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The courtyard was quiet in the early afternoon. A small table had been set beneath the shade of a tree, the sunlight warm against the stone paths.
On the table sat a plate, neatly arranged sweets dusted with sugar and spices.
Risa stood beside it, hands folded together with a nervous sort of pride.
“I… made these for you, Kalim!”
Kalim blinked in surprise, his usual bright smile flickering with genuine delight.
“For me? Really?” he laughed lightly. “Wow! That’s super nice of you!”
He leaned closer to the plate for a moment.
Then he hesitated.
It was subtle. The kind of pause most people would miss.
But it was there.
Kalim rubbed the back of his neck, grin still on his face, but just a little tighter now.
“Ah… they look really good,” he said quickly. “But I actually already ate earlier! I’m super full.”
Risa’s expression softened immediately.
“Oh. That’s alright,” she said gently. “I understand.”
She tried to smile. She truly did.
But there was still that tiny sting in her chest. The small disappointment of someone who had tried very hard.
Before the moment could settle, a sharp voice cut through the air.
“Unbelievable.”
Both of them turned.
Mikhail stepped forward, arms folded behind his back in that rigid posture he always carried like armor. His eyes were fixed squarely on Kalim.
Cold.
Disapproving.
“Her Highness,” he said flatly, “took the time to prepare something with her own hands. For you.”
The word you sounded like an accusation.
Risa’s heart immediately dropped.
“Mikhail…”
But he didn’t stop.
“And you refuse it!”
Kalim raised his hands slightly, still smiling, still trying to keep the mood light.
“No, no! It’s not like that! I just—”
“You just what?” Mikhail cut in sharply. “Invented a convenient excuse?”
The air shifted.
Risa felt panic spark in her chest.
“Mikhail, that’s enough—”
He ignored her.
“Do you have any idea how fortunate you are?” he continued, voice tightening. “A princess—a future queen—personally preparing something for you, and you dismiss it without a second thought!”
Kalim’s smile faltered.
Just a little.
“I’m really grateful, I swear!” Kalim said quickly. “It looks amazing! I just—”
“Then eat it.”
The words dropped like a command.
Silence stretched.
Kalim’s shoulders stiffened.
His eyes flicked briefly toward the plate.
Then away.
“I said I’m full,” he replied, a bit more quietly now.
Mikhail scoffed.
“A weak excuse.”
“Mikhail—!” Risa stepped forward, voice strained now. “Please stop—”
But Mikhail was already worked up, frustration building in every word.
“You could at least pretend to show appreciation. Or is courtesy beneath you?”
Kalim’s hands curled slightly at his sides.
“I am being appreciative,” he said, still trying to laugh it off. “Really! I just feel safer with foods that are made by Jamil.”
The courtyard went still.
The words had slipped out before he could stop them.
Kalim’s smile came back quickly—too quickly.
“Ahaha! You know how Jamil is,” he added lightly. “He’s really picky about food safety and stuff.”
Deflect.
Keep things light.
Don’t make it awkward.
But Mikhail only frowned harder.
“So you distrust the princess?”
“No!” Kalim said immediately.
“Then your reasoning makes no sense!”
“Mikhail, stop it,” Risa pleaded now, voice trembling.
He still didn’t stop.
“Or is this some childish superstition? You refuse the hospitality of royalty over irrational fears?”
Kalim’s composure finally cracked.
His voice came out thinner.
“I said it’s fine! I just don’t want to eat it, okay?”
Mikhail stepped forward.
“No! It is not fine! What is not fine is the blatant disrespect—”
“Please—”Risa called out once more.
“—shown to someone who has extended nothing but kindness—”
“MIKHAIL!”
But he was already too deep in it.
“—and you repay her generosity with paranoia and excuses!”
Kalim’s breathing hitched.
His eyes had dropped to the ground now.
“I said I’m grateful,” he muttered. “I just… can’t.”
His voice sounded small.
Mikhail opened his mouth again.
And Kalim suddenly stepped back.
“I think I should go.”
He didn’t look at either of them. His usual bright tone was gone entirely now.
“Sorry, Risa. They really do look great.”
“ Kalim…”
Risa took a few steps towards him, her hand stopping mid reach toward Kalim.
He turned and walked away quickly.
The courtyard felt hollow after he left.
But Mikhail wasn’t finished.He exhaled sharply, shaking his head.
“Unbelievable,” he muttered. “To insult you so openly—”
Risa suddenly turned toward him. Her hand into the air.
Twack.
A slap across his face. Mikhail just stared at the side. His hand moved slowly to his face which was red.
Mikhail froze but not for long as his head slowly turned toward Risa again, still touching his cheek.
She was shaking.
Her hands were clenched so tightly the knuckles had gone white.
“Mikhail,” she said, voice breaking, “do you know why Kalim is like that?”
He frowned slightly.
“I assume some misguided pampering—”
“He’s been poisoned!”
The words fell into the silence like shattered glass.
Mikhail blinked.
Risa’s eyes were wet now.
“Over. And over. And over. And over again!”
He didn’t move.
“His entire childhood,” she continued, voice trembling with anger and hurt, “people tried to kill him through his food. People that he trusted. He’s family!”
The courtyard was deathly quiet.
“That’s why he trusts Jamil with it,” she whispered. “Because Jamil is the one person who makes sure it’s safe. And because…” Her lips twitched. She was angry. Angry at herself. She let out too much. Too much about Kalim. About something he trusted her with. But, she had to.
Yes…She had to say it. Otherwise…
Mikhail’s face had gone completely still.
“I tried to make something nice,” Risa said quietly. “He tried to refuse without hurting my feelings.”
Her voice cracked.
“And you wouldn’t stop.”
The silence that followed felt heavy.
Thick.
Awful.
Because the realization was settling in.
Not slowly but all at once.
Mikhail hadn’t known but that wasn’t the worst part.
The worst part was that he had never once stopped to consider that there might be a reason.
That maybe—the person he was attacking had one.
The courtyard stayed silent.
And for the first time since the argument began,Mikhail had absolutely nothing to say.