He was waiting by the fountain, the same place we'd talked before. But this time there was no wine, no careful seduction. Just Edrin, arms crossed, watching me approach with an expression I couldn't read.
"You've been busy," he said. "Investigating your ally. Accusing the Crown Prince. Making enemies you can't afford."
"I've been doing my job."
"Have you? Because from where I'm standing, you've been wasting time on theories while real threats move against you." He stepped closer. "Did you find your proof? The evidence that makes me a conspirator?"
"I found financial records. Payments to Theron's network. Payments you authorized."
"I authorized hundreds of payments over the years. To nobles, merchants, brokers. That's what heirs do. We fund allies, build networks, create connections. You can't run a realm without money moving through channels."
"These channels funded conspiracy."
"Some of them, yes. Because Theron was brilliant at hiding her activities inside legitimate transactions. She used my networks without my knowledge. When I found out, I helped you stop her."
"You helped her escape."
His jaw tightened. "I did not."
"The payments made the night she fled. The evidence destruction. That was you."
"That was damage control. When Theron escaped, I moved to protect what was left of her networks from being dismantled by people who'd use the chaos to seize power. I secured assets, burned compromised records, kept things stable. For the realm, not for her."
"You're lying."
"Am I?" He moved closer, anger finally breaking through. "Or are you so determined to find betrayal everywhere that you can't see when someone is actually helping you?"
"The heir's office codes. The authorization that helped her escape. Only you had those after you became Crown Prince."
"Theron had them too. She'd copied my codes months before. Used them to move money, authorize payments, make it look like I was involved." He pulled a document from his coat. "This is a security report I filed with the treasury three months ago. Reporting suspicious activity on my accounts. Requesting investigation into possible code theft."
He handed it to me. I read it. It was real. Dated three months before Theron's escape. Requesting exactly what he claimed.
"This could be fabricated," I said.
"It's not. Check with the treasury. They'll confirm it's genuine." He took it back. "I tried to tell you, Ryn. I tried to warn you that investigating the imperial family would be complicated. That Theron was brilliant and ruthless. But you didn't listen. You never listen."
"Because you've been manipulating me from the start. Using me to eliminate your rivals while protecting your own people."
"What rivals?" His voice rose. "Name them. Tell me who I protected. Show me one person who deserved to be arrested who I shielded from your investigation."
I couldn't. Because everyone we'd arrested had been genuinely guilty. Everyone we'd exposed had actually been part of the conspiracy.
Unless...
"The nobles whose records were destroyed. The ones who received payments from your office. You protected them."
"I protected legitimate allies who would have been caught in the crossfire. Yes. Because not everyone who received money from me was a conspirator. Some were just nobles I was working with. Burning their records kept them from being falsely accused while Theron's actual network was being dismantled."
"That's convenient."
"It's the truth!" His hands gripped my shoulders. "Ryn, listen to me. I have been helping you. From the beginning. Everything I did was to stop Theron and her network. Yes, I used your investigation strategically. Yes, I protected some allies who didn't deserve to be caught up in this. But I never betrayed you. I never worked with Theron. I never wanted anything but to see her stopped and the conspiracy broken."
I wanted to pull away. Wanted to maintain my certainty.
But his eyes held something I couldn't deny. Frustration. Hurt. And what looked like genuine truth.
"The payments," I said. "Three years ago. Before Theron's coordination began."
"Were building networks I needed to secure my position as heir. That's politics, Ryn. That's how succession works. I funded nobles who'd support me when the time came to take the throne. Some of those nobles later got tangled up with Theron because she was better at this game than I realized. But I didn't fund conspiracy. I funded allies."
"How is that different?"
"Because my allies weren't killing people! They weren't coordinating invasions! They were just nobles playing for advantage in a future succession." He released my shoulders and stepped back. "I'm not innocent, Ryn. I've done things for power. I've made compromises. I've protected people who probably didn't deserve it. But I'm not a traitor. And I didn't betray you."
I stared at him, trying to find the lie. Trying to see the manipulation.
But all I saw was a man who was telling a truth I didn't want to hear.
That maybe I'd been wrong. That maybe my broken trust had made me see enemies where there were only complicated allies.
"You should have told me," I said. "About the payments. About your networks. About everything."
"Would you have believed me? Would you have trusted that I was helping while also playing politics?" He laughed, bitter. "No. You would have suspected me anyway. Because that's what you do. You suspect everyone until they prove themselves. And sometimes even after they prove themselves."
He was right. And I hated that he was right.
"The Emperor thinks you're guilty," I said quietly.
"I know. You went to him with your evidence. Told him his son was a conspirator." There was hurt in his voice now, beneath the anger. "Do you have any idea what that did? What it cost for him to look at those records and wonder if I was capable of that kind of betrayal?"
