The Princess

Chapter Five – Shu’s POV

I should’ve been sleeping.

That’s what I told myself as I lay sprawled on the couch in the music room, one arm thrown over my eyes, listening to the faint stir of wind through the open window. Sleep came easy to me when I wanted it to. But not today.

Not with her out there.

April.

I could hear her, even without trying. Her steps on the gravel path, soft but steady. The gentle hum under her breath when she thought no one was listening. Always humming, always filling the silence I pretended to enjoy.

I dragged my arm away from my eyes and turned my head lazily toward the window. From here, I could see her in the garden. Kneeling in front of the roses like she belonged there, sunlight tangled in her crimson hair, her blue eyes too bright for this rotten world.

Tch. She never changes.

She always looked at things like they deserved her care. Flowers. Servants. Even my useless brothers. She gave them pieces of herself without realizing it, as if she had an endless supply. And maybe she did. Maybe that’s why she hadn’t broken yet, even after growing up in this hell.

I closed my eyes again, but the image stuck. Her lips curved into a faint smile, the kind she only wore when she thought she was alone. That smile was mine. She didn’t know it, but it was.

My chest tightened, and I let out a slow breath.

I remembered the first time I heard her sing. She was small back then, maybe eight or nine, standing in the music room like she was trespassing. She thought she was alone, too. Her voice was soft, trembling at first, but pure. I pretended to sleep on the couch, but I listened to every note. When she finished, I clapped once, lazy and slow. She nearly jumped out of her skin, cheeks burning red.

“Do it again,” I had told her.

And she did. For me. Always for me.

Even now, when she sang, I let myself drift in the sound. Not because I cared about music anymore, but because it was her. The only thing in this place that made the silence bearable.

I shifted, draping an arm over my forehead again. My brothers… they were idiots. Ayato was probably out there right now, watching her, thinking about how to stake his claim like the loud, greedy bastard he is. Reiji wanted to control her, mold her into something neat and perfect. Kanato would break her just to keep her. Laito… tch. I don’t even want to think about what he’d do. And Subaru—he’s just like me, too angry to admit what he feels.

They all want her.

So do I.

The difference? I don’t need to shout about it. I don’t need to prove anything. She already comes to me when she thinks no one else sees her. She sings for me. She stays in my silence. That’s enough. For now.

I tilted my head back, half-smirking to myself.

Let the others fight over her. Let them claw and snap like dogs. In the end, she’ll come to me—because I’m the only one who won’t ask her to change.

And when she does… I won’t let her go.