sonovelo Chapter 212: Who Did the Queen Love?
Chapter 212: Who Did the Queen Love?
"Why are we here?"
Ezra asks, somehow finding himself standing in the king’s garden, though more toward the outer area where people were actually allowed to go.
Well, people who lived within the palace at least, according to Kaelis.
There was a small fountain nearby, oddly placed if Ezra was being honest. It sat near the center of a circular patch of white stone, the water flowing quietly enough that it almost blended into the evening breeze.
It was very different from Helios’ hidden garden.
Not that Ezra cared about it because it was Helios’, but Ezra did genuinely love that garden for itself.
It was peaceful.
Quiet.
Hidden away from everything.
That didn’t matter now, though.
"We’re here so we can talk with a better view," Kaelis says, pointing toward the large window in front of them.
Ezra looks up in confusion, squinting slightly as he tries to figure out what exactly Kaelis meant.
But—
Oh.
"That’s...our room?" Ezra says in surprise, finally recognizing the familiar curtains through the glass.
He hadn’t gotten the chance to properly look outside earlier, so he never realized their room overlooked this part of the garden.
From here, Ezra could faintly see movement inside.
Love was clapping her hands lightly, swaying a little as if she was singing something.
And Ezra immediately assumed she was singing to Lior.
The thought alone softened something inside his chest without him meaning to.
"Yes, it is." Kaelis smiles slightly at his reaction. "For the kind of conversation we’re about to have, we might as well talk in a place that would make it easier to talk about."
He gestures between the fountain and the room window.
"In your case, Lior’s just a few walks away. In my case, my mother was the one who had this fountain built."
Kaelis’ gaze briefly shifts toward the water.
"You see...it doesn’t go on until nighttime."
Ezra blinks.
"Why nighttime?"
"You should check it out tonight to see." Kaelis chuckles softly. "I don’t want to ruin the surprise."
That was strange.
Good, strange though.
Kaelis was being rather considerate again, and it still honestly shocked Ezra how naturally kind he was.
Kaelis kept doing things for Ezra’s benefit without making a big deal out of it.
Giving him space near Lior.
Trying to make difficult conversations easier.
Distracting him whenever things became too heavy.
And it made Ezra feel...safe enough to lower his guard little by little.
Which was dangerous in its own way.
"Prince Kaelis–"
"Kaelis."
"Huh?" Ezra tilts his head slightly in confusion.
"Just call me Kaelis," Kaelis says, not looking at him this time. "I know you would call Helios just Helios when it’s just the two of you."
Something about hearing Helios’ name now felt strange to Ezra again.
"If it’s alright," Kaelis continues more quietly, "I would like you to just call me Kaelis as well, since I can assume by now...we’re friends?"
Ezra’s eyes widened slightly at that.
Friends.
The word shouldn’t have surprised him that much, yet it did anyway.
Because Ezra genuinely couldn’t remember the last time someone openly asked to be closer to him like this.
"Or is that too presumptuous?" Kaelis glances at him finally, though for once he looked oddly uncertain.
Ezra immediately shakes his head.
"No, uhm...it’s not that presumptuous, I was just shocked, that’s all..." Ezra clears his throat awkwardly. "I...uh, yes, sure."
Kaelis stares at him after that.
Just stares without saying anything.
Like he was waiting for something very specific.
’What is he waiting for?’ Ezra thought, genuinely confused now.
"Can you...Say it?" Kaelis asks after a moment, sounding almost shy somehow.
Ezra honestly had to make sure he heard correctly.
"Say what?" he asks slowly.
"My name, you know, without the title."
Now, that was odd.
Very odd.
But not unpleasant.
"Kaelis?" Ezra says, not really hesitating because he already referred to Kaelis by just his name inside his own thoughts anyway.
It wasn’t a big deal to him.
But—
"Oh, that’s...great," Kaelis says quietly, his lips twitching upward into a smile that looked far too pleased over something so simple.
Ezra was confused.
