Joss couldn't remember how many songs were played after the boy left.

Couldn't recall who approached him, who offered wine, who asked about the rumoured royal engagement spreading fast on both sides of the mountains.

All he remembered was this:
The boy's hand was smaller than his. And warm.
A kind of warmth that lingered—he wasn't sure if it came from the skin, or the soul.

The silver ring, set with a small moonstone, still sat in the inner pocket of his coat.
Sometimes, Joss touched it—like he needed to check it was still real.

"He could be a commoner. A noble. Anyone at all."

He didn't know the boy's name.
Didn't know his family.
Didn't even know what his voice sounded like when they weren't dancing.

But he remembered the way he looked him in the eye without fear.
And the way he smiled, like joy, was dangerous and must be handled carefully.

—

Upon returning to Solestra, Joss did something he himself found a bit foolish:

He took the ring to the palace silversmith,
and asked for it to be strung onto a thin silver chain.

From that day on, he wore it beneath his shirt, near his heart.

Not to show it off.
Just to keep it close.

—

Meanwhile, in Lunaria, Gawin was sitting on a windowsill, gnawing half-heartedly on a pear and avoiding every meeting meant to prepare for the engagement ceremony.

"Would the Princess like to try the new tiara?"

"No."

"What type of silk does the Princess prefer for the veil?"

"The thickest. So no one can see my face."

"Ah... brilliant choice, Your Highness."

No one dared argue with Princess Kaween.

But no one knew Kaween was currently crossing one leg over the other, idly bouncing a heel while thinking about a boy in a white mask—
A boy who spoke so politely that it made Gawin's heart twist like a tangled ribbon.

Gawin wasn't the type to fall easily.

He had met his fair share of nobles, scholars, ladies, knights—
All talkers. All performers.

But he had never met anyone who could say nothing... and still be heard so clearly.

"If I know your name, I'll have to keep it..."

Gawin bit into his pear and nearly choked.
Not because of the taste—
But because his heart just skipped at the most inconvenient time.

—

The engagement announcement spread quickly through both kingdoms.

In Solestra, the palace bustled like a royal summit had collided with a weekend market.
Everyone was excited—except Joss.

He spoke less than usual.
Responded with perfect manners, but his eyes always drifted—
as if waiting for someone to step out from behind a velvet curtain.

"How do you feel about Princess Kaween?" they asked.

"She... looks very gentle. In the portrait."

"Exactly! And rumour has it she's even more delicate than that in person!"

"Then I hope... she doesn't mind living with someone who isn't very good at being gentle."

—

Gawin wasn't faring much better.

He'd begun dreaming of Joss.
Not of the ballroom or the dance,
but something simpler:

The two of them sitting somewhere quiet.
Gawin without a mask.
And Joss still recognizing him.

—

But then the engagement date was set.

Gawin stood before the mirror, draped in silver silk.
A veil covered his face, and the court ladies squealed with delight—

"You're as beautiful as a painting!"

Gawin smiled faintly.

"Well, paintings don't say things like: I'm thinking of running away."

—

Joss, on the other hand, wasn't afraid of marrying the wrong person.
He was afraid of splitting his heart in two—
Half for duty.
Half still searching for the boy whose name he never asked.

And he didn't know...

That boy was already waiting.
Dressed for a wedding.
Only a mountain away.

With one lost ring.
And a feeling that hadn't left since.