Chapter 36 - Mom and Dad
The castle no longer feels like ours.
Not entirely.
It still smells like lavender in certain hallways because the maids continue replacing the flowers I keep near the windows.
The polished floors still reflect the stained-glass light in soft pools of color every morning.
My books still somehow migrate from my office into Achille's chambers despite his repeated threats to burn every romance novel I own.
But now
there are people everywhere.
Servants rushing through corridors that used to stay quiet. Foreign guards stationed beside doors that once only held Elysian soldiers. Noble guests wandering the halls pretending not to stare while absolutely staring at everything.
The castle feels tense.
Like a beast pacing in its sleep.
And honestly?
I hate it.
I sit curled sideways on one of the couches in Achille's office with my legs draped across his lap while paperwork litters nearly every available surface in the room. Maps remain pinned across the central table while reports stack higher by the hour.
The arrival of the King of Mayhern this morning only made everything worse.
Because the second the man stepped through the gates
I knew.
I knew there was no possible way he sent that severed head.
The man looked terrified.
Not guilty.
Not arrogant.
Terrified.
He shook while speaking to Achille. His eyes kept darting toward the guards like he expected someone to cut his throat at any moment. Even while surrounded by his own people, he looked like a man walking willingly into an execution.
Which only proves my point further.
Someone wants war.
The question is who.
And unfortunately, kingdoms are complicated enough that the answer could genuinely be anyone.
Achille rests one hand lazily against my ankle while reading through reports spread across his desk. Nathaniel and Jacline occupy the chairs near the fireplace while Levi sits beside the central table flipping through diplomatic records with visible irritation.
And Elias is glaring at Veronica while she stands far away near the windows.
The silence finally breaks when Veronica narrows her eyes and says flatly, "You need to stop glaring at me."
Everyone looks up at once.
Confused.
"Oh?" he says pleasantly. "Does it make you uncomfortable, Lady Veil?"
The entire room goes still.
Not because of the words.
Because of the title.
No one in this room uses titles with each other.
Not truly.
Achille is Achille most time.
Not Your Majesty.
Jacline is Jacline.
Nathaniel is Nathaniel.
Even Veronica rarely gets called Lady Veil unless someone is actively trying to irritate her.
And Elias...
Elias only uses titles when he's angry.
Actually angry.
Not joking angry.
Not playful irritated.
Real anger.
Veronica's jaw tightens immediately.
"Yes," she says flatly.
Elias leans back slowly in his chair.
"So," he says calmly, "when you do something that makes me uncomfortable, I'm expected to simply endure it. But when you become uncomfortable, suddenly I'm expected to care."
Jacline slowly lowers her papers.
Levi looks deeply invested already.
Nathaniel glances between them with the cautious expression of a man realizing he accidentally walked into a battlefield.
Veronica groans quietly and pinches the bridge of her nose.
"For Gods sake Elias," she says tiredly, "it was an honest mistake."
Elias laughs.
But the sound feels wrong.
Cold.
Sharp.
Empty in a way I've never heard from him before.
"I would love," he says softly, "to know what kind of honest mistake ends with a man's tongue down your throat."
The room goes silent.
Levi nearly chokes.
Nathaniel visibly straightens.
Achille slowly lowers the report in his hands while looking profoundly confused.
Veronica immediately glares. "Frist off You're exaggerating. It was a simple peck and seco.."
"It was a peck?" Elias asks flatly.
"Yes."
"A peck."
"Yes and i pushed him away you saw me push him away ."
"After he kissed you "
Levi finally interrupts carefully, "...wait, did I miss something?"
Elias smiles without humor.
"Nothing important," he says through his teeth. "Lady Veil merely decided to perform an extremely thorough search on one of our guests by shoving her tongue down his throat."
Veronica slams both hands onto the table.
"I DID NOT KISS HIM."
Elias rises immediately.
"HE KISSED YOU."
"And I PUSHED HIM AWAY."
"After how long?"
"Immediately!"
"Still doesn't explain ," Elias says coldly. "why he comfortable enough to think kissing you was appropriate?"
Veronica stares at him in disbelief.
"Oh my gods."
"No," Elias continues over her, visibly losing patience now. "Actually answer me. What possible signal made that man believe he could kiss you?"
"He misunderstood."
"What did he misunderstand?"
"I was being nice!"
Elias throws one hand dramatically into the air.
"Bullshit."
Veronica groans loudly. "You know I'm capable of being nice to people Can you let this go?"
"No."
"I already apologized."
"Its not accepted ."
"how many time do i have to say I'm sorry for something i clearly didn't do ."
