Chapter 28 - Their secret
I spend most of my days emotionally observing everyone around me, and honestly, almost all of them are disasters pretending to function normally while I sit in the middle of it, carrying a future heir and trying not to commit crimes over paperwork.
The afternoon sunlight spills warmly through the tall office windows, painting everything gold.
Dust drifts lazily through the beams of light, floating above towers of reports stacked across my desk like someone declared war against organization itself.
Somewhere outside the open balcony doors, birds chirp pleasantly enough to be irritating, and farther down the corridor, I can hear someone attempting to play violin with the confidence of a man who has clearly never once been told the truth about his abilities.
He is terrible.
Truly terrible.
At this point, I am considering asking Achille whether execution without trial can be justified for artistic crimes.
My back aches.
My feet hurt.
The baby has apparently mistaken my internal organs for furniture and continues kicking me in places I did not realize could physically hurt.
And somehow, despite all of that, I am still expected to care about grain reports.
I lower the parchment in my hand slowly and stare at it with deep disappointment.
"This man," I say carefully, "used six entire pages to explain that sheep escaped through a broken fence."
Across from me, Jacline lounges dramatically across one of the armchairs with military reports spread over her lap like she owns the furniture by divine right. She does not even look up from the document in her hands when she replies.
"Men love unnecessary detail when they think it makes them sound intelligent." I sigh deeply and lean back slightly in my chair, immediately regretting it when the baby shifts hard enough beneath my ribs to make me wince.
Honestly.
This child already behaves like royalty.
I press one hand against my stomach accusingly. "You are being extremely aggressive today."
Jacline finally glances up. "Maybe it's practicing."
"For what?"
"To eventually argue with Achille."
"That requires training?"
"That requires divine intervention."
A laugh escapes me before I can stop it. The sound feels strange lately. Softer than it used to. Easier. Pregnancy has turned me into a creature made entirely of conflicting emotions. I cry over bread. I get angry at curtains
I do not know who this woman is anymore.
I reach for another report with the exhausted resignation of someone accepting her fate.
The office door bursts open so violently that it slams against the wall hard enough to make both of us jump. Nathaniel stumbles inside, clutching several stacks of papers against his chest.
He looks pale. The kind of pale people become after witnessing something emotionally devastating. Jacline straightens immediately. "Are you alright?"
Nathaniel nods much too quickly.
Which means absolutely not.
"Yes," he says faintly. Then pauses. "...probably."
I narrow my eyes suspiciously.
Nathaniel crosses the room in a daze, moving as if his soul were temporarily disconnected from his body. He places the papers carefully onto my desk before simply standing there staring into the distance.
"Nathaniel," I say slowly, "what happened?"
"I..." He swallows hard. "I need a moment."
That is not reassuring.
At all.
Jacline and I exchange a look. Before either of us can continue questioning him, the office door slams open again, and to our surprise, Nathaniel screams like a child caught with their hands in a cookie jar.
I turn toward the doorway, trying to figure out what in the world could startle him this much
And blink, trying to process the scene in front of me.
Then blink again.
Because standing there is Elias.
And behind him
Veronica.
Something about this entire scene feels fundamentally incorrect.
Veronica looks disheveled, which I never knew she was capable of.
I once saw her walk directly off a battlefield covered in blood, looking more composed than half the royal court during diplomatic ceremonies.
Yet now her bright red hair is twisted into a messy bun that appears to be surviving purely out of spite.
Loose strands fall around her face while she wears a dark nightgown beneath an oversized robe that very obviously belongs to Elias because the sleeves cover half her hands.
Elias, meanwhile, appears completely unbothered by existence.
No shirt.
Bare feet.
Dark pants hanging low on his hips like he got distracted halfway through getting dressed and simply decided effort was no longer important. Nathaniel immediately raises both hands like a man surrendering before execution.
"I saw nothing," he blurts out instantly.
Elias points at him approvingly. "See? Problem solved."
Then he strolls directly into my office like a man completely unconcerned with consequences and opens one of my desk drawers without permission.
I stare at him in disbelief.
"...are you robbing me of my snack?"
"Our snacks," Elias corrects calmly while digging through my hidden stash.
"You contribute nothing to that drawer."
"I contribute emotional support."
"You contribute stress."
"i gave up an eye for you. The least you can do is give a man some chocolate." He finds the box in record time, looks deeply satisfied as he opens it, and shoves half of it directly into his mouth.
Nathaniel is still staring at Veronica with growing horror. The terrible realization of a man slowly understanding he has accidentally walked into something deeply private.
Jacline looks between Elias and Veronica once.
Twice.
Then suddenly starts laughing so hard she nearly falls sideways out of her chair.
"Oh my gods," she wheezes. "You got caught."
Veronica immediately turns toward her with a cold and empty expression. "What," she asks dangerously, "are you blabbering about?"
Jacline points between them wildly. "Please. I'm not stupid."
Nathaniel finally finds his voice again.
"...wait."
His eyes widen slowly. Then widen further. Then he points dramatically at both of them.
"...YOU TWO?"
Veronica answers instantly.
"No."
"We were just inspecting each other for wounds." Elias says smugly, "And I'm extremely thorough, can't have my comrad walking around injured."
I burst into laughter. Veronica closes her eyes briefly, as if she regrets surviving long enough for this conversation to happen.
Jacline looks deeply vindicated.
"Sure you were," she says smugly.
"Whatever you think this is, you're wrong," Veronica mutters.
"ohh so you two have not been i a secret relationship for years?" Jacline asks smugly. "Look, I'm not as stupid as the man i court. I just minded my business because, unlike some people in this castle, I understand how secrets work."
