A Royal Obligation
Chapter 113: The Apology Trap

Chapter 113: The Apology Trap

The gardens had always been a place of solace for Eirik. But tonight, as he and Kaelix walked along the cobblestone path under the dim glow of lanterns, Eirik sensed something was off.

He glanced at Kaelix, whose expression was calm, yet reserved. Eirik couldn’t quite shake the feeling that they weren’t alone. His eyes darted around the lush, meticulously trimmed hedges and towering trees. The air was thick with the scent of blooming jasmine, but something about the stillness of the night felt unnerving.

"They’ve been too quiet lately," Eirik muttered under his breath, casting a glance over his shoulder. "It’s not like them."

Kaelix nodded, though he remained silent. Ever since the confrontation in his chambers, where Eirik’s siblings had cornered him with accusations and overbearing concern, the tension between them and Eirik had only grown.

Eirik had been avoiding them ever since, slipping out of rooms before they could approach him, finding excuses to distance himself.

Eirik was not ready to forgive them. Not yet.

Kaelix reached out and gently squeezed Eirik’s hand, a quiet offer of support. "It’ll be fine," he said softly.

Eirik appreciated the gesture but couldn’t shake the knot in his stomach. Something was wrong.

The last few days had been filled with awkward silence and half-hearted attempts from his siblings and cousins to talk to him.

They had tried to apologize, individually, in pairs, but Eirik had deflected every single one of them. He wasn’t ready to face their guilt, not when his own emotions were still raw.

And now, here they were, out in the gardens, walking aimlessly. A soft breeze rustled the leaves, and the moon hung low in the sky, casting an eerie silver glow over everything.

"Eirik!" A voice suddenly cut through the quiet night, freezing him in place.

Eirik’s heart dropped, his eyes narrowing as he recognized the voice. He turned to see, Lucian, stepping out from behind one of the garden’s large oak trees, his expression a mixture of guilt and ddetermination

Beside him, his twin the ever-playful Julian emerged, though there was no humor in his face tonight.

Ella followed behind, and then Theo, Even Theron, joined them.

Eirik immediately stiffened, instinctively taking a step back. Kaelix tensed beside him, his grip on Eirik’s hand tightening.

"This isn’t happening," Eirik muttered under his breath, already searching for an escape route.

"We’re not here to corner you," Julian started, his voice softer than usual, but still carrying that familiar sharp edge. "Well... maybe we are, but it’s not what you think."

Eirik scowled, stepping back again. "I don’t want to hear it. Whatever it is, I don’t..."

Lucian stepped forward, cutting him off, his eyes heavy with regret. "Eirik, please. We just want to talk. We’ve been trying for days, but you’ve been avoiding us."

"Maybe that’s because I don’t want to talk," Eirik snapped, feeling his chest tighten with the familiar frustration.

His gaze flickered to Kaelix, who had remained silent but whose presence was like a lifeline for him. He didn’t want to be here. Not like this. Not trapped.

"You have every right to be angry," Ella spoke up, her voice trembling slightly as she met Eirik’s eyes. "But we need to make things right. We can’t keep going like this."

Eirik clenched his jaw, looking away. The raw hurt from the confrontation in Kaelix’s chambers was still fresh in his mind. He had never felt so belittled, so suffocated by the very people who were supposed to understand him best. As if he can’t even make a single decision right.

Julian took a deep breath, stepping forward cautiously. "We were wrong, Eirik. All of us. We... we treated you like you couldn’t make your own decisions. We acted like you were still the kid we needed to protect, but we didn’t stop to think how much we were hurting you."

Eirik could feel his anger bubbling just beneath the surface, threatening to spill over. He opened his mouth to argue, but then he felt Kaelix’s hand squeeze his again, grounding him. Kaelix, glanced at him, giving him a small, encouraging nod.

Lucian, who rarely showed emotion, finally spoke, his voice low and thick with guilt. "We were out of line, especially in how we treated Kaelix. We acted like he didn’t belong, like he was somehow taking you away from us. But... that was never true. We just couldn’t see it."

Eirik’s chest tightened, and he shook his head, biting down the words he wanted to hurl at them. His mind flashed back to that day in Kaelix’s chambers, the way they had stormed in, the way they had overwhelmed him with their concerns, their thinly veiled accusations. It had been too much. Far too much.

"I don’t need you to protect me," Eirik said, his voice barely above a whisper, though the emotion behind it was clear to see. "I never needed that. I needed you to trust me. To give Kaelix a chance."

Kaelix, who had been silent this whole time, finally spoke. His voice was quiet but steady, though the pain behind it was evident.

"I know the arrangement between me and Eirik never start with a love story." His eyes flickered between the siblings, lingering on Julian and Lucian, whose expressions tightened at his words. "We were forced on each other. But We have decided to give this a chance. And that should have been enough."

There was a long, suffocating silence. Kaelix’s words cut deeper than any of them had expected.

Lucian bowed his head, shame washing over him. Julian’s usual confidence crumbled, his eyes filled with remorse. Ella pressed her lips together, her face flushed with regret. Theo and Theron, who had remained quiet, shifted uncomfortably.

"We didn’t see it," Ella finally whispered, her voice thick with emotion. "We didn’t realize how much we were hurting you. Either of you."

Eirik stared at them, his heart pounding in his chest. He had always loved his siblings and cousins, loved them fiercely.

But in that moment, the weight of their betrayal, of their overbearing concern, pressed heavily on him. Yet, as he looked at their faces, at the raw emotion they wore so openly, his heart began to soften.

Kaelix, beside him, seemed to sense the shift. His fingers laced with Eirik’s in a gesture of silent solidarity.

Theron, stepped forward, his green eyes meeting Eirik’s. "We were scared, Eirik. Scared that you were slipping away from us. Scared that we weren’t doing enough to protect you. But we lost sight of something important, you’re not a child anymore. You haven’t been for a long time."

Theo nodded, stepping closer. "You have your own life. And Kaelix... he’s part of that. We see that now."

Eirik felt his anger unraveling, the knots of frustration loosening ever so slightly. He hadn’t realized just how much he had wanted to hear those words, how much he had needed to hear them.

Eirik allowed himself to breathe. He turned to Kaelix, their eyes meeting in a moment of unspoken understanding.

Eirik sighed. "I don’t want to stay angry with any of you. But you need to understand, you crossed a line."

Lucian nodded solemnly. "We do. And we’re sorry, Eirik. Truly."

Julian, tried to lighten the mood, he offered a small, hopeful smile. "We’re idiots, but we’re your idiots."

Despite himself, Eirik couldn’t help the small, reluctant smile that tugged at his lips.

Kaelix, too, allowed himself a faint smile, though his eyes were still misted with emotion.

Ella stepped forward, her hands clasped in front of her. "Please forgive us, Eirik. We love you. And we will love Kaelix too, from now onwards."

Eirik felt the last of his anger melt away, replaced by a deep sense of relief. He exhaled slowly, glancing at each of them in turn, his siblings, his cousins, his family.

"I forgive you," he said quietly. "But this can’t happen again. You have to trust me."

Lucian and Julian both nodded, their expressions softening with relief. Ella wiped at her eyes, a tearful smile breaking across her face. Theo and Theron exchanged glances, grateful that the tension had finally lifted.

Kaelix, still holding Eirik’s hand, gave him a soft, knowing look. "Thank you," he whispered, his voice filled with gratitude.

Eirik squeezed his hand back, finally feeling like the weight on his chest had been lifted.

The apology had been needed, desperately so. But more than that, the understanding that followed was what mattered most.