The music resumed as Aquila stepped back into the ballroom, the warmth of the grand hall swallowing the chill she had left behind.
Laughter echoed beneath crystal chandeliers.
Nobles mingled with practiced smiles, servants weaved between conversations with silver trays balanced effortlessly in their hands, and somewhere near the orchestra, someone raised a toast that drew another chorus of applause.
Everything was exactly as it should be.
Yet her thoughts remained on the balcony.
I was merely... entertaining the thought of stealing Princess Zuleika from my dear brother's grasp.
The words refused to leave her mind.
Althurd had always enjoyed provoking others. It was second nature to him—smiles wrapped around daggers, jokes laced with hidden intentions. Most dismissed them as harmless.
Aquila had long since learned not to.
Her silver eyes drifted through the sea of faces, almost unconsciously searching for the turquoise-haired princess.
Not because she wished to meet her.
Because she wished to see what had captured Althurd's attention so quickly.
It was unlike him.
He admired beauty often enough, but admiration was fleeting. This...
This felt deliberate.
Her gaze swept past embroidered gowns and jeweled crowns until, for the briefest moment, she caught sight of turquoise.
There.
Princess Zuleika stood among a circle of commoners rather than nobles.
Curious.
She listened far more than she spoke, lowering herself ever so slightly so an elderly fisherwoman could reach her hand. The old woman laughed at something the princess whispered, her weathered face glowing brighter than the chandeliers above.
No attendants interrupted.
No guards hurried the conversation along.
It was... oddly natural.
Aquila watched as Zuleika accepted a woven bracelet from a small child with both hands, bowing her head as though she had been entrusted with a priceless heirloom rather than a simple strand of dyed shells.
The child beamed.
The princess smiled back.
Aquila blinked.
"...How strange."
Most royals perfected kindness because they knew they were being watched.
This...
This did not resemble performance.
The people surrounding her looked too comfortable.
Too familiar.
It was as though she belonged among them just as naturally as she belonged upon a throne.
"...Princess."
The word escaped under her breath before she realized she'd spoken.
As if sensing the weight of another gaze, Zuleika lifted her head.
Their eyes met.
Silver. Crimson. Only a heartbeat.
Aquila did not smile.
Neither did Zuleika.
There was no challenge.
No greeting.
Only two strangers acknowledging the existence of another before the crowd shifted between them once more.
"..."
How peculiar.
She should have forgotten the moment immediately.
Instead...
She found herself wondering what color those crimson eyes truly were beneath sunlight rather than chandeliers.
"...You're staring."
Aquila nearly sighed.
Without turning, she recognized her brother's voice.
"I was observing."
Althurd appeared beside her, folding his hands behind his back.
"So you found my little jewel."
"I found the Princess of Nexus."
He laughed quietly.
"A distinction you're trying very hard to convince yourself exists."
Aquila's expression cooled.
"You've spoken to her for scarcely five minutes."
"And five minutes were enough."
"They are never enough."
His smile widened.
"For you, perhaps."
Aquila looked away from him.
Across the ballroom, Princess Zuleika laughed softly as the elderly fisherwoman adjusted the woven bracelet around her wrist.
There was no embarrassment.
No hesitation. Only gratitude.
Aquila's fingers tightened almost imperceptibly around the stem of her untouched goblet.
"...Don't play with her."
Althurd raised an amused brow.
"Oh?"
"You called it a game."
"And?"
"People are not pieces on a board."
For a fleeting second, genuine surprise crossed his face before amusement returned.
"My dear sister..."
He leaned close enough for only her to hear.
"...that's exactly what royals become."
He walked away before she could answer.
Aquila remained where she stood.
Her gaze drifted back toward the turquoise-haired princess.
She still knew almost nothing about Zuleika.
Only fragments.
A gentle smile. Crimson eyes. A bracelet made of shells.
A princess who stood among her people without seeming above them. Hardly enough to form an opinion.
For reasons she couldn't explain...
She hoped Althurd would lose interest.
Before his curiosity became something far more dangerous.