Throughout the entire discussion, the Imperial Crown Prince remained what he'd been from the very beginning.
An overly anxious husband.
Even though every instinct urged him to simply pull his little wife into his arms and comfort him, Xavier stayed quiet and listened, carefully following every explanation Luca gave.
But in true observant fashion, he didn't miss the subtle moments when Luca unconsciously shrank into himself whenever the topic became heavier, nor the way his hands repeatedly opened and closed whenever he disliked the conclusion he was about to share.
Even so, Xavier didn't interrupt him or rush to shield him from it.
Because beneath all the concern was something else.
Pride.
He was rather proud that Luca had managed to arrive at those conclusions on his own.
He was proud that, despite witnessing fragments of other people's deepest desires and regrets, he'd somehow managed to understand them without carrying every bit of that pain as though it belonged to him.
