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His eyes narrowed a fraction, the faintest sign of recognition glinting there. Sea Dragon Lagoon.

For a heartbeat, he was quiet, then a soft exhale—almost a laugh, but not quite. More like disbelief dressed in amusement. 海龙泻湖, (Sea Dragon Lagoon,) he repeated under his breath, tasting the name like something dredged from the bottom of a long, forgotten memory. 沒想到我竟然會再次聽到那個地方的消息。 (Didn’t think I’d ever hear of that place again.)

He tilted his head, bronze eyes glinting beneath the lazy sweep of lashes. 所以你也是從那裡來的， (So you were from there too,) he said, voice smooth but laced with something close to nostalgia. 王朝，對吧？我記得他們的旗幟。藍色絲綢，金線。儀式太多而實際智慧不足。 (The Wang Dynasty, right? I remember their banners. Blue silk, gold thread. Too much ceremony and not enough sense.) The smirk that followed softened the jab. 雖然我想我們大家都有這樣的過錯。 (Though I suppose we were all guilty of that.) Him with his Jade Palace and dragon and lotus motifs all over. The Tianlong Dynasty was a prosperous one, and no expense was spared when it came to showing off its wealth and power.

He shifted his weight, his gaze sweeping briefly across the meadow before falling back on her. 我曾經經過海龍潟湖， (I passed through Seadragon Lagoon once,) he went on, tone casual, like recalling a half-remembered dream. 貿易路線、聯盟……或者也許那只是其中一場晚宴，每個人一邊微笑，一邊暗中策劃對方的衰敗。說實話，很難分辨。 (Trade routes, alliances… or maybe it was one of those dinners where everyone smiled while plotting each other’s downfall. Hard to tell, honestly.)

The air caught a little in his chest then, though he hid it well. His voice dropped lower, more thoughtful. 不過……那真美。清澈的水，夜晚海灣上漂浮的燈籠。弦樂聲和茉莉花酒的香氣。 (Still… it was beautiful. Clear water, lanterns drifting across the bay at night. The sound of strings and the smell of jasmine wine.) He paused, as if realizing he’d said too much, then shrugged lightly. 感覺像是別人經歷過的故事。 (Feels like a story someone else lived.)

When he looked at her again, there was something gentler in his expression—a type of understanding that only two people with shared experiences could claim.

那麼， (So,) he said finally, dry humor sliding back into his tone like it had never left, 看起來我們都是時代的遺物。一位皇族與一位平民，被困在一片名字聽起來像糟糕詩的草地上。 (it seems we’re both relics out of time. A royal and a commoner, stranded in a meadow with a name that sounds like a bad poem.) His brow arched just slightly. 你覺得上面有人在開玩笑嗎？ (You think someone up there’s having a laugh?)

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