"Are you mad at Heeyos, Maman?"

Ezra’s hand stopped mid-motion while brushing through Lior’s soft hair.

It was after bath time now, the room still faintly warm from the steam earlier, with Lior sitting patiently in front of him while Ezra carefully dried and brushed his beautiful pale hair.

Lior smelled faintly like soap and honey.

It was comforting despite everything that happened.

And somehow, that normalcy made Ezra’s chest ache even more considering everything happening around them.

"A bit," Ezra answers softly after a moment, continuing to brush through the strands carefully.

Because with Lior now in danger—

And with Helios becoming the main suspect behind all of it—

Ezra didn’t want to risk Lior continuing to trust him too much after all the times Ezra himself made Helios seem safe.

Trustworthy.

Good.

"Why?" Lior asks innocently, tilting his head back slightly just to look up at him better.

Ezra’s chest tightened faintly at the sight.

"It’s adult stuff," Ezra says quietly, placing the brush aside for a second so he could gently cup Lior’s soft cheek. "But he made me very upset because he lied about something."

Lior frowned immediately.

A tiny, serious frown.

"Oh," he whispers. "Lying is bad..."

Ezra almost smiled despite himself.

"Lying is very bad, little one."

"But uhm..." Lior hesitates slightly before asking, "are you still friends with Heeyos?"

The question surprised Ezra a little.

Not because of what was asked—

But because Lior didn’t actually seem upset.

In Ezra’s eyes, it almost looked like simple curiosity.

Like he genuinely just wanted to know the answer.

’What’s going on inside that little head of yours?’ Ezra thought quietly, leaning down to press a soft kiss against Lior’s forehead.

Still—

He decided to answer honestly.

For Lior’s sake.

"Not right now," Ezra says with a small half-smile. "Sometimes friends need breaks, so we’re taking a break from Helios right now."

He pauses briefly before adding—

"And even Fizzy."

"Oh, okay, Maman."

Lior nodded immediately.

Unbothered.

Completely unbothered.

’...Just okay?’ Ezra thought, blinking slightly as he stared at him.

That response felt strangely easy.

About Helios, Ezra could almost understand it.

Lior hadn’t truly bonded with Helios much outside of that one moment while Ezra pretended to be asleep.

But Fizzy?

Lior usually adored Fizzy.

And yet now—

Not even one question.

Not even confusion.

’Does he...know something?’ Ezra thought slowly, placing the brush carefully onto the bed beside them.

A strange uneasiness settled into his stomach.

"Hey, Lior—"

"Ezra?"

A voice suddenly came from the other side of the door, immediately making both Ezra and Lior turn their heads.

Lior’s eyes widened instantly in recognition.

"Kakay!" he exclaims excitedly.

Ezra’s brows furrowed slightly instead.

And painfully enough—

His heart ached just hearing Kaelis’ voice.

’Why is he here?’

Ezra wasn’t ready to see him yet.

Not after everything he had just learned.

Not after realizing what Kaelis had been carrying all these years.

But Kaelis sounded urgent.

Really urgent.

So Ezra slowly stood from the bed and walked toward the door anyway, opening it carefully.

"Prince Kaelis, good morning. Why didn’t you knock—oh!"

Ezra gasped softly the second Kaelis suddenly grabbed him by the shoulder and pushed him fully back inside the room before quickly stepping in after him.

"Kakay? Maman?" Lior asks curiously from the bed.

But Kaelis didn’t even look at Lior right away.

His full attention was on Ezra.

And only now did Ezra realize how terrible he looked.

His long hair was messy, slightly tangled like he’d been running his hands through it repeatedly, and despite still being dressed properly, his breathing seemed uneven.

Worried.

Actually worried.

"They’re back," Kaelis says immediately, his voice low and serious in a way that made Ezra tense. "The others. My brothers—"

"I know," Ezra cuts him off quietly, taking a slow breath.

Kaelis stopped speaking.

Ezra looked up at him properly now.

And seeing the genuine concern written across Kaelis’ face made something uncomfortable twist inside his chest again.

’He looks terrified.’

"Come inside," Ezra says more softly this time, trying to steady himself. "One of the maids you assigned to help us...uh, the older lady, I forgot her name—"

"Love."

"Huh?"

"Her name is Love."

Ezra’s eyes widened slightly.

’Gods...I was so upset yesterday I didn’t even hear her introduce herself properly.’

"Right," Ezra says quickly, rubbing his forehead faintly. "She said she was going to bring us food thirty minutes ago, and I requested cookies. So come in."

Then Ezra quietly closed the door behind him.

The moment Ezra stepped away from the door, Lior immediately climbed off the bed and ran toward Kaelis without hesitation.

"Kakay!"

Kaelis looked down instantly, and despite how tense he had been just seconds ago, something in his expression softened automatically the moment Lior reached him.

"Well, good morning to you too," Kaelis murmurs, finally sounding a little less strained as he bends down and easily lifts Lior into his arms.

Lior giggles softly, immediately settling comfortably against him like he had done this a hundred times already.

And strangely enough—

Kaelis held him naturally.

And carefully.

Like he was already used to carrying him around.

That thought made something in Ezra’s chest tighten again.

"Heeyos and Maman were fighting," Lior suddenly announces very seriously.

Kaelis blinked.

"...What?"

Ezra’s eyes widened slightly too.

’Lior.’

