"Happy birthday… Kaen." He cut her off, not with impatience. The words fell like a soft strike to the chest unexpected, quiet, and piercing.
Her breath caught.
He looked away the moment he said it, as if the courage to speak had cost him more than she knew. Kaen stood still, watching him. Then, slowly, Ryoma reached into his sleeve and pulled out a crimson apple, its surface glistening faintly under the warm light . Without a word, he extended it toward her.
"Here… it's the sweetest one I could find. Picked it myself."
A pause. His voice softened. "They say… if you give the first fruit of the bloom to someone on their birthday, it brings them luck for the rest of the year." He looked at the apple, then back at her. "I don't know if it's true, but… I wanted you to have it anyway."
Kaen stared at it, then up at him. Her fingers brushed his as she took it, gently.
"I… I didn't think you'd remember," she said, voice barely above a whisper.
Ryoma let out a soft breath, something between a scoff and a sigh. His eyes didn't leave hers.
"Of course I remembered," he said quietly. "Things have been a mess lately… but that doesn't mean I'd ever forget your birthday."
Kaen took a quiet bite of the apple, its crisp sound the only thing filling the space between them. She didn't say anything.
Ryoma waited for a moment, watching her carefully. Then, voice soft, he asked,
"Kaen… What's wrong? Isn't it sweet enough?"
She shook her head slowly, still staring at the apple in her hands. "It's more than enough," she said, the corners of her lips tugging up faintly but her eyes remained distant. The silence stretched for a few heartbeats, not awkward, but thoughtful. Ryoma shifted his weight slightly, his gaze flickering to her reflection in the mirror.
"You don't usually… take this form," he said carefully, not directly questioning, just observing.
"So why tonight?"
Kaen glanced at the mirror, then stood and walked over to it. Her reflection stared back at her.
"I just wanted to see…" she murmured, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear. A small laugh escaped her lips, light but tinged with something deeper. "Guess his genes didn't do much when it comes it me. I look just like her." Her fingers traced the edge of the mirror. "I miss how things were back then. Thought… maybe I'd be myself tonight. Just for today."
Ryoma's brows knit, noticing the subtle tremble beneath her words. His voice dropped lower, gentler. "Kaen… do you want to go back?"
She turned to him instantly, eyes wide as she waved her hands in protest.
"No, no! That's not what I meant!" she said quickly. Then, softer, with a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes, "Where would I even go, Ryoma? This… this is my family now. I couldn't leave them behind. Not ever."
Ryoma watched her for a long moment, eyes unreadable. Then he spoke—quietly, but the weight behind his words made her chest tighten.
"Still… we're not your real family, Kaen. You gave up everything. You gave up your name, your title, your place in the world… even the face you were born with. Your true self, you gave it all up. For you to live among us like someone you were never meant to be. Doesn't that ever feel like a burden?" He paused before adding, softer, "Doesn't it ever hurt to be… forgotten?"
Kaen's expression didn't change right away. Her fingers curled slightly at her sides as she took in his words, the silence between them stretching like a held breath. Then, she looked up.
"Missing the past doesn't mean I regret the present." Her voice was calm, but steady like steel wrapped in silk. "I may be the forgotten princess, Ryoma…" She stepped closer, her gaze clear and unwavering. "…but I'm finally free just being Kaen. And that's more than a title ever gave me."
Without breaking eye contact, Kaen reached for his hand and gently placed the ring in his palm her fingers lingering for a heartbeat longer than needed.
"I chose this path." Her voice held no hesitation now only calm conviction. "And I have no regrets… because it was my choice." She smiled faintly, something bittersweet rising behind her eyes. "Back then, I thought I was doing this only because of a promise. A duty. A burden I didn't ask for." She took a breath slow, deep. "But now… I see it differently. It's not a burden anymore." Her hand pressed gently over her heart. "It's a blessing. My destiny. To walk beside all of you, not as a princess but simply as Kaen." Her voice dropped softer, almost like a prayer, "It doesn't matter who I was… forgotten or not. As long as I stay here… this will always be my home."
Ryoma's gaze drifted to the ring in his hand. His fingers curled around it, voice low, uncertain.
"But… what if one day, you choose to leave this home behind?" He hesitated, then met her eyes. "Back then, the world forced your hand. But what if the world changes again? Will you still choose us?"
Kaen's smile faded. Her gaze dropped to the floor, lips parting as if to speak but no words came. Silence hung between them. Ryoma's eyes shadowed. He turned, pressing the ring tightly in his palm as he stepped toward the door. Then her voice cut through the quiet like a sudden flame,
"Kaen won't leave."
He paused.
She walked toward him, each step deliberate, her voice steady yet filled with quiet fire. "I didn't lose a kingdom, I found something greater. I'm not just staying here, Ryoma. I belong here."
She reached for his hand, gently uncurling his fingers from the ring. Her eyes met his clear, fierce. "Let the world change all it wants. My choice won't. I don't care who I was… only who I chose to become. I'd rather be no one here, than be everything somewhere I don't belong."
Ryoma's eyes lingered on her on the conviction in her voice, the fire in her gaze. For a moment, he said nothing. Then, quietly, almost as if to himself, he murmured, "You say you'd rather be no one here… but to me, you've always been something." He paused, his voice steady, if a little frayed at the edges. "My best friend… even knowing what I am."
His gaze dropped to the ring in his hand, the weight of unspoken fears pressing into his palm. "You looked past the scars, the blood, the past I couldn't change and still called this place your home." A bitter smile tugged at his lips. "And that's the problem, isn't it? When someone means too much… you start fearing they'll disappear the moment the world remembers who they really are."
Kaen didn't answer. The silence that followed wasn't heavy, just… full. Like both of them knew the weight of that fear but didn't have the words to lift it.
Then— A sudden thud echoed from the hallway, followed by the sharp stomp of boots and a voice raised just a little too high.
"Unbelievable! It's a ridiculous rule! I don't care how sacred it is, why should I cover this face? Do you know how much charm this face carries?"