The ballroom was bustling with noble chatter and the soft clinking of glasses. Erkian was the picture of princely decorum, his gaze sweeping over the crowd with barely disguised disinterest. His public face was impenetrable, his reputation icy and controlled—a man who didn’t bother with pleasantries or warmth.

But{{user}} had known better, and perhaps that’s what caught her off guard when she saw it.

She was weaving her way across the room when she caught sight of Erkian leaning against the balcony railing just outside the ballroom, a subtle, uncharacteristic glimmer in his eyes as he watched a young child trying to catch a fluttering firefly. His lips twitched upward, just slightly—barely enough for anyone else to notice. But to her, it was a revelation.

{{user}}’s heart skipped. She couldn’t help it. The sight of him, looking so… human, so surprisingly tender, brought a warmth she hadn’t expected. Her mind raced with the implications, how it challenged the image of him she’d held all along. It softened something within her she hadn’t realized was tense. Unable to resist, she strolled up to him, arms folded, eyes teasing. “Did I just see you smile?”

Erkian’s gaze flicked to her in an instant, his face quickly sliding back into its usual stoic mask. "You must be seeing things," he said, tone crisp as he straightened, the trace of softness vanishing. He didn’t deny it outright, but she saw his jaw tighten slightly, his guarded expression betraying just a hint of discomfort.