The music was too loud.
Far too loud.
The musicians continued playing as if nothing had happened.
Lutes and drums filled the courtyard, cheerful notes crashing against one another beneath the cold evening air.
People laughed.
They talked.
Some even raised their cups and continued their conversations.
They were pretending nothing had happened.
But their eyes betrayed them.
Again and again, gazes drifted toward the balcony where Ace had stood only moments before.
Others followed the trail of wet footprints that stretched from the fountain across the stone courtyard.
Whispers moved through the crowd like a quiet breeze.
Alex helped Jade up the steps.
The fur cloak wrapped around Jade was far too large for him.
It swallowed his small frame almost completely, the heavy material hanging from his shoulders and nearly brushing the ground.
His pale hair was soaked, strands sticking to his face and neck.
Water dripped steadily from his hair onto the stone floor.
“Are you hurt?” Alex asked.
His voice was low and calm.
Jade shook his head quickly.
He didn’t look up.
“N-no.
Just cold.”
Duke Aster reached them a moment later.
His shadow fell over Jade.
“Go inside,” he said.
His voice was tight.
“Change your clothes.
Warm up.”
Jade nodded.
He pulled the cloak tighter around himself, almost disappearing inside it.
Then he turned and started walking away.
His steps were shaky.
Ace came down from the balcony.
He moved through the crowd without saying a word.
People instinctively stepped aside for him, creating a path as he walked.
Their conversations quieted whenever he passed.
He stopped in front of his father.
Aster looked at him.
The Duke’s crimson eyes were hard.
“My study.
Now.”
Ace didn’t argue.
He followed his father inside.
The study was quiet.
The cheerful festival music became nothing more than a distant hum once the heavy wooden door closed behind them.
Aster didn’t sit.
He walked toward the fireplace and stood there, the flames throwing shifting light across his face.
For several moments, he said nothing.
Then he spoke.
“What was that?”
“He fell,” Ace answered.
He leaned against the wall, crossing his arms as though the entire situation meant nothing to him.
He tried to look relaxed.
He wasn’t.
“Don’t lie to me.”
Aster’s voice was quiet.
That was worse than shouting.
“I saw you.
You threw him.”
Ace’s jaw tightened.
He shrugged anyway.
“He was talking to Kalgen.
Plotting.”
Aster’s expression didn’t change.
Ace continued.
“He said Alex was immature.
He said the duchy needs more than military training.
He wants your seat, Father.
He as much as said it.”
Silence filled the study.
Aster stared into the fire.
The flames crackled softly between them.
For a long moment, neither father nor son spoke.
Then Aster finally asked, “And you think throwing him into a fountain will stop him?”
“It humiliated him,” Ace said.
His voice was sharper now.
“Everyone saw.
They saw he’s weak.
They saw he’s just a wet, shivering Omega who can’t even stand up for himself.”
“Did they?”
Aster turned.
His gaze pinned Ace in place.
“Or did they see the Duke’s son acting like a bully?
Did they see you lose your temper?
Did they see you give Kalgen exactly what he wanted—a victim to pity?”
Ace frowned.
“What?”
“Kalgen wants the council to see Jade as a gentle alternative to Alex,” Aster said.
He sounded tired now.
Not simply angry.
Tired.
“A peaceful poet versus a brutal soldier.
What better way to prove that than to have Alex’s own brother attack him in public?”
Aster’s eyes narrowed.
“To show the Valebane temper is wild.
Uncontrolled.”
Ace’s blood ran cold.
He hadn’t thought of that.
Not even for a second.
He had seen Jade standing beside Kalgen.
He had heard the words about Alex.
He had reacted.
He hadn’t considered what everyone else would see.
“Jade didn’t fight back,” Aster continued.
His voice was controlled again.
“He took the humiliation.
He said he slipped.
He played the perfect victim.”
Aster’s gaze hardened.
“And you played the perfect villain.”
Ace pushed himself away from the wall.
“He’s not a victim!”
