**Chapter 24: A Kingdom Made of Glances**
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The grand halls of the Wolter estate were rarely this silent.
No ringing orders from Sher.
No quiet humming from Hana.
No teasing from Klein, and even Mira's voice was hushed.
It was as if the mansion itself had held its breath — caught in the web of misunderstandings that now bound its king and queen.
And in that silence, a war of glances had begun.
Because sometimes, love didn't break through screams.
Sometimes it shattered hearts with just a look.
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### **A Thousand Unspoken Words**
Hana sat in the sunroom, chin resting on her hand, staring through the transparent glass as holographic rain fell outside. It wasn't real — just programmed precipitation to mimic Earth's early spring — but it matched her mood too well.
Sher entered the room quietly, his usual commanding steps replaced with something softer. Hesitant.
She didn't turn. Didn't flinch. Didn't blink.
Just stared ahead like his presence was as invisible as the rain.
> "You skipped dinner," he said finally, voice low, unreadable.
She picked up her tea cup, sipped slowly, and responded without looking at him.
> "I wasn't hungry."
Sher exhaled slowly. "You haven't been hungry for three days."
"And you haven't been honest for longer," Hana replied, her tone calm, but biting.
That made him pause.
She still didn't look at him. And he hated it. Hated that her gaze — the one that used to tease and test him — now treated him like he didn't exist.
> "You misunderstood," he said, stepping closer.
> "Then clarify," she snapped back, finally turning her head — not to soften, but to wound. "Tell me what I *misunderstood* about being used like a chess piece. Again."
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### **A King Without a Crown**
Sher stared at her, jaw clenched.
This was not the Hana who forgave quickly.
This was the Hana who remembered *everything*. The one reborn with memories and guarded by iron walls.
> "You think I see you as a pawn?"
> "I think you forget I was one," she whispered. "In my first life… and in this one. Only difference is, now I *know it.*"
> "I protected you!"
> "You *possessed* me!"
The words rang louder than either of them expected.
She stood now, facing him fully. Eyes like ice, voice like thorns.
> "You want my heart, Sher? Then stop giving me orders like I'm part of your military."
He flinched. For the first time in days, his perfect composure cracked.
> "I'm trying," he said, voice raw. "I'm trying to love you in a way that doesn't break you. But you won't even *look* at me the way you used to."
She didn't deny it.
> "Because I don't know who you are when the world isn't watching," she said.
> "Then let me *show* you."
> "Then stop hiding."
Silence.
The tension between them was suffocating.
Until Hana turned again — not out of anger this time, but out of exhaustion. Emotional exhaustion.
> "I'll be in the west wing," she said. "Don't follow me tonight."
He did not.
Not because he didn't want to. But because he was too afraid she might ask him to leave again — and this time, mean it.
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### **Glances Across a Ballroom**
Two days later, the palace held its mid-season masquerade — a political gathering under the pretense of celebration. Sher and Hana had to attend. Publicly, they were still the power couple, still adored.
But beneath the masks… the cracks were obvious.
She wore a silver gown, threaded with midnight blue. He wore a black suit with a wolf's mask. And between them stood miles of distance, visible only to those who looked too closely.
Cenric was there too — watching from the upper tier.
> "Fascinating," he murmured to his assistant. "The kingdom built by glances is starting to fall."
> "Sir?"
> "Sher watches her like she's still his," Cenric said with a smirk. "But Hana looks at him like she's already made her exit."
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### **The Dance**
But royalty demanded a show.
When the music shifted to the traditional bond-dance, couples began pairing off. A few whispered bets as to whether the Wolters would participate.
And to everyone's surprise — *they did*.
Sher approached her, wordlessly extending his hand. Hana stared at it for a long moment… then accepted.
They moved like they were carved from the same stone. Steps practiced, elegant, perfect.
But their hands barely touched.
And their eyes didn't meet — not until the final turn.
When they finally did lock eyes, a thousand conversations passed between them.
> "Why don't you trust me anymore?"
> "Because I trusted you too much the first time."
> "I never stopped loving you."
> "Then stop hurting me."
As the dance ended, their hands separated again — not just in the choreography, but in reality.
And the applause that followed?
It felt like a funeral.
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### **Truth in the Dark**
That night, Sher didn't sleep.
He stood on the rooftop garden, watching the stars above the capital. Hoping she might appear behind him, like she used to.
She didn't.
Instead, Mira's voice echoed softly.
> "Lord Sher."
> "Not now, Mira."
> "Hana's vitals indicate high emotional stress. Recommend you *talk* before the damage becomes permanent."
He turned sharply. "She won't listen."
> "Then speak louder."
He didn't argue. Because even an AI could see what he was losing.
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### **Midnight Visit**
When he finally entered her room, she was awake.
Sitting at her desk, hair down, reading an old letter she kept from her childhood. It was the only paper one Sher had ever written — the day he told her she wasn't alone in the palace anymore.
> "You were the first person who saw me," she said without turning. "Before all of this… before the wars and titles and crowns."
> "And you were the only one who never feared me."
Now, she turned.
> "But I do, Sher."
That shattered him.
> "You scare me. Because you could tear down the world for me. But you won't let me do the same for you."
> "Because you're my light," he said. "If you burn too, I'll be left in the dark."
> "Then maybe we need to learn how to burn *together.*"
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### **The Kingdom Rebuilt**
No kisses followed.
No dramatic embraces.
Just two broken souls — still wearing their crowns — sitting side by side again.
And finally, glancing at each other… like maybe the kingdom they built from glances could still stand.
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