"God, I'm an idiot."

"And they can't have kids, right?" Kieran added, pointing his fork at Adelaide. "It's, like, one of their rules or something?"

"Correct," Adelaide said coolly, clearly unfazed by the attention. "Our family doesn't need messy bloodlines. We're chosen for our abilities, not who we're related to."

Elijah couldn't help but marvel at the strictness of such a system.

It was nothing like his own family, where blood ties—however broken or flawed—still mattered.

"But wait," Kieran said, squinting. "If none of you are related by blood, what about Atlas Acalusia? Isn't he, like, the head of the family?"

Adelaide's smile turned icy. "Atlas Acalusia is the family's figurehead, a symbol of strength. No one is related to him. He exists to show that we don't need to be connected by blood to be powerful."

Visconti scoffed. "Sounds more like a display piece than an actual leader."

Adelaide's gaze snapped to him, her eyes narrowing. "Careful, Zenon. You might be good at analyzing battles, but you clearly don't understand the weight of tradition."

"Oh, I understand tradition," Visconti retorted. "I just think it's funny how you all make rules to avoid being human. It's almost like you're afraid of flaws."

The tension at the table skyrocketed.

Even Enu looked like he wanted to duck under the table.

Adelaide's expression didn't waver. Instead, she leaned closer to Visconti, her voice dropping to a cold whisper. "And yet, even with all your flaws, you'll never reach the heights we've achieved."

"Alright, alright!" Kieran interrupted, waving his arms like a referee. "Can we not turn this into World War Three? It's lunchtime, for crying out loud!"

"Yeah," Elijah added, trying to diffuse the tension. "Save the fighting for the three-on-three matches next time. You'll get to show off your skills then."

Adelaide leaned back in her chair, her cold demeanor softening ever so slightly. "Fine. But don't expect me to hold back."

Visconti smirked. "Wouldn't dream of it, Princess."

Annis, who had been quiet until now, suddenly stood up, her tray in hand. "I'm done here," she said, her voice cold. She walked away without looking back.

Enu scratched the back of his neck awkwardly, his usual cheer dimmed. "Ah, come on, Annis…"

"Don't bother," Adelaide said dismissively. "Don't bother with a coward."

Kieran blinked, confused. "Coward?"

Adelaide's gaze flicked to him. "It's true. She's just a coward who's running away, afraid to confront what's in front of her."

Elijah frowned, his grip tightening on the edge of the table. Slowly, he set his utensils down, his appetite forgotten. "And what gives you the right to say that?" His voice was calm, but beneath it was a simmering edge.

Adelaide tilted her head, meeting his gaze without a hint of remorse. "Because I've seen it before. People who can't face their weaknesses. They hide, they run, and they blame everyone else for their failures."

For a moment, no one spoke. Elijah stared at her, his chest tightening.

Elijah wasn't sure why he was angry by what she said. Was it because she's being too much. Or was it because her words hit him in his heart.

Her words weren't just about Annis. They were about him too.

Wasn't he the same? Wasn't he also hiding, running away from the ghosts of his past? From Oliver, from the whispers, from the nightmares that clawed at his sanity every night?

"Do you think it's that easy?" Elijah's voice was low, almost a whisper, but it carried a weight that made everyone at the table pause. "To confront the things that haunt you?"

Adelaide blinked, caught off guard by the sudden shift in his tone.

Elijah continued, his gaze fixed on his plate, though his mind was far away. "Sometimes... you don't run because you're weak. You run because standing still feels like dying. Because facing it head-on means ripping open wounds that never healed in the first place."

Visconti and Kieran exchanged glances but said nothing, sensing this was something Elijah needed to say.

"You talk about strength," Elijah said, his voice shaking slightly. "But strength isn't just about fighting or proving yourself. It's about surviving when everything around you feels like it's falling apart."

Adelaide's confidence wavered for the first time, her expression unreadable

"Maybe she tried to confront it," Elijah continued, his hands curling into fists on the table. "The guilt, the fear, the pain. And you know what? It doesn't go away. It doesn't stop. So yeah, maybe running is cowardly. Maybe hiding is weak. But sometimes it's the only way to breathe."

The table fell into silence, the kind that felt too loud in its stillness.

Adelaide finally looked away, her gaze dropping to her plate. "I didn't mean..." she started but trailed off, her usual sharpness gone.

Elijah laughed bitterly, shaking his head. "You didn't mean to what? Hurt her? Hurt me?" He exhaled, forcing himself to calm down. "Maybe next time, think before you speak."

With that, he stood, grabbing his tray. "I'm done here," he muttered, walking away from the table.

Kieran watched him go, a rare seriousness settling on his face. "Man... I've never seen him like that."

Visconti sighed, running a hand through his hair. "Me neither. But can you blame him?"

Adelaide sat frozen, her hands trembling slightly as she stared at Elijah's empty seat.

For the first time in a long time, she felt the sting of regret.

Elijah leaned against the cold stone wall of the main building, the faint hum of the cafeteria chatter still audible from inside.

He ruffled his hair in frustration, staring at the ground as his mind raced.

'What the hell did I just do?' He thought, the weight of his words hitting him like a freight train.

Elijah sighed deeply, the weight of his actions pressing down on him. "God, I'm an idiot," he muttered, his voice barely audible over the rustling leaves. "A reckless, stupid idiot."

He'd stood up to a royal. Not just any royal—Adelaide Acalusia, a member of the Acalusia family, the most powerful of the Great 17 Families. A family whose reputation could make or break lives with a mere whisper.

"I'll probably get executed," Elijah muttered under his breath, running a hand down his face. He groaned, tilting his head back to stare at the sky. "Good job, Elijah. Real smart. Who's the coward now?"

He sighed, the tension in his chest refusing to ease. It wasn't like him to explode like that, especially not in front of so many people.

Elijah had always hated the spotlight. Back in high school, he'd gone out of his way to avoid it. He'd stayed quiet, kept his head down, done everything in his power to blend in. But it had never worked. His striking features made him stand out no matter how hard he tried to disappear. And now? He'd just painted a massive target on his back.

But here? Here he'd done the exact opposite. He'd stood up in a crowded cafeteria, confronted a royal, and let his emotions spill out for everyone to see.

Elijah exhaled sharply, shaking his head. He couldn't believe how angry he'd been. And for what?

It wasn't just because Adelaide was wrong. It wasn't just because her words had stung more than they should have. It was because she had no right—no right to judge someone for running away without knowing what they'd been through.

She doesn't know anything, he thought bitterly. She doesn't know what it's like to carry a weight so heavy it crushes you. To live with guilt that gnaws at you every second of every day.

Elijah clenched his fists, his nails digging into his palms. He wasn't angry just for Annis or himself—he was angry for everyone who had ever been called weak for trying to survive. For Oliver, who'd been labeled a "defect." For all the cadets whispered about because they didn't meet impossible standards.

"She doesn't know," Elijah muttered, shaking his head. "She doesn't know what it's like to carry that weight. To feel like running is the only option you have left."

But no matter how much he regretted the how, he didn't regret the why. Adelaide needed to understand that not everyone had the privilege of standing tall all the time. Some people—himself included—were just trying to survive.

Elijah sighed again, leaning his head back against the wall and closing his eyes. "Well, whatever happens… I'll deal with it," he said quietly.