Edward stood frozen for a mont, his mouth opening and closing without any sound coming out.
Sweat rolled down his temple and his fingers curled slightly on the edge of the table.
His mind was running, but every path led nowhere.
If it had been sothing silly, he could have escaped easily.
He could have laughed and said it ant Salena, I love you.
Even three letters would have been manageable.
But four letters, four very specific letters, trapped him.
All kinds of strange anings flashed through his head.
’Eternity... vast... eternity...’
No, that sounded forced.
’Eternal... very... eternal... very...’
That made even less sense.
He swallowed hard.
Across from him, Salena watched him closely.
Her eyes narrowed, and the warmth in her smile faded just a little.
"Are you going to say sothing other than ’well’?" she asked.
Her voice was calm, but there was clear doubt in it.
"What does it an? You bought it, didn’t you? Don’t tell you don’t know."
Edward let out a slow breath and rubbed the back of his neck.
He gave a small, nervous laugh.
Edward’s lips parted, then closed again.
For a mont, he simply stared at the table, as if the answer might be carved into the wood.
"It... it has a aning," he said at last. "A deep one."
Salena leaned back slightly, crossing her arms. "I can see that," she replied.
"But what exactly does it an?"
Edward laughed softly, a dry and nervous sound.
"Well... it’s not in our language," he said, finally clinging to the excuse he had just ford.
"So you wouldn’t really understand it."
Salena blinked. Then her eyes narrowed.
"Not in our language?" she repeated.
"Then whose language is it?" She paused, then pointed at the locket.
"Those are clearly letters from our language. E, V, E, V. So how is it not?"
Edward fell silent again.
His mind spun, searching for sothing, anything, that could save him.
The room felt warr, and the city lights outside blurred slightly in his vision.
Then, suddenly, an idea struck him.
"It’s ancient," he said quickly.
Salena frowned. "Ancient?"
"Yes," Edward nodded, growing more confident as he spoke.
"An ancient language. Very old. Hardly anyone uses it anymore." He leaned forward slightly.
"I wanted it to be special, so I chose an ancient aning. But to make it easier to read, I had it written using our letters."
Salena studied him carefully, her brows knitted together.
She did not speak for a few seconds, and that silence felt heavier than any accusation.
Then she looked down at the necklace again.
"So," she said slowly, "what does it say?"
Edward froze.
The excuse had carried him this far, but now there was nowhere left to run.
But then Edward suddenly rembered how his brother always managed to make up excuses at the perfect mont.
No matter how cornered he was, he never panicked.
He always found a way out.
Edward had watched it many tis while growing up.
So now, as the younger brother, he felt a strange sense of pride rise in his chest.
If he shared the sa blood, then losing a simple situation like this was unacceptable.
This was a small battle, but one he could not afford to lose.
He closed his eyes for a brief second and recalled those monts, the calm look on his brother’s face, the way he spoke without hesitation even when the truth was dangerous.
When Edward opened his eyes again, the panic was gone.
In its place was determination.
If his brother could survive with words alone, then Edward could do the sa.
Edward’s eyes lit up the mont the mory surfaced.
He rembered it clearly.
Eight years ago. His brother, cornered by Princess Charlotte, with no way to escape.
Edward had been standing nearby, watching in silence.
When she had asked why he was hiding from her, his brother had smiled calmly and given an excuse so smooth it almost sounded true.
He had said he read it in a book, that hiding from your fiancée showed deep love, so he was doing it for her sake.
Charlotte had believed him.
She had even blushed.
At the ti, Edward had been shocked. Now, he was grateful.
A spark of determination rose in his chest.
If his brother could survive that, then Edward would not lose here. Not over four letters.
He straightened his back and looked directly at Salena.
"It sounds like Ecaros Vians Ebla Voca," he said clearly, with full confidence.
Salena blinked.
"Eh?" Her mouth opened slightly. "What kind of language is that?"
Edward did not hesitate. He leaned back a little, keeping his face calm.
"It’s a very old language," he said. "It was used long ago, before the kingdoms were ford. Hardly anyone knows it now."
Salena tilted her head, studying him. "And what does it an?"
Edward took a slow breath.
"It ans love is eternal," Edward said, his voice steady and firm. "And Salena is eternal."
He did not hesitate. He did not pause.
He did not give her even a single mont to doubt him.
The instant the words reached her ears, Salena’s eyes widened.
Heat rushed to her face, and her grip on the necklace tightened.
"Do you... do you really an that?" she asked softly.
"Of course I do," Edward replied without missing a beat.
He leaned forward slightly, letting his words carry weight.
"You have no idea how much I want you. After I reach swordmaster, I’ll return ho and speak properly about us. I’ll explain everything and ask for their permission."
Salena’s cheeks turned red, and for a mont, she looked truly happy.
But then her expression shifted.
The blush remained, yet her eyes darkened slightly, as if a serious thought had crossed her mind.
She paused, studying his face.
"Ed," she said quietly, "do you really think your family won’t have any objections?"
Edward answered at once, his tone confident.
"Of course they won’t," he said. "As long as I don’t have any objections, then they won’t either."
He spoke as if it were obvious, as if the matter was already decided.
After that, Salena seed to have sothing to say.
Her lips parted slightly, but before any words could co out, knocks sounded on the door.
Knock. Knock.
"Excuse , Miss Salena Harencross. Your ordered dinner is here."
"Oh—" Salena shook her head lightly, as if pushing her thoughts aside.
She was about to stand up and open the door when Edward rose from his seat and lifted a hand, gesturing for her to stay seated.
Salena froze for a second, clearly surprised.
Still, she sat back down as Edward walked toward the door.
It was nothing special, really. Yet it felt unusual.
Since the day they t, Edward had always been sowhat cold.
With ti, his heart had softened, but he was still dense in certain ways.
He never cared much about small gestures like this.
He was nothing like his brother.
Salena had heard that Charlotte never needed to open the door to her carriage.
Vivian always did it for her.
But when Salena traveled with Edward, he would step out on his own without a second thought, calm and careless, as if such things did not matter at all.
That was why she was shocked now.
It was not that Edward was unkind.
He simply believed that feelings did not need to be shown through small actions.
If both people understood each other, then that was enough.
This ti, though, there was a reason.
As Edward reached the door, he rembered how his brother treated his sister-in-law.
He also rembered his father, who always treated his mother with gentle care.
Without realizing it, Edward was copying them.
After Edward opened the door, two people walked in, one woman and one man.
They were pushing a small tray cart with both hands, and several dishes were neatly arranged on it.
They moved quietly into the room and stopped in front of the table.
Edward returned to his seat and gave Salena a gentle smile.
He was making an effort now, trying to treat her well and make her feel special.
The two staff mbers carefully placed the dishes on the table, one by one, their movents slow and respectful.
When they were done, they bowed lightly and left the room, closing the door behind them.
The warm sll of food filled the air.
Edward and Salena picked up their forks and spoons and began to eat.
"Edward," Salena said softly after a mont, "have you heard about what’s happening in the north?"
Edward paused slightly, then nodded.
"Mother said the war is stuck. Neither side is moving forward."
He continued, his tone calm. "She knows that mostly from Father’s letters. The news reporters can’t go that far north, and the imperial army stopped releasing information last year. So... no one really knows what’s happening there now."
"Hm," Salena humd softly as she picked up her fork.
She cut a small piece of fish, brought it to her mouth, and tasted it before speaking again.
"I heard that Sir Vivian wanted to join the war," she said casually, as if it were simple gossip.
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