"If you're innocent—"
"Innocent." He cut me off. "I'm not innocent. I'm just not guilty of what you think I am. And there's a difference." He pulled another document from his coat. "This is testimony from the banker you tried to question. He finally agreed to talk after I convinced him his confidentiality wouldn't be violated. He confirms that the coded accounts were set up by Theron. Using my access codes. Without my knowledge."
He handed it to me. I read it. The testimony matched everything he'd said.
"And this," he pulled out another paper, "is a list of the nobles whose records I burned. Cross-reference it with your conspiracy list. You'll find none of them were actually involved. They were just nobles who'd received legitimate payments from me that would have looked suspicious during your investigation."
I took that document too. Stared at the names. Names I'd suspected. Names that had seemed suspicious.
None of them on our proven conspiracy list.
He was right. Again.
"You've been three steps ahead of me the whole time," I said.
"Because I had to be. Because if I wasn't, you'd have destroyed me based on suspicion and financial patterns that looked damning but weren't."
"I was doing my job."
"No. You were fighting ghosts." His voice was gentler now. "Ryn, I understand why you don't trust easily. I understand why you see betrayal everywhere. But you can't keep living like this. You can't keep pushing away everyone who tries to help you because you're afraid they'll turn out to be enemies."
"Theron turned out to be an enemy."
"Theron was always an enemy. I told you that. I warned you about her. And you still didn't trust me enough to believe I was on your side."
He stepped closer, close enough that I could feel his warmth.
"I meant everything I said before. About wanting you here. About wanting to work with you. About wanting more if you'd let me." His hand found my face, gentle this time. "But I can't keep trying to convince you I'm not your enemy. It's exhausting. And it hurts."
"Edrin..."
"I'm not asking for an answer now. I'm just asking you to consider that maybe you were wrong. Maybe I've been telling the truth all along. Maybe the betrayal you're looking for doesn't exist."
He leaned forward and pressed his lips to my forehead. The same gesture as before. Tender and tired.
"If you need me, I'll be here. Supporting your work. Protecting you when I can. Being the ally you refuse to believe I am." He stepped back. "But I'm done trying to convince you. Either you trust me or you don't. And I think we both know which one you'll choose."
He left me standing in the garden, holding documents that proved him right and me wrong.
And I didn't know whether to feel relief or devastation.
Because if Edrin was innocent, if he'd been helping all along...
Then I'd just destroyed the best ally I had for no reason except my own inability to trust.
***
I took the new evidence to the Emperor that evening.
He read the banker's testimony. Examined the list of nobles. Checked the security report Edrin had filed months ago.
When he finished, he looked at me with something between pity and disappointment.
"My son was innocent," he said.
"The evidence was circumstantial. I had to investigate—"
"You had to investigate. Yes. But you also had to crucify him without giving him a chance to explain. You went straight to accusation without checking if there were alternative explanations."
"Your Majesty—"
"You're young, Warden. Talented. Dedicated. But you're also damaged. And your damage makes you see threats where there are none." He set down the papers. "Edrin has done nothing wrong except play politics. Which is his right. Which is necessary for someone in his position."
"I apologize. I should have—"
"You should have trusted. But you can't. Because everyone who's ever helped you has either died or left. And you've decided that means everyone will eventually betray you."
His words cut deeper than any blade.
"My son still supports your work," the Emperor continued. "Despite everything you've done. Despite the damage to his reputation, the suspicion you've cast on him, the pain of having his own father question his loyalty. He still wants you to succeed. Do you understand how rare that is?"
"Yes, Your Majesty."
"Then don't waste it. Apologize to him. Work with him. And for gods' sake, learn to trust someone before you destroy every relationship you have."
I left the study carrying shame heavier than any evidence.
Edrin was innocent.
He'd been helping all along.
And I'd repaid him with suspicion, investigation, and betrayal of the worst kind.
I found him in his chambers that night. He opened the door, saw my face, and knew immediately why I'd come.
"I was wrong," I said.
"Yes. You were."
"I should have asked you. Should have given you a chance to explain before going to your father."
"Yes. You should have."
I waited for him to say more. To accept the apology or reject it.
Instead he just looked at me, tired and hurt and still somehow patient.
"I don't know how to trust," I said quietly. "I don't know how to believe people won't betray me. And I'm sorry that you paid the price for that."
"I know you are. But sorry doesn't undo the damage."
"Can I fix it?"
"I don't know. Can you?" He leaned against the doorframe. "Can you look at me tomorrow and not wonder if I'm hiding something? Can you work with me without questioning every decision I make? Can you let yourself believe that I'm on your side?"
"I can try."
"Try isn't good enough, Ryn. Either you trust me or you don't. And until you figure out which it is, maybe we should keep our distance. For both our sakes."
He closed the door gently.
Not a slam. Just a quiet ending.
And I stood in the hallway, knowing I'd just lost something I'd never really let myself have.