Chapter 17: New Faces
The butler bowed low, his eyes avoiding theirs as if guilt might bleed from the contact.
Butler: "A thousand pardons, young masters. The misstep was mine."
Shiebe: (quietly) "No… the fault's not yours. We acted too soon."
He dipped his head slightly—not quite an apology, but something close. Maz said nothing, his silence heavy as stone, eyes flicking across the figures behind the butler like reading omens.
From the stillness stepped a figure who seemed to part the very air with his presence—Eros. The monarch's entrance didn't need fanfare; the room bent around him on instinct. Though his wounds had vanished, the echo of battle still clung to his eyes.
Shiebe: (startled) "Eros!"
Maz: (flatly) "Looks like you're back on your feet."
Eros: (a ghost of a smile) "A king doesn't get the luxury of staying down."
Shiebe's gaze drifted past him.
Shiebe: "Who's with you?"
Before Eros could respond, the two figures stepped into the palace's grand hall. The light illuminated their features.
The first, a young girl with short blonde hair, stood tall in knight's armor, her sword strapped to her side. Her intense gaze and firm stance suggested she had been the one to stop Shiebe and Maz's attack. The second figure, a beastfolk with cat ears, didn't stand out in the same way, but his demeanor was calm and observant.
Shiebe: (to Maz) "You know them?"
Maz: (stiffly) "Yeah…"
Eros: "It's getting late. Everyone should head to their rooms. Tomorrow, we'll do the introductions properly."
The two new arrivals drifted behind Eros's wives like shadows bound by duty.
Maz: (barely audible) "...I'm going to bed."
His voice was low, his shoulders stiff. Eros noticed, but didn't comment directly. Instead, he placed a hand on Maz's shoulder, his tone calm yet firm.
Eros: "I've already spoken to her. Do not let this moment shake you."
The words fell like iron nails wrapped in silk. Maz nodded, but didn't speak. And Shiebe, standing beside him, felt the silence as keenly as a scream.
The Next Morning
Shiebe arrived late.
The air in the main hall was different—denser, somehow. Eros sat at the head like a statue carved from conviction, his wives flanking him, all calm eyes and unspoken judgment. The hall felt like a courtroom, and Shiebe had walked in mid-sentence.
Eros: "Good morning, Shiebe. No need to apologize."
A small mercy.
Eros: "Let's begin. Maz, Shiebe—meet Julius and Mona. Their journey was… delayed."
A beat of silence.
Mona stood straight, distant, armored. Julius stood quiet, watchful, almost folding into himself.
when Mona's eyes landed on Maz—
Something changed.
It wasn't visible. Not really. But the chill in the air was unmistakable.
Maz froze. Shoulders taut. Head lowered. Not from shame, but something deeper. Older. Like a wound reopening without a blade.
Shiebe, sensing the change in Maz's posture, glanced over at him, but the unspoken tension between them hung in the air.
Eros: (cutting the silence) "We move forward from this."
But Mona's voice came sharp.
Mona: "I'm sorry, Your Highness. But I can't live under the same roof as Iriono."
Eros: (quiet) "...Why?"
Before Mona could answer, the tension was sliced apart by Shiebe's cold, mocking voice.
Shiebe: "Your Highness? Seriously? You practicing for a play or just trying to win points?"
Mona: (turns sharply) "What did you just say?"
Shiebe: (smirking, but eyes unreadable) "Oops. Must've slipped out. It's just... people tossing titles around like they mean something—it's a little old-fashioned, don't you think?"
A silence fell. Heavy. Crackling. Like the air before a storm.
She stepped forward. The sound of her boots on marble was a countdown.
Mona: "You've got a real mouth on you."
Shiebe (smirking): "Most people say that after getting to know me. You're quick on the draw."
Mona: "Don't test me."
Shiebe (tilting his head): "Little late for that, knight girl."
Before Eros could cut in, Mona's fist slammed into Shiebe's gut. The impact echoed sharply through the main hall, and Shiebe stumbled slightly, sucking in a breath as he clutched his stomach. But he grinned.
Shiebe: Damn. You hit like a knight. You sure you're not overqualified to be acting like a spoiled noble?
Mona's fists clenched again, but before she could react—
Eros (voice rising, firm): Enough.
The air shifted. Eros didn't need to shout to command silence. His voice carried weight—finality.
Eros (calm but stern): You're guests in my domain, not squabbling children in a training yard. Mona, your emotions are valid, but your behavior isn't. Shiebe, I expected more tact from someone in your position.
Both turned to him. Mona looked away, lips tight, cheeks burning not just with anger but the sting of public reprimand. Shiebe stood upright, rubbing his side with a sigh but saying nothing more.
Mona (restrained): I apologize, Your Highness. May I be excused?
Eros: Go.
As Mona exited the hall in silence, Shiebe glanced at Maz—who remained still, eyes down, jaw tight with the same regret that had haunted him earlier.
Eros stepped forward, his voice calm but firm.
Eros:"Shiebe… what was that all about? That wasn't like you."
Shiebe clutched his side where Mona's punch had landed, forcing a half-hearted grin.
Shiebe:"Guess I'm still stressed from what happened with Zaneff."
But Eros wasn't the only one unconvinced.
