Chapter 140: That Was All That It Was.
"Yep, it’s me! May I come in?" Aurien spoke; his voice was slightly muffled through the tent walls, but it was still easy to recognize.
Ezra placed Lior down on the bed before standing up.
’Why is he here?’ Ezra thought, though he didn’t mind.
After everything earlier, after how Aurien had handled things, Ezra had no reason to feel uneasy about his presence.
If anything, he was... pleasantly surprised.
Aurien had helped.
Not just in a small way, but in a way that actually mattered.
Sure, Ezra still felt bad for Helios, that hadn’t gone away, but that didn’t change the fact that Aurien had stepped in when things could have gone worse.
Ezra walked over and pulled the tent flaps aside, revealing Aurien standing there with a gentle smile.
"Hello, Your Highness," Ezra greets, bowing as Aurien steps inside.
"No need for that," Aurien says with a small laugh, waving it off casually.
His gaze shifts past Ezra, landing on Lior, who had already stood up and was copying Ezra’s bow. "Hello there. I haven’t properly introduced myself to you."
Aurien’s tone softens as he addresses Lior, who looks up at him with curiosity.
’
Oh, that’s right. Lior hasn’t met Aurien yet.’
Ezra watches quietly for a moment.
He would have preferred it stayed that way.
He would have preferred Lior not getting close to any of them.
But that option had long passed.
And if he had to choose—
Aurien was the least dangerous.
Helios was too perceptive. He knew Ezra too well, and that alone made Ezra uneasy.
It wouldn’t take much for Helios to start noticing things that didn’t add up, to see that Lior wasn’t just similar to Ezra because they spent time together.
There was something deeper.
And Ezra knew it.
’...And I already feel like I’ve betrayed him.’
For having Lior.
That thought sat uncomfortably in his chest.
As for Kaelis—
Ezra didn’t even want to think about it.
He was Lior’s father.
That alone was enough.
Fortunately, Kaelis didn’t remember anything from that night. As far as Kaelis knew, Lior was just Ezra’s child.
Nothing more.
Nothing that connected them.
And Aurien?
Aurien was safe.
He had no personal stake in any of this. He respected boundaries. He didn’t pry where he wasn’t needed.
Ezra could breathe a little easier around him.
If he had to choose.
"My name is Aurien. I’m Kaelis and Helios’ youngest brother," Aurien introduces himself, offering Lior a warm smile.
"AH!" Lior suddenly exclaims, pointing at him.
Both Aurien and Ezra blink in surprise.
"You’re Kakay’s brother! You’re Aren!"
Aurien glances at Ezra, confused.
"He means Prince Kaelis," Ezra explains calmly. "Prince Kaelis might’ve mentioned you earlier."
"Really?" Aurien asks, raising a brow slightly.
"Yeah," Ezra nods.
"Okay then," Aurien says with a light laugh. "I hope he said only good things—"
"WHY DIDN’T YOU FIGHT BACK AT YOUR BULLIES EVEN I’M BRAVER THAN—"
Ezra moved quickly, stepping forward and covering Lior’s mouth before he could finish.
"Lior," Ezra scolds under his breath, but Lior only looks up at him, confused, as if he didn’t understand what he did wrong.
"So, I’m assuming my brother told him about... that?" Aurien asks, more amused than anything else.
"Yes..." Ezra admits, already feeling a bit defeated.
Aurien just laughs it off. "Don’t worry, Captain. I don’t mind. If anything, I like that story being told. It’s a good one for kids who were like me."
"Yes, but you don’t understand... this kid’s mouth can be—" Ezra cuts himself off, exhaling quietly.
Ezra loved Lior to death but...
’He really doesn’t hold back.’
And Aurien was the king’s favorite.
Ezra wasn’t about to risk anything unnecessary.
"Mhmff... mhmh!" Lior keeps trying to speak, squirming slightly in Ezra’s hold.
Ezra sighs softly before loosening his grip, though he keeps a hand ready in case Lior decides to say something else just as bold.
"So, uh... why are you here, Prince Aurien? Surely not just to introduce yourself," Ezra asks, his tone shifting into something more formal now.
"Right," Aurien nods. "I came to give my regards, and to tell you to get home safely. Be careful on the way."
"Oh, thank you—"
"And to tell you that you should make up with brother Helios as soon as possible."
Ezra blinks.
"Eh?"
’Why does he care about that?’
He tilts his head slightly. "May I ask... why?"
Aurien smiles at him, but there’s something knowing in it now.
"Forgive me for being frank, and please don’t hate me," Aurien says gently. "But I think you already know. You and my brother are quite close. Actually, not just quite close. You’re practically attached."
"Yes?" Ezra admits, because there was no point denying it.
Even if he tried to keep distance in public, Aurien and Kaelis had seen enough growing up to know better.
"This might be the first time my brother has ever been this angry at you," Aurien continues, his voice soft but steady. "Brother Helios is kind, but when he’s angry... he’s not as kind as, well, a not angry Helios."
"Right. Yes, I know, Prince Aurien," Ezra says, giving a small nod, though there was a slight hesitation in it that he didn’t fully notice himself.
He didn’t really understand what all the fuss was about.
Yes, Helios was mad.
And who was ever pleasant when angry?
Ezra knew Helios. He had always been kind, always patient, but he was still human.
If this was the first time Helios had gotten this upset at him, then... it was bound to happen eventually.
That’s what Ezra told himself.
"Do you really know?" Aurien asks, tilting his head slightly, his tone still gentle, but now there was something else in it. Something that made Ezra pause.
"Huh?"
"You can be a bit... blind to certain things," Aurien continues, choosing his words carefully, "especially when it comes to your loyalty to my brother."
Ezra doesn’t respond right away.
Aurien wasn’t accusing him.
He wasn’t even harsh.
If anything, he sounded thoughtful.
"Which isn’t a bad thing," Aurien adds quickly, a small smile returning. "Loyalty is a good thing. It’s one of your best qualities, Captain. But sometimes... you admire my brother a little too much that you forget yourself. Or you forget to look at what’s right in front of you."
Ezra’s brows furrow slightly.
Aurien’s tone remained kind, careful, like he didn’t want to hurt him.
But the words still landed heavier than Ezra expected.
"It’s something you can admit to anyone," Aurien continues, softer now. "And it’s something people respect about you. But that doesn’t mean it doesn’t have its downsides."
Ezra goes quiet.
He doesn’t know what to say.
He doesn’t even know what to think.
Because Aurien wasn’t wrong.
But he also didn’t feel right.
He wasn’t being attacked, not really, but it still felt like something had just been pointed out that Ezra didn’t want to look at too closely.
’Blind...?’
That word sits in his mind longer than it should.
And it didn’t help that it wasn’t the first time he had heard it.
Kaelis had said something similar earlier.
Now Aurien was saying it too.
’Helios has done nothing that...’
Ezra’s jaw tightens just slightly.
’Why does everyone keep calling me blind?’
To him, it didn’t feel like blindness.
It felt like trust.
It felt like knowing someone so well that you didn’t have to question them.
It felt like certainty.
And yet—
He exhales quietly, looking away for a moment.
It was just a disagreement.
That’s all it was.
Ezra was upset too.
But that didn’t mean anything.
...Right?