After her exchange with the insistent Viscount Caitberry, Selene excused herself to the balcony for fresh air, requesting a second drink from her brother who hurried off, doing his best to avoid the noble ladies who made a habit of vying for his attention.

The night air was warm but the winds brought in a pleasant chill. Her face turned up towards the sky as she stood on the empty balcony, admiring the stars that appeared between the scattered clouds. Suddenly, a heavy sigh escaped her lips as her head drooped from its lofty position.

“This is all too much,” she mutter to herself and the silence around her, one delicate hand rubbing against her forehead in exasperation. Her muttering drifted soundlessly into the night.

Concealed skillfully against the wall, a figure stood in the shadows, indistinguishable from the surrounding darkness. Though he had occupied the balcony first, he couldn't help but feel it was he who was intruding on this private moment of honesty.

After seeing her poise and elegance during the countless introductions, Selene appeared to have stepped out of a painting instead of having awoken from a slumber. He could understand the rumors that were already swirling about her condition being a ruse for attention.

Seeing her in this moment, his breath caught in his throat. The weight in her voice and exhaustion in her sigh revealed the person beneath the carefully constructed decorum. It was clear she had not been relishing the extra eyes. Instead, they were extra weight.

Just like him, it appeared she preferred the stillness of the night to the swirling colors of the ballroom. His hand gently raised from his side, following his desire to reach out and comfort her...

“If father catches you looking so solemnly,” William stepped onto the balcony, drinks in hand, dark hair catching the gentle breeze, “we will both be in trouble.”

Selene straightened herself, accepting the glass he offered her with a raised eyebrow.

“If I did not know better, I would say you have more vested interest in this event than I,” she said lightheartedly, though her face bore no traces of a smile. “Father seems especially hard on you recently, under the guise of it being for my sake.”

“He just wants what is best for us.”

“What an obedient response for such a deserving father,” Selene's words were hollow as she took another sip of her bubbling liquid. William's eyebrow twitched, unclear whether it came from amusement or annoyance.

“Pfft!” A grin spread across his face for a fleeting moment. “Deserving, indeed.”

Silence surrounded them. Standing like statues, the light breeze providing the only indication that the pair of siblings were not made of stone. The man lurking just outside their vision felt a second pang of guilt as he intruded on yet another seemingly private moment.