His frustration broke through.
“He’s a schemer!
He’s here to steal everything!”
“I know why he’s here!”
Aster’s voice rose.
It echoed through the study.
“Do you think I’m a fool?
I know the danger he represents.”
The Duke stepped forward.
“But you cannot fight a shadow with your fists, Ace.”
His expression was stern.
“You fight a shadow with light.
With cleverness.
Not with…”
He stopped, visibly struggling to contain his frustration.
“With a public spectacle!”
Ace looked away.
His hands had curled into fists at his sides.
He hated hearing it.
He hated even more that his father was right.
Aster sighed.
The anger slowly left his face.
For a moment, he looked old.
“You have your mother’s fire.”
His voice softened.
“But fire without control burns down the house.”
The door opened softly.
Lady Roseline entered.
She looked first at her husband.
Then at her son.
Without saying anything, she crossed the room and walked straight toward Ace.
She lifted her hands and gently held his face.
“Are you alright?” she asked softly.
Ace blinked.
“I’m not the one who got thrown in a fountain.”
“I know.”
Her thumbs brushed gently across his cheeks.
“But you are the one who is hurting.”
Ace wanted to pull away.
He wanted to remain angry.
He wanted to hold on to the certainty that Jade was their enemy and that he had done the right thing.
But his mother’s touch melted the anger inside him.
He leaned into her hand despite himself.
“He called Alex immature.
To Kalgen.
He agreed with him.”
Roseline’s eyes became sad.
“I know.
Alex told me.”
“He’s our enemy.”
“He is a boy who was brought here against his will,” Roseline said.
Her voice remained gentle.
“He is alone.
He is scared.
And he is being used by men like Kalgen.”
She paused.
“That does not make him our friend.
But it does not make him a monster.”
Ace didn’t answer.
He didn’t know what to think anymore.
His anger was still there.
But it no longer felt as simple as it had outside.
“Where is he?” Aster asked.
Roseline turned toward her husband.
“Alex took him to the east wing.
He’s changing.
He was very cold.”
Aster nodded.
“The hunting event starts soon.”
He glanced toward the window, where the sounds of preparations could already be heard.
“We must all be there.
As a family.”
Then his gaze returned to Ace.
“You will apologize.”
Ace stiffened.
“What?”
“You will apologize to Jade.
In public.”
Aster’s tone made it clear that this was not a suggestion.
“You will say you were rough.
That you are sorry he fell.”
“I’m not sorry!”
“You will be,” Aster said.
His voice left no room for argument.
“Or you will spend the rest of the festival locked in your rooms.”
Ace glared at his father.
He wanted to argue.
He wanted to refuse.
But beneath his anger, he saw the truth in his father’s eyes.
He had messed up.
He had to fix it.
Or at least look like he was fixing it.
“Fine,” he muttered.
Roseline smiled faintly.
She leaned forward and kissed his forehead.
“Be smart, my wild one.”
Her fingers brushed through his hair.
“Your heart is good.
Let your mind lead it.”
She left the room with Aster.
The door closed behind them.
Ace was alone.
For a moment, he simply stood there.
Then he turned toward the window.
Outside, the courtyard had already begun changing.
The hunters were gathering.
Big men on big horses.
Their voices carried through the evening air.
There was laughter, excitement, the clatter of equipment and the restless sounds of horses preparing for the hunt.
Ace watched them.
He had to go out there.
He had to smile.
He had to apologize.
And he had to watch Jade.
To see what he would do next.
Because his father was right.
Jade hadn’t fought back.
He hadn’t shouted.
He hadn’t struck Ace.
He hadn’t even tried to defend himself.
He had simply taken the humiliation.
And somehow, that was what unsettled Ace the most.
Because if Jade had fought back, Ace could have understood him.
If Jade had screamed, Ace could have called him weak.
If Jade had attacked him, Ace could have hated him without hesitation.
But Jade had done none of those things.
He had simply said he slipped.
And that was more dangerous than any punch.