"As many as needed for me to understand what kind of behavior made him think kissing you was acceptable!"
Veronica points aggressively at him. "You are being ridiculous."
"And you," Elias snaps back, "apparently allow random men close enough to put their mouths on you despite threatening to stab most people for handshakes."
Honestly?
He has a point.
Veronica once threatened to remove Nathaniel's fingers because he patted her shoulder after training. Nathaniel still looks emotionally damaged from the experience. Levi glances between them slowly before frowning.
"Sorry," he interrupts carefully, "but why exactly does it matter who Veronica kisses?"
Silence.
Dangerous silence.
Veronica freezes.
Jacline slowly lowers her face into her hands.
Nathaniel looks like he just realized he's watching a carriage drive directly toward a cliff.
Elias goes completely still.
Levi keeps going anyway because apparently self-preservation abandoned him years ago.
"You're acting,"Levi says cautiously, "like her kissing someone is a betrayl."
Veronica immediately says, "I didn't kiss anyone."
"Even if you did it doesn't matter ," Levi says, looking genuinely confused, "your single you can kiss who ever you like without being scolleded by a man child ."
Elias slowly turns toward him.
Then smiles.
Gods.
That smile never means anything good.
"You know what?" Elias says softly. "You're absolutely right."
"Lady Veil is not betraying anyone," Elias continues calmly. "The entire world knows she's unmarried. Unattached. Free to kiss whichever idiot she pleases."
Veronica looks alarmed now. "Eli..."
"No, no," he interrupts pleasantly. "I'm clearly being unreasonable. After all, I allow women to kiss me all the time."
Levi nods immediately. "Exactly."
"Therefore," Elias says, voice growing colder with every word, "it would be hypocritical for me to become upset when she does the same."
Veronica stands abruptly. "Elias."
He ignores her completely.
"I mistakenly treated her," he says softly, "like a taken woman."
Veronica moves around the table quickly now. "Elias, stop."
"Which is unfair of me," he continues. "Because everyone knows she belongs to no one."
"Elias."
"So truly," he says, looking directly at Veronica now, "I apologize."
The room goes dead silent.
Even Levi finally realizes something is wrong.
Veronica reaches for his wrist immediately. "Elias."
He pulls away.
Hard.
The movement is so sharp it startles even me.
For the first time since I've known him..
Elias actually looks furious.
Not amused.
Not sarcastic.
Furious.
"Like You said you already apologized," he says coldly. "No need to continue the conversation." Then he turns, walks to the office doors, and slams them shut behind him hard enough to shake the shelves.
Silence.
Long silence.
Levi looks around uncertainly. "...well. Someone's angry."
Veronica slowly turns toward him.
Honestly?
I would rather face Achille during a battlefield rage. Sometimes Veronica gets so still she stops looking human entirely.
"You," she says flatly, "need to learn when to shut up."
Levi immediately raises both hands. "I was defending you."
"I did not need your help."
"You seemed-"
"Shut up ."
Levi blinks.
Veronica points toward the door Elias exited through.
"You made it worse."
"How?"
"Just shut up ."
Veronica turns and storms toward the door herself. Opening it again and slamming it behind her
Silence returns instantly.
Nathaniel slowly wipes fake tears from beneath his eyes.
"Are our parents getting divorced?"
Achille bursts into laughter so suddenly I nearly jump.
"Yes," he says in a fake broken voice. "The marriage is failing."
Jacline raises her hand immediately. "I call living with dad. Mom is terrifying."
"Agreed," Achille says instantly.
Nathaniel shakes his head dramatically. "All of us can't live with dad , someone has to go with mom."
"Jacline should."
Jacline gasps. "Why me?"
"Women are supposed to stay together," Achille says wisely.
"That woman is not human," Jacline snaps. "She's a war crime with hair."
"Exactly why ," Nathaniel says. "You're more likely to survive."
"I absolutely would not survive."
Levi looks at all of us like we've collectively lost our minds.
"Why," he asks slowly, "is no one discussing the fact Elias is acting irrationally jealous over a woman he isn't even involved with?"
We all stare at him.
Then at each other.
Then back at Levi.
"They have a weird relationship."
Everyone nods.
Levi looks horrified.
"That explanation cannot possibly satisfy you people."
"It does," Nathaniel says immediately.
"Very much," Jacline agrees.
Levi points toward the door. "He nearly started a diplomatic incident because someone kissed her."
"Yes," Achille says thoughtfully. "That sounds like Elias."
"And she threatened to kill me for commenting on it."
"Also sounds like Veronica," Nathaniel adds.
Levi stares at us in disbelief.
"You're all insane."
"Probably," I admit.