Elias leans casually against my desk, entirely too comfortable.
Nathaniel still looks spiritually shaken.
"...years?"
Jacline points dramatically toward Elias.
"How did you not notice there are so many signs you never found it suspicious how he only gets angry when someone tries to bash her or talk about her past?"
Elias looks offended. "I get angry about a lot of things."
"No," Jacline corrects patiently. "You get sarcastic. There's a difference."
"That feels disrespectful."
"It's accurate."
She gestures toward Veronica. "Then one nobleman's son made a joke about her scars." Veronica's scars are not openly discussed. Most people know they exist. Very few people are stupid enough to mention them aloud.
Nathaniel nods immediately. "Well, obviously, he got angry that the boy was being extremely disrespectful."
"Yes," Jacline says patiently. "But Elias usually uses words. He enjoys words. That man can emotionally dismantle someone without wrinkling his clothes."
"That is true," Elias admits.
"He likes humiliating people intelligently," Jacline continues. "But that day? Achilles had to physically drag him off the poor idiot."
Nathaniel looks shocked. "Actually, physically?"
"Oh yes," Jacline says happily. "Elias looked ready to rip the man apart with his bare hands."
Elias shrugs lazily. "He annoyed me."
"So you kept slamming his face into a tree?"
"He had a very irritating face."
Veronica pinches the bridge of her nose tiredly.
Nathaniel suddenly points toward her. "Wait...that's why you stabbed that woman in the hand afterward."
"She needed to learn boundaries," Veronica replies flatly.
Nathaniel goes silent.
Slowly turns toward Elias.
"...you're both insane."
"Thank you," Elias says proudly.
Jacline sits up straighter, clearly enjoying herself far too much now.
"And then there's her no-touching policy."
Veronica immediately looks suspicious. "What are you blabbering about?"
Nathaniel answers instantly. "You hate people touching you. You threatened to cut my fingers off because I patted your shoulder once."
"Yes, it's called personal space. You should not go around touching people, it's weird."
"You literally said you'd mail my hands back to my family."
"I stand by that."
Jacline grins wickedly. "Yet somehow Elias survives touching you daily."
Veronica crosses her arms tightly. "No, it doesn't."
"Really?" Jacline asks sweetly. "Then, should we discuss the training yard incident?"
Veronica visibly dies inside.
Nathaniel looks fascinated now. "What incident?"
Jacline gasps dramatically. "The hair thing."
Nathaniel freezes. "...the what?"
"I watched Elias walk behind her during training," Jacline says proudly, "tie her hair back for her, and walk away alive." Nathaniel looks genuinely horrified. "Exactly," Jacline says. "The entire training yard went silent because everyone thought Veronica was about to kill him."
"Why would I? He was helping me," Veronica mutters.
"sureeee," Jacline sings smugly.
Nathaniel suddenly freezes again.
"...wait."
His eyes lower slowly toward Elias's wrist.
"...is that why you started carrying red hair ties?"
Elias pauses mid-bite.
Veronica groans loudly.
Nathaniel points dramatically. "You used to only wear black ones."
Elias looks entirely unashamed. "Black goes with everything. Red goes with Vivi."
Nathaniel chokes violently.
Veronica's face goes completely blank with horror.
"...stop calling me that."
Elias blinks innocently. "Sure, princess."
"Stop calling me that ."
Nathaniel looks like his understanding of reality is collapsing in real time.
"You have pet names?" he whispers weakly.
Elias looks deeply offended by the question.
"No, we don't." I watch Veronica grab the nearest paperweight and throw it directly at his head.
Elias catches it one-handed without even looking.
"I hate you," Veronica says flatly.
"You love me desperately."
"I endure you."
"Passionately."
Nathaniel slowly lowers himself into a chair, as if his legs had stopped functioning.
"...you flirt like this all the time?"
"Oh, significantly worse in private," I answer honestly.
Veronica points at me accusingly. "Traitor."
Nathaniel still looks emotionally devastated. "...does the king know?"
The room goes silent for exactly two seconds. Then Elias bursts into laughter. "Oh, he knew immediately."
Veronica groans loudly. "Unfortunately."
Nathaniel blinks. "Immediately?"
"First month," Elias says casually while stealing more chocolate from my drawer. Nathaniel looks horrified. "And he let you live?"
Elias grins wickedly.
"Oh no. He absolutely threatened me."
Veronica sighs tiredly, as if she has heard this story too many times. Nathaniel leans forward immediately. Elias places one hand dramatically against his chest.
"He looked me dead in the eyes," Elias says solemnly, "and informed me that if I ever hurt Veronica, he would rip out my spinal cord and beat me to death with it."
Nathaniel goes silent.
Jacline nods thoughtfully. "Honestly? Reasonable."
"It was very emotional," Elias continues. "I almost cried."
"You laughed," Veronica says flatly.
"In fairness," Elias replies, "it was extremely creative." Nathaniel looks deeply unsettled.
"The king threatened to murder you with your own spine..."
"Yes."
"And you still dated her?"
Elias blinks slowly.
"My good man," he says, sounding genuinely confused, "have you looked at her?"
Veronica throws another paperweight.
This time it actually hits him directly in the chest.
He clutches himself dramatically. "Vivi," he gasps. Nathaniel stares between them in horror while Veronica walks over, grabs the chocolate directly out of Elias's hand, and eats it herself. Elias watches her with open affection like a man witnessing something beautiful.
Nathaniel looks physically ill.
"... you both need help."
"We know," Veronica and Elias say together.
Then they pause.
Look at each other.
And Elias smiles smugly.
"You see?" he says proudly. "Soulmates."