Every time the priest's solemn voice echoed against the high castle ceiling, I felt like the blood in my heart was rushing backward.

He stood atop the golden altar, dressed in white ceremonial robes. He held hands with the beautiful princess of a neighboring kingdom. He looked exactly like the 'perfect prince' the world demanded of him—flawless and elegant without a single error.

He and I were childhood friends. We were the ones who wiped each other's tears when we scraped our knees during sword practice, the ones who shared secrets while watching the stars behind the castle walls where no one else knew. The emotion that grew in my heart over all those years was not something as simple as loyalty. It was a love so deep and desperate it felt suffocating. But I had to remain a shadow.

Before the heavy crown he wore as the Crown Prince, the feelings of a mere knight like me would be nothing but chains binding him. I told myself thousands of times that I had to let him go, that it was for his sake.

Do you both swear to be together for the rest of your lives?

The priest's question spread through the cathedral. Now, with just one word from him, everything would be over. I swallowed hard, standing at the closest spot below the altar.

At that moment, he slowly turned his head and looked at me. Not at the bride, not at the King, not at the countless guests, but a gaze directed only at me. His eyes, which should have been shining firmly as usual, were trembling slightly. That look was a plea, a confession, and a scream. 'Get me out of here.' His unspoken sincerity pierced my heart sharply. Foolishly, I only realized it now. That you, too, were burning for me.

...I do,

The moment his lips opened, my body moved before my mind could. I strode up the altar, let go of the princess's hand, and snatched his frozen hand in mine.

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