The rumour began at breakfast.
This was unfortunate, because Aerin was present.
He sat at the small dining table in his private chambers, carefully buttering a piece of toast like it was a delicate negotiation. Lina stood nearby, reading reports. Cassian leaned against the window, half-awake and unfairly handsome even while yawning.
Peace. Finally.
Then the door burst open.
"YOUR MAJESTY!"
Aerin jumped so hard the toast went airborne.
Lord Halbrecht stormed in, red-faced, clutching a stack of papers like they were personally offensive.
"Why," Halbrecht demanded, "am I being congratulated?"
Aerin blinked. "…For?"
"For your engagement," Halbrecht snapped.
The room went silent.
Cassian straightened. Lina lowered her papers slowly.
Aerin stared at Halbrecht.
"I'm engaged?"
"Yes!" Halbrecht shouted. "Apparently!"
Aerin pressed a hand to his chest. "To whom?"
"That," Halbrecht said darkly, "is the problem."
Within the hour, the palace was on fire.
Not literally—though that would have been easier to manage.
Servants whispered. Courtiers smiled knowingly. Messengers arrived with gifts, flowers, and several alarming crates marked Wedding Linens.
The Harem Alarm rang once.
Then stopped.
Then reset.
A large glowing inscription appeared above the palace gates:
⏳ COURTSHIP TIMER: RESET ⏳
NEW DURATION: 1 YEAR
Aerin watched this from a balcony, pale.
"It reset," he whispered.
"Yes," Lina said calmly. "Fake engagements do that."
"FAKE engagements do that?" Aerin yelped.
"Real ones too," she added. "But this is worse."
Cassian rubbed his chin. "Someone played the system."
Aerin turned slowly. "Who would do that?"
All three of them looked down at the courtyard.
Where a woman waved cheerfully.
The calm woman from the orientation.
Plain dress. Brown hair. No drama.
"Oh no," Aerin breathed.
Her name was Mira.
She stood in the council chamber, hands folded, looking like she had accidentally wandered into the wrong meeting. The council surrounded her like predators circling a very polite rabbit.
"You claim," Lady Merrowin said carefully, "that you are engaged to His Majesty."
"Yes," Mira said.
Aerin squeaked.
"When did this happen?" Halbrecht demanded.
"Yesterday," Mira replied.
Aerin stared. "We didn't even speak yesterday!"
Mira tilted her head. "We stood near each other."
"That's not—"
"And you nodded at me," she continued.
The council murmured.
Cassian choked on a laugh.
The Harem Alarm remained silent.
"That doesn't constitute—" Aerin began.
"According to subsection seventeen of the Royal Compatibility Codex," Merrowin said, scanning a book, "mutual acknowledgment paired with public proximity may be interpreted as intent."
Aerin slumped. "I nodded at everyone."
"Yes," Merrowin said. "That's another issue."
Mira looked apologetic. "I didn't mean for it to escalate."
"You started a kingdom-wide rumour," Halbrecht snapped.
"I whispered it to one person," Mira said softly. "She told everyone else."
Aerin rubbed his temples.
"So… we're not engaged," he said firmly.
Mira nodded. "Correct."
The Harem Alarm gave a confused buzz.
"But," Merrowin added, "the damage is done."
Aerin looked up slowly. "Meaning?"
"The reset stands," she said. "You now have another year."
Aerin gasped. "That's wonderful!"
Halbrecht glared. "And disastrous."
Cassian crossed his arms. "People will expect proof."
Aerin froze. "…Proof?"
"Yes," Merrowin said. "Appearances. Public gestures. Otherwise the council will investigate."
Mira raised her hand timidly.
"Yes?" Merrowin said.
"I can help," Mira offered.
Aerin and Cassian spoke at the same time.
"No."
They compromised.
Poorly.
By noon, the palace announced a temporary engagement pending clarification.
This satisfied no one.
Women cried.
Noble families panicked.
The baker sent a cake.
Aerin stood beside Mira on the palace steps as crowds gathered below.
"Smile," Mira whispered.
"I'm smiling," Aerin whispered back.
"You're grimacing."
"I'm terrified."
"That shows."
The Harem Alarm hovered nearby, watching.
Aerin raised a hand to wave.
Mira waved too.
The crowd cheered.
Someone threw flowers.
Aerin flinched.
"Why are you helping me?" he whispered.
Mira shrugged. "You looked overwhelmed."
"That's my natural state."
She smiled faintly. "I noticed."
Cassian stood behind them, arms crossed, shaking his head.
"You two look believable," he muttered. "That's the worst part."
The "engagement" lasted exactly three days before everything went wrong.
Aerin tripped during a walk through the gardens and dragged Mira down with him.
Someone painted a mural of it.
A noblewoman challenged Mira to a duel.
Mira declined politely.
The Harem Alarm rang whenever Aerin panicked—which was constant.
Then came the banquet.
Aerin sat beside Mira at the head table, sweating.
"You don't have to keep doing this," he whispered.
"I know," Mira replied. "But it's helping."
"Is it?"
"Yes," she said. "People stopped chasing you."
Aerin blinked.
He looked around.
For the first time since his coronation, no one stared at him hungrily.
No one flirted.
No one lunged.
The room felt… quiet.
The Harem Alarm was silent.
"I can breathe," Aerin whispered.
Mira smiled. "Good."
Across the hall, Lina watched them thoughtfully.
Cassian leaned beside her. "You see it too."
"She's not trying," Lina said.
"That's why it works."
At the banquet's end, Halbrecht cornered Aerin.
"This charade cannot continue," he said.
Aerin nodded. "I know."
"But," Halbrecht added reluctantly, "the people are calmer. The pressure has eased."
Aerin looked back at Mira, who was laughing softly at something a servant said.
"…What happens now?" he asked.
Halbrecht sighed. "That depends."
That night, Aerin stood on the balcony alone.
Mira joined him quietly.
"I'll end it tomorrow," she said. "I promise."
Aerin hesitated.
"I don't want you to get in trouble," she added.
He stared at the stars.
"Why did the alarm never ring?" he asked.
Mira shrugged. "Maybe because we're honest."
The Harem Alarm gave a soft, unreadable hum.
Aerin swallowed.
"…Would it be terrible," he asked carefully, "if we didn't rush?"
Mira looked at him.
Really looked.
"I'd like that," she said.
The fake engagement remained fake.
But something else had quietly begun.
And for the first time, the year ahead didn't feel like a countdown.