Chapter 83

Third Person’s POV

The late afternoon breeze drifted through the veranda, carrying with it the scent of blooming flowers from the palace gardens below. Golden sunlight spilled across the stone floor, casting long shadows beneath the table where two untouched plates of pastries sat beside a tea set that had long since gone cold.

Across from one another sat Miu and Christian.

Neither spoke.

The silence between them was not hostile, nor comfortable. It was the silence of two people standing at the edge of a truth too large to ignore.

Miu cradled her teacup between both hands, watching the amber liquid ripple slightly with each passing breeze. Christian sat straight-backed across from her, his weathered hands resting on his knees, his gaze fixed somewhere beyond the railing overlooking Elysia.

Time stretched.

Until finally, Miu broke it.

“Thank you for coming.”

Her voice was gentle as she set her half-empty cup onto its saucer.

“I apologize for calling you away at such a busy time.” Her gaze wandered toward the sprawling capital beyond the palace walls. “Training new soldiers, caring for the families of the fallen, assisting the injured…”

A faint sigh escaped her, “Lena seems tired as well.”

Christian’s jaw tightened almost imperceptibly.

“Ah… yes.”

The response came a little too quickly.

A little too awkwardly.

Miu glanced back toward him before a small chuckle escaped her lips, “You look uncomfortable.”

Christian nearly choked on the breath he was taking.

“N-Not at all, Your Majesty.”

The title felt strange coming from him.

Strange to both of them.

He rubbed the back of his neck before releasing a long sigh.

“I suppose…” He hesitated. “I’m simply not used to this.”

“This?” Miu tilted her head.

Christian let out a helpless laugh.

“This is the first time we’ve ever spoken privately like this.”

The words hung in the air.

Because both of them understood what he truly meant.

For years, Christian had known Prince Matthew.

And now—

Now that same person sat before him wearing a different appearance, a different name, and a crown upon her head.

Miu’s smile softened.

“I’m sure you already know,” Miu said quietly. “And I know I did not call you here just for tea.”

Christian remained silent.

There was no point denying it.

The two of them had already danced around the truth long enough.

Miu took another sip from her tea before setting the cup down carefully, “Before we go anywhere in this conversation, there is something I need you to hear from me.”

Christian finally met her eyes.

Miu’s fingers found the butterfly pendant resting against her chest.

“I genuinely love Lena.”

The words left Miu’s lips without hesitation.

Without shame.

Without uncertainty.

They were not spoken like a confession.

They sounded more like a truth she had carried for so long that denying it had become impossible.

Miu lowered her gaze to the tea resting between her hands.

“No… perhaps love is too simple a word for it now.”

A faint smile touched her lips.

“I loved her when I was Matthew.” Her fingers slowly tightened around the porcelain cup, “I loved her when we were children running through palace corridors. I loved her when she would scold me for skipping lessons. I loved her when we would sit together in silence and say nothing at all.”

Christian remained perfectly still.

Miu’s eyes drifted toward the distant horizon.

“Then I lost everything.”

Her voice softened.

“My name. My future. My home.”

The breeze stirred the loose strands of her hair.

“I became someone else. Or perhaps… I was forced to become who I always was.”

A quiet laugh escaped her.

“Yet somehow, no matter how much my life changed, that feeling never did.”

Her hand unconsciously caressed the butterfly pendant resting against her chest.

“There were years when I convinced myself I would never see her again. Years when I believed Matthew had died completely. Years when I thought the only thing left of him were memories.” Her eyes lowered, “But every path I walked somehow led me back to Lena.”

For a moment, her composure cracked.

Not from sadness.

But from the overwhelming weight of gratitude.

“When I look at her now, I don’t only see a Queen. I don’t only see the ruler of Elysia.”

Miu smiled softly.

“I see home.”

The words hung quietly between them.

“So yes, I love Lena.”

She lifted her gaze and met Christian’s eyes directly.

“But it is no longer the love of a young prince. It has survived death. It has survived war. It has survived years of separation, fear, and grief.” Her voice steadied with conviction.

“At some point, it became something greater than a feeling. It became a part of who I am.”

Her hand tightened around the pendant.

“And Lena… she is brave. Strong. Capable. Everyone sees that side of her.” A faint smile touched Miu’s lips. “But when I looked closer… I realized how much pain she carries. She hides it well. Better than anyone I’ve ever met. But it’s there.”

