By morning, the palace wasn't calm — it was holding its breath.
A noble heir was missing.Vanished after last night's ball.Some said he ran away with a lover.Others whispered that he was dead.
Either way, everyone in those gilded halls could feel it:Something had cracked.And no amount of gold-painted smiles could patch it up.
I stood at the window, watching dawn smear itself across the sky like a wound.Ronan's voice broke the silence.
"My lord... the disappearance's spreading fast. They're already pointing fingers."
I didn't look away from the window."Good."Let them gnaw at each other.Let them waste their blades swinging at shadows.
But even as I said it, my chest was tight.Because my mind wasn't on the missing heir.
No.
It was still on her.
Evelyne.
Her scent lingered — faint jasmine, sharp steel.Her grip had been too tight when we danced. Her words too close to a knife.
"Some monsters forget they were human once."
That line had sliced me deeper than I wanted to admit.
Meanwhile, Evelyne stood in her private garden, eyes distant, lips pressed thin.Her maid shuffled nervously nearby.
"My lady… they're saying the young lord is gone. Disappeared. Maybe worse."
Evelyne didn't flinch.She just reached out and crushed a flower between her fingers until red petals bled onto her palm.
"Too loud. Too clumsy," she muttered."This isn't his style."
But her heartbeat betrayed her.Because when Leonhart had pulled her close last night—When his breath had ghosted against her ear—For half a second, it hadn't felt like an enemy's touch.
It had felt like…Before.
Before betrayal, before the poison court, before they were forced to become monsters to survive.
She shoved the thought away, breathing hard.Weakness had no place here.Not in this palace. Not between them.
By afternoon, fate threw another knife their way.
The Queen Mother summoned us both.
I walked into the grand hall first. Evelyne was already there — perfect posture, mask locked back in place.But her eyes flicked to me.A heartbeat-long glance.Hot. Sharp.Confused.
The Queen Mother smiled, all honey and venom."My children. With unrest growing, we must show unity. A bond strong enough to silence the doubters."
She let the words hang before delivering the blow.
"A public engagement between Prince Leonhart and Princess Evelyne."She smiled wider."A grand celebration of love."
The silence was heavy enough to choke on.
My pulse stuttered.Not from shock.But from something darker.
I turned toward Evelyne.Her face was blank, but her eyes—Her eyes screamed.
For once, she wasn't ready.For once, the court's golden puppet cracked at the seams.
The Queen Mother kept talking, but I barely heard it.Something twisted deep in my gut.
Love.They called it love.
Like draping silk over rot.
When the meeting ended, I didn't give her a chance to vanish.I grabbed her arm in the corridor and yanked her into an empty chamber, slamming the door shut.
"What the hell was that?!" she hissed, ripping her arm away."Did you know? Did you plan this?!"
My jaw clenched."Do I look like I enjoy being their pawn?!"
Her chest rose and fell, too fast.We were too close.Too raw.
"For years, you've schemed against me," she snapped."And you've been poisoning noble heirs one by one," I shot back.
Our faces were inches apart now.Breaths mingling.The air thick with everything we weren't saying.
"This engagement will bind us," she whispered, voice shaking."In front of the entire empire."
"Good," I growled."Let them think we're united. Let them drop their guard."
Her lips parted, but no insult came.Instead, she stared.Like she was trying to peel back the layers and find the boy I used to be.
"Leonhart..."Her voice cracked.
And gods, it hit me like a fist.Because I remembered.
The gardens.Her laugh.The way she used to trust me without question.
I swallowed hard."I remember."
For a beat — just a beat — she leaned in.Close enough that if either of us moved, we'd cross a line we couldn't uncross.
But then she shoved me back.
"Don't," she choked out, voice raw."This changes nothing."
She stormed out, leaving me breathing hard, fists clenched, heart hammering against my ribs like it wanted out.
That night, I stood on my balcony again, city lights blurring below me.
All I could see was her face.
Evelyne.My enemy.My match.
The only person who could ruin me completely.The only person who could make me forget I wanted to burn this world down.
And now?My fiancée.
I laughed.It came out bitter and broken.
Let them call it love.Let them dress it up in silk and gold.
But we both knew the truth.
This wasn't romance.This was war wearing perfume.And hearts?
Hearts were just weapons waiting to shatter.