The truth was more tangled than Shiebe let on. If one could chart his motives, maybe seventy percent of his actions were for Maz—his friend, who had shrunk beneath Mona's gaze like a shadow under a heavy sun. The remaining thirty percent? That was personal. A storm of unspoken emotions had been brewing: anger, frustration… and a bitter sting of resentment.
Zaneff's departure left a hollow ache in him. She hadn't just left—she'd been pulled away, like someone tearing pages from a story still being written. She had been kind, fair, someone who saw people. Not like Mona, who arrived cloaked in pride and disdain, throwing looks like daggers.
To Shiebe, it felt like Zaneff's memory was being overwritten by this cold, sharp-edged newcomer.
She looked at Maz as if he were something beneath her feet. And that—more than anything—set his blood to boil. If she didn't want to live under the same roof as Maz, she could've left. No one was forcing her to stay.
Who was she to act like she belonged more than they did?
Eros watched him in silence, reading the truth beneath the surface.
Eros:"There's more going on with you than just stress, Shiebe."
The boy didn't argue.
And though Eros didn't press further, his voice carried a final note of quiet authority.
Eros:"Don't let grief turn you into someone Zaneff wouldn't recognize. You can carry her with you without letting it poison how you see others."
Shiebe didn't respond, but something in his posture shifted—like a wall leaning but not yet falling.
Eros let out a quiet sigh before returning to his throne, his presence alone commanding the attention of the room.
Eros: "That's enough for today. You've all had a long journey, and emotions are clearly running high. I want the three of you—Maz, Shiebe, and Julius—to get some rest. Training will begin in one week. Dismissed."
As they stepped into the corridor, a soft echo followed their footsteps. The tension that lingered in the air began to thin.
Maz: "Hey… thanks for what you did back there. You didn't have to step in like that."
Shiebe: [shrugging slightly] "Don't worry about it. Mona seems like she's got a chip on her shoulder. But I gotta ask… What's the deal between you two? You looked like you'd seen a ghost when she walked in."
Maz's gaze dropped again, his pace slowing for a moment.
Maz: "…It's nothing you need to worry about. I'll deal with it myself."
There was weight behind the words. Not defensiveness, but quiet exhaustion. Before Shiebe could press further, Maz gave a quick nod and veered off toward his room, leaving him alone in the corridor with Julius.
The two walked in silence for a beat, until Shiebe decided to break the ice.
Shiebe: "Hey. Julius, right?"
Julius: [nodding slightly] "Yeah. And you're Shiebe. Good to meet you."
His voice was calm—neutral, but not cold. The kind of voice that held back more than it revealed.
The two boys walked side by side through the palace halls, their footsteps softened by the carpet beneath them.
Shiebe cast a few glances toward Julius, who walked with a polite but distant air, his hands tucked into the sleeves of his robe, gaze slightly downturned.
As they walked in silence for a while longer, Shiebe finally broke it, voice low but curious.
Shiebe: "Hey… do you know what happened between Mona and Maz?"
Julius blinked, ears twitching slightly. He shook his head.
Julius: "No… I really don't. The only thing I know is… they used to be childhood friends."
That revelation made Shiebe's eyes widen a bit. Childhood friends? That only made the tension between them feel heavier somehow.
Shiebe: "Seriously? That makes it even more messed up…"
He paused, glancing over at Julius again.
Shiebe: "So… I heard you two were delayed from arriving here with Maz because of some war?"
Julius nodded, slowing a little, like the topic weighed on him.
Julius: "Yeah. It's called the Holy Guild War. Things back home… got bad. Me and Mona weren't allowed to come earlier with Maz. Too many people are traveling out. They limited it."
Shiebe frowned thoughtfully, then asked the next question carefully.
Shiebe: "What was the war about?"
That was when he noticed the flicker in Julius's eyes—the hesitation. The tension. Julius looked away, his shoulders tightening ever so slightly.
Julius: "It's… complicated."
Shiebe quickly raised a hand in apology.
Shiebe: "Sorry. I didn't mean to bring up something heavy."
Julius offered a faint smile, still not quite meeting Shiebe's eyes.
Julius: "It's okay. I just… I don't really know how to explain it. Or maybe… I'm not sure if I should."
Shiebe nodded, the look on his face softening with understanding.
Shiebe: "It's cool. I get it. We've all got stuff that's hard to talk about."
There was a silence between them after that—not awkward, but quiet. Mutual. Trust forming at the edge of a crack.
Julius: [softly] "Thanks…"
Shiebe: "Hey, uh… if you don't mind me asking… what exactly is your relationship with Mona?"
Julius looked up, slightly startled by the question. His catlike ears twitched before he answered, voice barely above a whisper.
Julius: "She's my cousin."
Shiebe blinked. "Cousin? Seriously?"
Julius: "Yeah."
He paused, then added, "We don't really… talk much though."
Shiebe: I see…
As their conversation came to a quiet close, Shiebe gave a small stretch and looked toward the hallway.
Shiebe: "I'm thinking of stopping by the library ,want to come check it out?"
Julius hesitated, then gently shook his head.
Julius: "I think… I'd like to explore the palace a bit more. If that's okay."
There was no offense in his tone—just quiet honesty. Shiebe nodded, respecting the space.
Shiebe: "Alright then. See you around, Julius."
Julius: "You too, Shiebe."
Shiebe offered a faint smile.
It was going to be a long week.