Christian’s expression softened slightly.

Miu continued.

“I know there are people who would say my marriage to her is political. Convenient. Necessary.”

A quiet laugh escaped her.

“If only they knew.”

The smile faded.

“When I wake up in the morning, she is the first thing I look for. When I leave a room, I find myself wondering whether she has eaten. Whether she has slept enough. Whether she remembered to rest.”

She lowered her gaze briefly.

“When Tungsten was attacked, the thing that frightened me most wasn’t dying.”

Christian’s brows furrowed.

“It was the thought that Lena would blame herself if I did.”

The admission hung heavily between them.

Miu looked back up.

“I don’t want the crown.”

Her voice was firm.

“I don’t want the authority.”

Stronger.

“I don’t want the kingdom.”

Her hand slowly balled into a fist over her chest.

“I want her.”

The words landed with startling simplicity.

“I want her smile. I want her happiness. I want the future she dreams about when no one is watching.”

The breeze stirred the edge of her sleeves.

Christian was silent for a long moment before finally speaking.

“And what if the world discovers your true identity?”

The question cut cleanly through everything Miu had said.

If Matthew’s existence became known, it would not be Miu alone who suffered. The Queen of Elysia would inevitably be dragged into the storm as well.

Christian held her gaze.

“What then?”

But Miu did not flinch.

She did not look away.

Her answer came immediately.

“If the world discovers who I truly am, then I will do whatever becomes necessary to keep her safe.”

Christian did not interrupt.

“Even if that means leaving.”

Her voice cracked slightly.

“Even if that means surrendering my title.”

Another breath.

“Even if that means sacrificing myself.”

Her eyes remained locked on his.

“I will never allow Lena to pay the price for my existence.”

Silence settled over the veranda.

Then Miu bowed her head.

Not as a Queen.

Not as Matthew.

But as a woman speaking to her wife’s father.

“So before anything else, before whatever other questions you may have, before whatever concerns remain…” She raised her head again. “I need you to know that I love your daughter more than I love myself.”

Christian froze.

And Miu continued.

“I swear to you, Duke Christian.”

Her voice was unwavering.

Silence settled over the veranda.

Christian stared at her for a long moment, studying her face. Not merely listening to her words, but weighing everything beneath them—the fears she refused to speak aloud, the sacrifices she had already accepted, and the possibility that one day she might be forced to choose between herself and Lena.

What struck him most, however, was the realization that she had already made that choice.

Long before today.

Long before this conversation.

Slowly, he leaned back in his chair and let out a quiet laugh. It was soft and weary, the laugh of an old wise man who had finally understood something that had been staring him in the face all along.

“You really are Matthew.”

Miu froze.

Christian shook his head, a smile pulling at the corner of his lips.

“Same stubbornness. Same foolish habit of trying to carry the entire world on your shoulders.”

For the first time since they had sat down together, the tension seemed to leave him completely. He no longer looked at her as a Queen or a ruler, but as the child he had once trained, worried about, and watched grow up.

“You don’t have to convince me.”

Miu blinked.

Christian folded his arms across his chest and sighed.

“If anyone in this kingdom understands how much you love Lena, it’s probably me.”

The words caught her off guard.

There was no accusation in his voice. No judgment. No suspicion.

Only certainty.

Christian looked toward the gardens below before speaking again.

“You’re worried I’ll expose you.”

Miu remained silent.

That alone was enough of an answer.

A chuckle escaped him, “Jayden already threatened to kill me if I did.”

Miu stared at him. Then, despite the heaviness of the conversation, a small laugh slipped from her lips.

Christian laughed as well.

“The boy was completely serious, too.”

The moment eased something between them.

Not much.

Just enough.

Christian’s expression eventually settled once more.

“I won’t tell Lena.”

Miu’s breath caught.

“Not because of your identity,” he clarified. “But because that’s your truth to tell.”

He turned his gaze toward the distant horizon, where the evening sun bathed Elysia in gold.

“And because I don’t think there’s anything in this world that would hurt her more than hearing it from someone else.”

Miu lowered her eyes.

The weight that had sat on her chest ever since calling him here loosened for the first time.

The silence that followed felt different now—gentler, lighter.

And for the first time since this conversation began, she felt like she could finally breathe.