Very confused.
But he doesn’t question it.
Mostly because Kaelis somehow looked genuinely happy hearing it.
And strangely enough, Ezra didn’t dislike that either.
"So," Ezra says after a moment, tilting his head slightly again as he looks toward him more seriously now. "Are you going to tell me the truth now...Kaelis?"
"The truth," Kaelis says, chuckling slightly as he turns to look at the window to Ezra and Lior’s room. "It is going to be a hard thing to hear."
"Harder than everything else?" Ezra asks jokingly now that his guard has lowered slightly. "Try me."
The words were light, but Ezra genuinely meant them.
At this point, it wasn’t even just about him anymore.
He wanted to know what Kaelis had endured all these years.
What other people had to endure while Ezra stayed blind to all of it.
And selfishly enough, Ezra needed more information, too.
Because everything felt tangled now.
The cult.
Helios.
Aurien.
Aamon.
Nothing made sense anymore unless Ezra understood where it all began.
"Helios hasn’t always been that bad." Kaelis says with a bitter smile. "Daresay, for the time I’ve begun to think as a child, the times I remember with him were good, even after Aurien’s birth. All I could remember from childhood was Helios being a good brother."
Kaelis’ voice softened slightly at that, almost unconsciously.
And strangely enough, Ezra believed him immediately.
Because no matter how angry Kaelis got, he never sounded like someone who enjoyed hating Helios.
If anything, it sounded like he regretted it.
’Well, this is a bit cliché.’ Ezra couldn’t help but think, mostly because he already felt like he knew where this story was going.
It was probably the usual tale.
The older brother was manipulated into hatred.
The queen poisoned Helios against Kaelis over the years.
Either that, or things worsened after Aurien’s birth.
Royal families always seemed to fall apart over succession eventually.
"Judging by your expression, you know what happens next," Kaelis says as he laughs softly.
Ezra glances at him.
"Well, it’s a common story for brothers."
"Yeah, it’s a textbook fairy tale, no?" Kaelis says, though his smile weakens slightly afterward. "But oddly enough, Ezra? I don’t even think the queen’s manipulation was what made him like that."
Ezra’s brows furrow immediately.
"What do you mean?"
"His mother had already hated me from the start, especially Aurien, but that never seemed to bother him." Kaelis explains quietly. "He would actually protect me from the queen when we were younger."
Ezra blinks slowly at that.
That...wasn’t what he expected.
Because if Helios truly protected Kaelis before, then that meant the shift happened later.
Something had changed him.
"What happened then?" Ezra asks, tilting his head slightly as he focuses fully on Kaelis now.
Kaelis goes quiet for a moment before answering.
"The secret I’m about to tell you isn’t necessarily a secret; it’s mostly something my mother told me her theory was since she was also a concubine."
Kaelis says, finally looking directly at Ezra again. "You see, my mother and I would share secrets when I was younger. She didn’t hold out on me. So I’ve had my fair share of information."
Ezra listens quietly.
And somehow, hearing Kaelis speak about his mother made him sound younger for a moment.
Not physically.
But softer.
Like, no matter how much time passed, Kaelis still missed her deeply.
"And...what was her theory?" Ezra asks curiously.
"She told me that the queen was angry because the love of her life was taken from her, and she wanted Helios to take revenge for her," Kaelis says.
Ezra blinks.
"Yes, I feel like that’s no secret, no?" Ezra asks honestly, confused. "Everyone knows the queen hates the king’s concubines."
Kaelis shakes his head slowly.
"What if I told you that the queen doesn’t even love my father?"
Ezra stills.
"That her love was actually different."
For a second, Ezra genuinely doesn’t understand what Kaelis means.
Then slowly, his eyes widened slightly.
’...Different?’
Kaelis watches the realization slowly begin forming on Ezra’s face before quietly continuing,
"My mother believed the queen loved someone else before she married the king."
"Who did he love then?" Ezra asks, actually intrigued now.
"Auriela."