Sitting back in my place, I started quietly turning the situation over in my mind.
Looking at the heavy, sunken atmosphere across the entire office, and the suffocating silence — this did not feel like the incident involving the rabbit pin.
Axel was not the sort of person to react this seriously over something like that.
Which means it’s the second possibility…
Had my explanation truly failed to get through?
Everything pointed to Axel currently being under some kind of misunderstanding about me. In all likelihood, he had taken every action I had shown him to be genuine, and written it off as an elaborate act.
But why…!
This felt so deeply, impossibly unfair.
I genuinely did not see the Crown Prince as anything significant. In my world, there was only Axel — no one else—!
The trust I had built, thread by careful thread over so much time, had shattered into pieces.
What am I supposed to do now.
One thing was certain: a misunderstanding, the longer it was left, only became more difficult to undo. I had to correct it as quickly as possible.
Ideally today, if I can manage it…
I glanced up at Axel.
He had not moved his gaze from the documents in front of him — staring at them as though he intended to kill them with his eyes.
Given how things looked right now, today seemed difficult. At the very least, I would have to wait until his work was done before there would be any chance of conversation.
Inwardly, I was weeping.
All the distance I had managed to close — and now, in an instant, it had stretched back this far…
If anything, this was beyond square one. This was negative territory.
I sat with the bleakness of that for a moment — but then I caught myself.
Moping about it isn’t going to help.
I was pulling myself back together, squeezing my hand into a fist in quiet resolve —
CRACK.
A sharp, splitting sound rang through the office.
I startled, shoulders jumping, and looked toward the noise — in Axel’s hand, a quill lay in pieces.
But what was more startling was the realization that this was not the first one. Lined up beside him were five more — all of them already reduced to splinters.
Is that anger meant for me?
I swallowed quietly. Seeing it made it all very real — how extraordinary it was that he had tolerated me at all, for as long as he had. How much he had allowed, simply on account of me.
I was still sitting there, wide-eyed, reminding myself to be careful — when Axel stood up abruptly.
Without a word, he walked out of the office.
The moment he was gone, I let out a breath I hadn’t realized I’d been holding.
The air, which had been thick and stifling, was slightly more bearable now.
I didn’t waste a second. The moment Axel stepped out, I made my way over to where Shuian and Xenon were seated.
I hadn’t been able to approach them earlier with Axel watching — but now that he was gone, this was my opening.
I needed more information.
As I drifted toward them, Shuian’s expression hardened immediately. Rather than facing that wall first, I turned to Xenon.
“…Lord Xenon, I was just wondering — did something happen today? I’m a bit worried about His Highness, he doesn’t seem quite himself…”
“About that… hmm. I’m honestly not sure.”
He didn’t look like he was lying. Shuian would likely know — but judging by the way he was glaring at me, he had no intention of saying anything.
I tried again.
“Then do you perhaps know when His Highness started to seem out of sorts? Was it like this yesterday?”
“Oh, not at all. Yesterday he seemed fine, actually. Even this morning he seemed all right, and then — oh! Um, I—”
He was fine until this morning? Then what had—
Xenon’s lips parted as though something decisive was about to come out, and then—
“I beg your pardon, Lady Melberine, but we are currently quite far behind on our work. I’m afraid we don’t have the capacity for further conversation at the moment. I apologize, but if you could please return to your seat, we would be most grateful.”
“Uh — yes…”
Xenon, watching Shuian out of the corner of his eye, shut his mouth and said nothing more.
Oh, he’s going to keep getting in the way, isn’t he?
“Ah — but I hadn’t intended to take up much of your time at all. Even just a minute would be difficult?”
The answer came without hesitation.
I smoothed my expression and smiled pleasantly, not giving ground.
“I see. That is a shame… Is there perhaps anything I could help you with? I would love to be of some use to you both.”
“Oh, Lady Melberine, in that case—”
Xenon’s eyes lit up at the word help, and he was about to continue—
“No. We appreciate the gesture, but we have internal palace documents that should not be shown to outside parties. I’m afraid we must respectfully decline. Please forgive us, Lady Melberine.”
Shuian added deliberate emphasis to the words outside parties. Xenon immediately slumped and fell quiet.
I let out a short, disbelieving exhale.
Outside party. Was that really where we were now?
There had been times when I’d helped out here willingly, whenever I had time to spare. Not once had there ever been any talk of outside parties or refusals. He’d accepted with thanks each time. And now, after all that, he was turning me away like this?
Unbelievable. Absolutely unbelievable.
I narrowed my eyes slightly at Shuian.
He held his gaze, unyielding, sharp as ever.
Our eyes met in the middle of the air with a force that nearly crackled.
All right then. If that’s how you want to play it.
I switched tactics.
I let every bit of tension drain from my eyes and lowered my gaze with quiet, fragile weariness. My lashes trembled just slightly as they closed over eyes that had gone soft and vulnerable.
Shuian and Xenon looked at each other in startled confusion at the sudden change.
“…Sniff. I simply don’t understand why His Highness is upset, and it’s left me feeling completely at a loss. Does it seem to you as well that I have done something very wrong? If only I could know the reason…”
As I spoke, I drew out a handkerchief — exactly as the Crown Prince had done before me — and pressed it gently to the corners of my eyes, which had gone just slightly damp.
It was unclear whether I was truly crying or not. Keeping that ambiguity was the point. Before they could say anything, I pressed on.
I brought my palm down on their desk with a sharp, sudden crack and leaned in close. Both Shuian and Xenon jumped back.
“No — no, don’t answer! You don’t have to tell me. Whatever it is, it’s certainly all my fault. I don’t deserve to be anywhere near His Highness. That’s what you both think as well, isn’t it.”
Tears swept a tissue along, all tragic heroine energy, fully committed. I could see them starting to slip — Xenon was already halfway over the edge, and even Shuian’s resolute eyes had begun to waver.
Just a little more…
And then a voice came from beside me.
“…What exactly is going on in my office right now?”
There, leaning against the doorframe without so much as a footstep’s warning, was Axel — watching the three of us with an expression that made it very clear he was not pleased.
At the sound of his voice, both Shuian and Xenon seemed to shake free of the spell, their clouded expressions clearing all at once.
I swallowed a quiet sound of lament.
I was so close…!
“Even the Crown Prince wasn’t enough, and now—”
Axel muttered something low and cold under his breath, but he was too far away for me to catch the words.
Still standing there, completely baffled as to what was happening, I tilted my head.
“…Your Highness? I’m sorry — I was only having a brief conversation with them—”
“Enough. Shuian. Xenon. Outside, now.”
“…What? Yes.”
The words were cut clean off.
