Vol 1 Chapter 6: Don't Let the World Hear This Silence

"When the light is hidden from the sky… only the heart knows that morning never truly came."

Important Announcement

POV: King Aldebaran Arclight

The Arclight sky that morning remained blue, too blue.
The birds still sang as usual.
The wind blew gently, caressing the rose petals that fell from the royal garden.
But above all, one thing felt odd: the sky wasn't crying.
Yet everyone below... longed for it to happen.

The royal flag fluttered at half-mast atop the palace—a subtle movement in the air that shattered the morning calm, like a prayer left unsaid.
Beneath its shadow, King Aldebaran stood silently on the royal balcony, his black robes billowing like the unfinished night.
His face remained unchanged. But his eyes… were empty.
As if staring at a world he could no longer fully grasp.
He stepped forward.
His voice began to echo from the heights, carrying its vibrations throughout the capital.

“Beloved people of Arclight…
Prince Lune, the light of royal blood, has fallen ill from exhaustion after his service on the border.
For his recovery, he will not be receiving any visitors until further notice.
Please pray for him in silence.”

Silence.
That was the only response that truly occurred.
There was no cheering.
No lamentation.
Only… silence that enveloped the city like a fog that knew where it was going.
But behind those voices, the king's heart spoke something he could not express to the world.

—

The Dilemma Between Being a King and a Father

Inside the throne room, behind the splendour of marble and sapphire curtains, King Aldebaran sat alone.
The silver throne beneath him felt cold. A coldness not of stone, but of memory.
Lune.
The little child who once ran through the palace corridors laughing, calling him in a spoiled voice, “Daddy…”
Now that body lay motionless. No longer welcoming the morning. No more words…

“As your father… I may have failed, Lune.
I didn’t give you the world your age deserved.
I gave you the crown… before I could even hug you.”

He clenched his fists.
The crown on his head felt heavier than ever.
Because this time, he carried not only the kingdom… but also the fears of fatherhood.

“You may sleep, child.
But…
This kingdom cannot sleep with you.”

The king lowered his head slowly.
And for a moment, the crown seemed like a burden of a curse, not a symbol of glory.
And in the sky…
still blue,
still peaceful,
still cold—
Not a single cloud wept.
Yet the entire world… was silently mourning.

"If the light sleeps... then the garden loses its season."

—

In the Palace Garden

POV: Queen Eleanor Arclight

In the deepest part of Arclight Palace...
Hidden from the eyes of the people...
And the whispers of the nobles, there is a garden.
This garden... is no ordinary garden.
This is where little Lune learned to walk.
This is where she picked her first white rose for her mother.
This is where she smiled...
And touched the hearts of many who she never realised were falling for her.

But this morning, the garden felt different.
It was as if the roses knew that the light... was asleep.
The wind blew softly, as if reluctant to awaken the wound.
The footsteps of three girls echoed silently among the prematurely wilted flowers.

Queen Eleanor awaited them.
Standing tall in the centre of the garden, in an oversized black dress that swallowed the light.
But her body... seemed fragile.
Like a flower standing alone amid a winter gone wrong.

Lys, Rubea, and Hestia.
They came at different paces…
But with the same heart, cracked.
Eleanor looked at them like a mother who had lost her son.
Not as a queen.
But as a woman who had lost the light of the world.

“Lune… isn’t just sick,” she finally said, her voice soft like the sound of falling dew.

“He… is asleep. But this is no ordinary sleep. It’s a cocoon.”

Instantly, the garden felt like it had frozen.
The rose petals stopped swaying. The wind seemed lost.
And the three girls’ eyes… began to mist.

“Her body is enveloped in sacred mana,” Eleanor continued.

“He is transforming. But we don’t know when he will return.
Or… if he will return as the Lune we know.”

—

Three Girls’ Response

POV: Lys Arclight

Lys gripped the hem of her skirt tightly.
Her silver hair swayed gently.
Her sky-blue eyes were now clouded with mist.

“Big Brother Lune…
promised to play today…” she whispered.

She was too young to understand the word ‘transformation.’
To her, a promise was a promise.
And Lune… was her little world.

—

POV: Rubea de Bluesky

Rubea stood stiffly.
Her blue dress was perfect.
But her eyes… were broken.

“We danced just yesterday…” she hissed.
“Yesterday, he laughed.”

Her hands clenched.

“Who… would dare take him from me?”

Her words were quiet.
But the steam of anger lingered in every word.

—

POV: Hestia Neville

Hestia looked down. Her golden hair glistened in the morning light, but it didn’t touch her eyes.

“The Prince always protected us…” she thought to herself.

“He didn’t care that I was a woman… he only saw my courage.”

Now she bit her lip.

“But I… failed. I don’t even know when he started to break…”

—

POV: Queen Eleanor Arclight

Queen Eleanor walked slowly, approaching the garden window.
From there… she could see the window to her sons’ room—tightly shut.
As if cutting off the world from the light that should have warmed them.

“This secret… must not get out,” she said softly.

“If the world knew that their light was fading… then the world would be dark.”

She turned, staring at the three girls before her.
Her eyes were swollen… but her fire hadn't died.

"From this day forward… You three are my innermost circle of trust.
Guard this secret.
Guard the hope of the world… which is now sleeping."

The three girls swore no words.
But their tears… were the most honest oath.
They were different.

But that morning, in the garden that had lost its bloom…
They were united by a love they couldn't grasp.
And the Arclight sky… remained unweeping.
Because this time, it was the garden that mourned for its prince.