By midday...
The rumor had spread through the entire palace.
Servants whispering...
Guards smirking.
Kitchen maids giggling.
And in the center of the disaster-
Aven.
Or rather...
"Elara."
She walked into the kitchen carrying a basket.
Immediately-
Two maids leaned toward each other and whispered loudly.
"That's her."
"The hay girl."
Aven stopped walking.
"...The what?"
They both froze.
"Nothing!"
Aven narrowed her eyes.
Across the kitchen, another cook grinned.
"So Elara... how was the training yesterday?"
A few people started laughing.
Aven's eye twitched.
"It was training."
Someone in the back muttered,
"Sure it was."
More laughter.
Aven slammed the basket on the table.
"OH MY GOD."
Merry tried not to laugh beside her.
Aven pointed at everyone.
"Nothing happened!"
One maid leaned forward.
"So you didn't roll in the hay with Captain Cassian?"
Aven pointed dramatically at the ceiling.
"I FELL."
Someone else added,
"Twice."
Aven turned slowly.
"How do you know that?!"
The kitchen burst into laughter again.
Merry whispered to her,
"...The whole palace knows."
Aven grabbed her head.
"This palace needs hobbies."
Just then-
Cassian walked into the kitchen doorway.
The room immediately went quiet.
Then someone coughed.
"...Captain."
Another maid said sweetly,
"Good afternoon."
Cassian noticed the strange atmosphere.
"...Why is everyone looking at me?"
Aven pointed at him instantly.
"THIS IS YOUR FAULT."
Cassian blinked.
"My fault?"
One cook grinned.
"Captain, we heard about your training session."
Cassian paused.
Then he slowly understood.
"...Oh no."
The kitchen exploded with laughter again.
Cassian rubbed the back of his neck.
"That's not what it sounds like."
A maid teased,
"Sure."
Aven groaned.
"Can someone please erase yesterday from history?"
Merry leaned toward her.
"Too late."
Aven dropped her head on the table.
"This is how I die."
Cassian tried not to laugh.
"You're very popular now."
Aven lifted her head slowly.
"If you laugh... I will push you into actual hay."
Cassian immediately straightened.
"...Understood."
But he was still smiling.
Across the kitchen-
Several maids whispered again.
"They do look cute together."
Aven heard that.
And slammed her head back on the table.
"WHY IS THIS MY LIFE?"
Meanwhile...
In another corridor of the palace-
Rowan passed by two servants whispering.
"...They looked very close."
"...In the hay."
Rowan stopped walking again.
Slowly.
"...Unbelievable."
And continued walking.
But his mood was clearly worse now.
The kitchen was still noisy.
Servants whispered to each other while some tried to hide their laughter behind their hands. The rumor had clearly spread everywhere.
At the center of it all, Aven sat with her head resting on the table.
"I'm never leaving this room again," she muttered.
Merry gently patted her shoulder. "You'll survive."
Near the doorway, Cassian leaned casually against the wall, clearly amused by the entire situation.
"You're being dramatic," he said.
Aven lifted her head slowly and glared at him.
"My reputation is ruined."
Cassian smirked. "You're a kitchen maid."
"Exactly."
Suddenly-
The kitchen doors opened.
The entire room fell silent.
Every servant straightened immediately.
"Your Majesty!"
Rowan stepped inside, his expression calm as always.
His sharp eyes moved across the room, scanning the servants, the counters, the tense atmosphere.
Then his gaze landed on Aven.
She froze.
Very slowly, she stood up.
"...Your Majesty."
No one spoke.
No one moved.
It felt like the entire kitchen had stopped breathing.
Rowan took a few steps inside, glancing around the room again.
"...Interesting atmosphere."
No one dared to respond.
Merry looked like she might faint at any second. Cassian straightened near the doorway.
Rowan's gaze shifted from him... back to Aven.
"...Elara."
Aven swallowed.
"Yes, Your Majesty?"
Rowan spoke calmly.
"You did quite a lot of training yesterday."
Aven stiffened slightly.
"...Yes."
Rowan continued, almost casually, "So today, you will assist me."
Aven blinked.
"Assist you?"
Rowan nodded once.
"Yes."
Aven looked completely confused.
"With what?"
Rowan turned toward the door as if the answer didn't matter.
"...Anything that keeps you out of hay."
A quiet chuckle escaped Cassian.
Aven immediately turned toward him.
"I'm not the only one who did that training alone."
Cassian raised his hands. "Traitor."
Rowan didn't even look at him.
"Doesn't matter. Captain, you should return to your duties."
Cassian straightened. "Yes, Your Majesty."
Without another word, Rowan walked out of the kitchen.
Silence filled the room again.
Slowly, everyone turned to look at Aven.
She stared at the door for a moment.
Then she whispered,
"...I think I'm in trouble."
Merry leaned closer and whispered back,
"You're definitely in trouble."
