The king's study was empty.
The moment the door closed, Danuel fixed Loui with a look heavy with fury.
"What were you thinking?" the king demanded.
"I did what I thought was right."
"Right? You put everything at risk!"
Loui drew a slow breath.
"I couldn't have done otherwise."
Danuel clenched his fists.
"You never think about the consequences!"
"And you think of nothing but the kingdom!"
Silence swallowed the room.
It was the first time Loui had ever raised his voice to the king.
Danuel lost control.
He lifted his hand and struck Loui hard across the face.
The marquess staggered sideways, his hand flying to his cheek.
Neither of them spoke.
The king's rage vanished almost the instant he saw the red mark bloom across Loui's face.
"Loui—"
The marquess stepped back.
"No, Your Majesty."
His voice was quiet.
"I can't look at you right now."
He left without waiting for a reply.
Danuel stood alone.
He stared at his own hand, sick with regret.
*What have I done…?*
By evening, Lydia had returned from her father's house.
The argument she'd had with Loui that morning still turned over and over in her mind.
The moment she stepped inside the manor, she noticed an unusual stillness.
She stopped a servant.
"Where is the marquess?"
"In the garden, my lady."
She made her way there.
She found Loui sitting beneath a tree, his gaze fixed on the lake.
When he turned his face toward her, Lydia saw the reddish mark along his cheek.
Her chest tightened.
"Loui… what happened?"
He tried to brush it off.
"It's nothing."
She sat down beside him.
"Don't lie to me."
After a few seconds of silence, Loui answered:
"The king lost his patience."
Lydia looked at the mark again.
Without a word, she took a damp cloth and pressed it gently against his face.
Loui closed his eyes.
The touch was soft.
Careful.
Nothing like the violence he had just endured.
Lydia spoke quietly:
"I'm sorry we fought this morning."
A small smile crossed his lips.
"So am I."
She kept tending to the bruise.
Then she said, almost in a whisper:
"People who love don't hurt each other."
Loui went still.
Those words landed somewhere deeper than the king's blow ever had.
For the first time in a long while, someone could see his pain.
And for the first time since the wedding, he realized that perhaps he was no longer alone.