The next day, a summons arrived for Aiden.
The guard who delivered it looked mildly entertained. "Congratulations, servant. Lord Shinomi wants his boots polished. Personally."
Aiden blinked. "Just his boots?"
The soldier snorted. "Don't get cocky. If you touch anything else, you'll lose your hands."
Still, Aiden's heart leapt.
He hadn't seen Shinomi up close since the night in the war room. Since the moment when—for just a second—the cold mask had slipped. Something in Shinomi's eyes that night had haunted him. Not anger. Not even pain.
Loneliness.
---
When Aiden arrived at Shinomi's tent, he was let in with a glare by a tall soldier. Shinomi was seated at a low table, boots off, cleaning his sword with a cloth that glistened with oil.
He didn't look up when Aiden entered. "The polish is on the shelf. Kneel."
Aiden obeyed.
The boots were lined with dust and dried mud from yesterday's inspection rounds. He worked silently, gently wiping them clean, then dipping a cloth into the polish. He took his time, carefully buffing each edge and seam until the black leather shone like obsidian.
He could feel Shinomi watching him now.
"You're oddly meticulous for a prisoner," the commander finally said.
"I was taught to do everything with care," Aiden replied softly.
Shinomi's voice came sharper. "Was that before or after you mocked me in court?"
Aiden looked up slightly, meeting Shinomi's eyes for the first time in days.
"That wasn't me."
Shinomi's gaze darkened.
Aiden added quickly, "I mean… I'm not like who you remember. I know what you think of Ren Valis. But I'm different."
"And what exactly makes you different?" Shinomi asked, voice a quiet threat.
Aiden hesitated. He couldn't just say because I was a reader of your story in another world and loved you before I ever met you.
So instead, he answered honestly: "I see you."
That made Shinomi's eyes narrow slightly.
"I see that you carry the weight of people who betrayed you. That you still write your own battle strategies because you don't trust anyone else. That you walk alone at night even when you're surrounded by soldiers because the silence is the only thing that doesn't lie to you."
Shinomi was perfectly still.
"I see you," Aiden whispered, "and I'm still here. Not because I'm afraid of you, but because I care."
The room was silent for a long moment.
Then Shinomi stood. "Leave."
Aiden bit his lip but obeyed, placing the finished boots neatly beside the bed before heading to the entrance.
As he stepped out, he heard Shinomi speak behind him—soft, almost too quiet to catch.
"…Polish the scabbard next time. You missed it."
---
That night, Aiden lay awake under the stars, heart pounding.
He wasn't sure if Shinomi had accepted his words…
But he hadn't rejected them either.
That was enough to hope.
---