Flower in the Trap - Chapter 6

The carriage rocked gently as it moved, the golden curtains at the windows fluttering softly in the wind. The wheels rolled over the cobblestone road, producing a low, rhythmic clatter.

Linaelina lay fast asleep, resting against Kaellian’s shoulder. Her hair clung to him, cascading down from his shoulder in soft strands. She slept deeply, her breathing light and even, her chest rising and falling with gentle rhythm.

Kaellian looked out the window at the receding landscape, his silver-gray pupils reflecting the magnificent palace looming not far ahead. He had finally left that dilapidated, shadowy side hall and was now entering the very heart of power.

“…Linaelina,” he murmured, so soft it was nearly inaudible. It wasn’t a call, more a quiet musing, like a blade gliding through silk. He was turning over a question in his mind, wondering if this chess piece now in his hand could become the lever that shifts fate itself.

And this was just only the beginning.

The Emperor had already dispatched his men to investigate. Rumors about Aistre’s declining mineral quality had long been circulating in the market, and Kaellian’s claims were soon confirmed to be true.

Enraged, the Emperor turned his fury on the Empress, his voice laced with cold, merciless scorn. Each word fell like a blade, deliberate and cruel, cutting deeper than any sword could.

Soon after, the palace quietly announced that Kaellian would be reassigned to Linaelina’s quarters. No explanation followed. Linaelina held little weight in palace’s affairs, so no one questioned the arrangement, leaving the future of the two shrouded in ambiguity.

For now, at least, the storm that had loomed over the capital had momentarily passed.

Linaelina leaned lightly against Kaellian’s shoulder, her body swaying gently with the rhythm of the carriage. Sunlight spilled across her slender neck, her skin pale as fresh snow yet Kaellian’s gaze never left the window.

The wheels gradually slowed, and the carriage came to a halt before a set of intricately carved stone steps. The palace’s spires gleamed under the sunlight, golden and dazzling like cold eyes quietly observing the thoughts of all who dared enter.

The door opened, and Kaellian stepped out first. His posture was upright and elegant. He extended a hand, palm upward, the cufflink on his sleeve catching the light and flashing sharply.

“Princess,” he said, his tone perfectly courteous, as a gentleman should be.

The sunlight roused Linnéa from her daze. She blinked, momentarily stunned as she stared at the hand before her, then gently placed hers on it, a faint blush rising to her cheeks.

“Th-thank you,” she replied with the grace of a well-bred lady.

After entering the palace, Linaelina leaned slightly toward the head maid and gave her a few quiet instructions. Kaellian stood nearby, seemingly indifferent, but his gaze subtly swept across the space, taking silent measure of the new domain he was about to occupy.

It wasn’t until they reached a bedroom door that Linaelina finally stopped. Her hands were clasped behind her back, but a closer look would reveal her fingers twisting around the fabric of her sleeves, betraying her nerves.

“I… I’m sorry for using you like that.” The moment the word using left her lips, images from the night before surfaced unbidden, leaving her cheeks warm and a soft flush blooming at the tips of her ears.

She bit her lip, trying to compose herself. “I… I had no other choice… That’s why I… A-anyway… from now on, you can sleep here. You don’t… you don’t have to stay with me.”

Her words grew quieter with each syllable, as if afraid he might hear them and at the same time afraid he might not. After the last few words faded, the air seemed to still, even the sunlight paused in silence.

When Kaellian heard this, a faint smile tugged at the corners of his lips, gentle as ever, though it revealed nothing of what he was truly thinking.

“All right, as you wish, Princess.”

He pushed open the bedroom door without a word. Golden light streamed in from the corridor, casting his tall, upright figure in gentle radiance. His shadow stretched across the floor, reaching Linaelina like a silent omen, as though fate had long since written their entangled destinies in the quiet between heartbeats.

Author’s note: The title “Borrowed Glory” implies a hint of exploitation. But Kaellian was always meant to be someone brilliant and radiant. Whether it was borrowing his brilliance or using him, both were acts driven by helplessness.