That was the last thing Ezra expected him to say out loud.

Especially not immediately.

Kaelis slowly looked toward Ezra now, confusion obvious on his face.

"Fighting?" he repeats carefully. "What happened?"

Then his brows furrowed slightly.

"And how did Helios even find out you were here?"

Ezra exhales quietly through his nose.

Honestly—

Were they really surprised?

"I don’t know," Ezra answers truthfully, rubbing lightly at his temple. "But considering who we’re talking about, I don’t think it’s shocking anymore that he found out quickly."

Kaelis’ expression darkened slightly at that.

He didn’t disagree.

Not even a little.

"What did he say?" Kaelis asks more quietly now.

Ezra looked at him for a second before motioning toward the seating area again.

"We should sit down."

Kaelis nodded once, still carrying Lior as he walked toward the cushioned chairs nearby.

Ezra followed after them more slowly.

And despite everything—

Despite the stress, the exhaustion, the constant paranoia crawling around inside his chest—

Ezra found himself watching Kaelis again.

Observing him.

Kaelis still looked worried.

Very worried.

But strangely enough, he also looked...calm.

Not careless.

Not dismissive.

Just steady.

Like he was actively trying to keep the situation from becoming worse.

It was different from Helios.

Ezra used to hate that Kaelis was different from Helios.

But now—

Now he wasn’t sure what he felt about it anymore.

"Well," Kaelis says as he carefully sits down with Lior still on his lap, "if Helios started arguing with you this early in the morning, I’m guessing I’m getting the aftermath?"

Lior giggles immediately.

Ezra almost rolled his eyes out of instinct.

Almost.

Because usually—

Usually comments like that would irritate him.

Usually Kaelis’ teasing felt insufferable.

But now...

Ezra paused slightly.

’Wait.’

His brows furrowed faintly as he looked at Kaelis properly again.

Because thinking about it now—

Had Kaelis always been doing this?

Trying to lighten the mood?

Trying to make things less tense whenever Ezra got upset?

The realization caught Ezra strangely off guard.

Because for years, he always interpreted Kaelis’ behavior as annoying.

Provoking.

Attention-seeking.

But now that he was actually paying attention—

It didn’t feel like that at all.

If anything, it felt like Kaelis had spent years trying to approach him carefully, only for Ezra to immediately assume the worst every single time.

And somehow—

That realization made guilt creep back into Ezra’s chest again.

Small.

Quiet.

But there.

’Hah. Aurethys...’ Ezra thought, looking away briefly. ’Have I really misunderstood him this badly?’

Meanwhile, Kaelis was still watching him.

Waiting.

The teasing expression from earlier had already faded slightly the longer Ezra stayed quiet.

Concern replaced it again.

Real concern.

"Prince Kaelis," Ezra finally says after taking another deep breath, his voice quieter now, more serious. "We need to talk. About something."

Kaelis immediately straightened a little at the tone alone.

The joking disappeared completely.

"What is it?" he asks.

’Should I tell him now?’

Ezra honestly wasn’t expecting to see Kaelis again just two hours after finding out that it had been Kaelis who gave him the bread.

The same bread.

The same memory Ezra had carried with him for years like something sacred.

And now every time he thought about it, every memory connected to it felt different.

He had admittedly given Kaelis nothing but contempt and doubt all these years.

Cold looks.

Dismissive answers.

Annoyance.

Sure, Helios was still the one who saved him afterward and brought him to the palace to become a knight.

That part hadn’t changed.

But the bread—

That bread meant a lot to him.

To his old friends too.

Back then, it wasn’t just food.

It became proof that maybe the world wasn’t completely cruel.

Proof that kindness could still exist even for children like them.

Ezra remembered splitting pieces carefully with the others, remembered how happy they all were over something so small.

How hopeful they became afterward.

And now knowing Kaelis was the reason behind that memory—

It made Ezra’s chest feel strangely heavy.

"Bread."

Lior suddenly says out of nowhere, looking between Ezra and Kaelis innocently.

Kaelis visibly stiffened.

"...Bread?" Kaelis repeats carefully, his posture tightening slightly. "What about bread?"

Lior immediately looked back toward Ezra again.

And mentally—

Ezra was dying.

’Lior,’ Ezra thought helplessly. ’What are you doing?’

Lior had been acting strangely observant all morning.

Too observant.

And now it felt like he was tossing conversations directly into uncomfortable territory without even realizing it.

Or maybe he did realize it.

Honestly, Ezra wasn’t sure anymore.

"Heeyos lied about bread, right Maman?" Lior asks casually.

Kaelis’ eyes widened immediately.

"You told him?" Kaelis asks quickly.

Ezra wasn’t even sure who Kaelis meant.

Helios?

Or Lior?

But honestly, it didn’t matter anymore.

Ezra quietly took what felt like his hundredth deep breath of the day before finally looking directly at Kaelis.

"The question is..." Ezra starts slowly, trying very hard to keep his voice neutral despite everything twisting inside his chest right now, "...why didn’t you tell me, Your Highness?"

Kaelis froze.

Actually froze.

His expression shifted so quickly that Ezra almost felt bad watching it happen.

Almost.

"Tell you what—"

"Don’t play dumb," Ezra cuts him off quietly.

Not harshly.

But directly enough that Kaelis immediately fell silent.

"Why didn’t you ever tell me it was you who gave me that bread all those years ago?"