Cassian chuckled quietly.
"Good luck."
Aven pointed at him.
"If I die, I'm haunting you."
Cassian smiled.
"I'll prepare the hay."
Aven grabbed a towel and threw it at him.
"SHUT UP."
The kitchen burst into laughter again.
Rowan's office was quiet.
Too quiet.
Sunlight spilled through the tall windows, stretching across the wooden floor and the large desk covered with documents.
Rowan sat behind it, a paper in his hand.
He had been staring at the same page for several minutes.
Unread.
His jaw tightened slightly.
"...Rolling in the hay."
The words echoed in his head again.
Rowan exhaled slowly and placed the paper down.
Ridiculous.
It was a rumor. Nothing more.
Cassian trained soldiers every day.
Still-
His fingers tapped once against the desk.
Cassian laughing.
Aven arguing.
The two of them standing too close.
Rowan leaned back in his chair, rubbing his temple.Rowan's expression darkened slightly.
"...Unbelievable."
Just then-
Knock.
The sound snapped him out of his thoughts.
Rowan straightened immediately.
"Come in."
The door opened.
Aven stepped inside.
She looked around the office cautiously before closing the door behind her.
"...You called for me, Your Majesty?"
Rowan's gaze lifted.
For a moment, he didn't answer.
Aven stood there in her simple kitchen uniform, hair slightly messy, expression suspicious like she expected trouble.
Rowan noticed something else.
A small piece of hay was still stuck in her sleeve.
His eyes narrowed slightly.
Aven followed his gaze and looked down.
"...Oh."
She quickly brushed it off.
"That's from yesterday."
Rowan leaned back slowly.
"...I see."
Aven crossed her arms.
"So... what exactly am I assisting you with?"
Rowan gestured to the stack of papers on his desk.
"These."
Aven stared.
"...You dragged me here for paperwork?"
Rowan nodded calmly.
"You wanted to be productive."
"I never said that."
"You implied it."
Aven sighed dramatically and walked closer to the desk.
"This is revenge."
Rowan didn't look up from the document he picked up.
"For what?"
"For the hay."
Rowan's pen paused.
"...You are the one who chose to train there."
Aven leaned forward slightly.
"And you're the one who keeps mentioning it."
Rowan finally looked up.
Their eyes met.
For a moment-
Neither of them spoke.
Then Aven pointed at the papers.
"So... where do I start?"
Rowan slid a stack toward her.
"Sort these."
Aven picked up the first paper and squinted at the handwriting.
"...What language is this?"
"My handwriting."
Aven blinked.
"...It looks like a spider died on the page."
Rowan stared at her.
"...You're very bold today."
Aven shrugged.
"You brought me here."
Rowan leaned back in his chair again.
Yes.
This was definitely going to be a long day.
And somehow-
That bothered him much less than the thought of her being in a hay pile with Cassian.
Rowan's office fell back into quiet.
Papers covered the desk in neat piles. Sunlight filtered through the tall windows, casting soft light across the room.
Rowan was reading one document while Aven sat across from him, flipping through another stack.
For several minutes, neither of them spoke.
Only the sound of paper turning filled the room.
Aven squinted at the page in her hands.
"...I still think this handwriting is illegal."
Rowan didn't look up.
"It's perfectly readable."
"Only if you're the one who wrote it."
Rowan ignored her and continued scanning the document.
A moment passed.
Then he spoke without thinking-
"Aven, pass me the next-"
The room froze.
Rowan stopped.
The name had slipped out before he could stop it.
Aven stopped.
Both of them slowly looked at each other.
Silence.
Then-
Aven stood up and punched him in the arm.
"Don't call me that!" she whispered sharply.
Rowan blinked in surprise, rubbing his arm.
"...You just punched the king."
Aven leaned closer, lowering her voice even more.
"Don't call me that if anyone hears."
Rowan looked at her calmly.
"At least it will look less suspicious than punching the king."
Aven crossed her arms.
"You deserved it."
Rowan leaned back slightly, studying her.
"...You're very violent today."
"You revealed my name."
"Accidentally."
Aven pointed toward the door.
"What if someone heard?"
Rowan glanced at the closed door.
"No one did."
"You don't know that."
Rowan rested his chin lightly against his hand.
"I do."
Aven frowned.
"And how exactly do you know that?"
Rowan's expression stayed calm.
"Because if someone had heard you punch the king, the entire palace would already be outside that door."
Aven paused.
...Fair point.
She sat back down in the chair with a sigh.
"This is stressful."
Rowan picked up another document.
"You started it."
"I did not."
"You punched me."
"You exposed my identity."
Rowan looked up again, a faint hint of amusement in his eyes.
"Then I suppose we're even."
Aven narrowed her eyes at him.
"...Not yet."
Rowan sighed quietly.
Yes.
This was definitely going to be a very long day.
But strangely-
He didn't mind it at all.