Chapter 157: Pretty Princess.
Alyce stares at him, then takes a deep breath. "You really think so?"
Ezra nods, though begrudgingly. "Trust me, Princess Alyce, Prince Helios has integrity. He wouldn’t do that to you."
Even as he said it, something about it sat strangely in his chest.
The words felt right, they were right, but there was something else beneath them, something he couldn’t fully ignore.
’He wouldn’t...right?’ Ezra thought, the doubt barely forming before he pushed it down.
"Then...can you at least help me find a way for him to notice me more? Anything at all, honestly, I still don’t know a lot about him. Most of our conversations are about me."
Alyce rests her back against her seat. "It seems untrue considering we’ve been engaged for years, but..."
Her voice trailed off, softer now.
There was something fragile in it.
’Aurethys, Helios, what have you been doing the past few years?’ Ezra thought, his brows pulling together slightly.
He hasn’t fully moved on from Helios, not even close, but hearing that still caught him off guard.
And Ezra, deep inside, has always seen Alyce as his competition, as the woman who was going to be with Helios forever.
The one who was supposed to have everything Ezra never could.
But right now—
Right now, she didn’t look like someone who had won anything.
Ezra couldn’t ignore the fact that Alyce was genuinely hurting. If anything, it seemed Ezra’s situation with Helios was better than Alyce’s.
At least Ezra knew Helios. At least he had moments that were real.
Alyce seemed so desperate despite the fact that she had the engagement ring.
In the eyes of everyone who knew Helios, or was ever in love with him, which was a lot of women, and a man, Ezra, Alyce was the winner.
Well, supposed to be the winner.
But truth be told, he didn’t really want to help Alyce, not entirely out of jealousy, but because Ezra was already dealing with a lot of things.
The investigation, Lior, the king’s orders, everything was piling up. He didn’t want to deal with Helios’ fiancée on top of that.
However...
As Alyce stares at him with that damn expression on her face, as if he were her only hope, Ezra couldn’t say no.
His conscience would eat him alive.
’Damn it,’ Ezra thought, letting out a quiet breath.
"What do you want to know?" Ezra asks, but as soon as he asks that, the carriage stops.
The slight jolt made both of them shift just a bit.
Ezra glances out and sees that they’ve arrived at Ezra’s home. The familiar sight should’ve brought him relief, but instead, it just reminded him how quickly everything had escalated.
"I’ll have my maid send you an invitation for tomorrow. Let’s have a tea party," Alyce says with a smile, as she had already decided. "Actually, I just snuck out to talk to you after finding out you went back early with Prince Kaelis."
Ezra blinked.
’She...snuck out?’ Ezra thought, caught off guard by that.
"Were you...not allowed to move around?" Ezra asks, his tone careful, like he wasn’t sure if that was something he should even question.
’She’s only a guest in the kingdom technically, so she shouldn’t be trapped here yet.’
Alyce didn’t seem bothered by it at all.
"Not exactly," Alyce answers, almost casually. "As a future member of the Luxaelis kingdom, I have learned many lessons from Luxaelian tutors. So most of the time I spend here is studying."
She said it like it was normal.
Like it didn’t weigh on her.
But something about it didn’t sit right with Ezra.
’So she’s been here all this time...just studying?’ Ezra thought, his chest tightening slightly. ’No wonder she doesn’t even know him.’
For a moment, he didn’t know what to say.
He just looked at her.
And somehow, he felt even worse for her now.
There was something off about it.
Not wrong, just...lonely.
"I see..." Ezra says quietly, before straightening slightly, forcing himself back into composure. "It was nice to meet you, Princess. I won’t take too much of your time, then, considering there might be people looking for you."
He didn’t want to keep her any longer.
Not when she wasn’t even supposed to be here.
"Right, yes." Alyce agrees, a small nod following as if she also realized that.
"Then, I uhm... I’ll see you tomorrow."
Even saying that felt strange.
Like he had just agreed to something he hadn’t fully thought through yet.
Alyce smiles, softer this time. "It was nice finally meeting you, too, Ezra Belloren. And you as well, Lior."
Lior immediately stiffens beside him, clearly flustered again, his face turning red as he avoids looking directly at her.
"Y-Yes...Princess..." Lior mumbles, barely managing to get the words out, his voice small and uneven, like he wasn’t used to being this nervous.
Ezra almost sighed.
’He’s completely gone,’ Ezra thought, a bit amused despite everything. ’This is my first time seeing him like this.’
He reaches for the carriage door, stepping out first before helping Lior down after him, keeping a steady hand on him as the child carefully follows.
The air outside felt different, cooler, quieter compared to the tension inside the carriage, like stepping out of something heavy he didn’t realize he was holding onto.
"Expect my letter," Alyce says from inside, her voice gentle but certain, like she already knew he wouldn’t refuse.
Ezra looks back at her and smiles politely, giving a small wave. "I will, Your Highness."
Alyce returns the smile before the door closes.
The carriage door shuts with a soft sound, and not long after, it begins to move.
The horses stepped forward slowly at first, then steadier, the wheels rolling against the ground as they carried her away.
Ezra and Lior stood there, watching as it rode away, the carriage growing smaller the farther it went until it started to disappear from view.
Neither of them spoke right away.
The silence felt...necessary.
Ezra kept his eyes on it a second longer than he should have.
’That was...a lot,’ Ezra thought, exhaling slowly, his shoulders lowering just slightly as the tension left his body bit by bit.
Beside him, Lior shifted slightly, his small fingers tugging at Ezra’s sleeve.
"Maman..." Lior murmurs, his voice softer now, like he is still thinking about what just happened.
Ezra finally looks down at him.
"...she really is a pretty princess."
Ezra glances at him, then chuckles, a quiet sound that felt lighter than everything else that had happened today. "I guess she is."