King first, he'll act. We'll have to choose sides."
Felix: "You already have."
Adrian looked away.
Asher (softly): "That's not fair, Felix. We're trying."
Felix: "Then try harder."
The words were sharper than he intended. Hyunjin laid a hand on his arm — not possessive, just grounding. Felix didn't pull away.
Hyunjin: "You've both done enough. Whatever happens next, I'll handle it."
Adrian: "You can't fight shadows, Hyunjin."
Hyunjin (with a faint smile): "You'd be surprised."
Asher moved closer to Adrian, his voice barely audible. "He's serious. He'll do something reckless."
Adrian sighed. "That's what I'm afraid of."
Felix turned back toward the window, where the night wind stirred the curtains. The faint scent of roses still lingered from the garden — sweet, deceptive, hiding thorns.
Felix (softly): "It's strange, isn't it? How silence can be louder than a shout."
Hyunjin joined him, their reflections merging in the glass. "Then let's not be silent."
For a moment, neither spoke. Only the sound of the fire cracking — and their breaths, steady, defiant.
Then, from the corridor outside, came the faint rustle of footsteps — hurried, uncertain. The four of them froze.
Adrian: "Someone's listening."
Hyunjin's eyes narrowed. "Let them."
But when he threw open the door, the corridor was empty — only shadows retreating down the marble hall.
Asher: "Maybe it was nothing."
Felix (grimly): "Nothing in this palace ever is."
Hyunjin looked down the corridor once more, then shut the door slowly. "We'll find out soon enough."
Felix met his eyes — the same eyes that had burned through rumor and truth alike. "Whatever happens, don't face it alone."
Hyunjin (softly): "I never do."
Outside, unseen, the echo of footsteps faded into silence — and somewhere beyond the chamber walls, Lady Soprano smiled beneath her jeweled veil, the night wind carrying her victory through the halls of the palace.