[It got better, he was going to say. It got easier. But Iris distracts him from the point he was trying to make by tilting toward him and shoving his shoulder, and maybe it doesn't matter anyway. Maybe Iris already understands that part too.
Anyway, he half laughs, half winces as his roommate pokes at his royal status. He puts off answering by slipping more wine, and appeases Iris by offering the bottle again and hitting him with puppy eyes.]
It just never came up...? [He shakes his head, then clarifies:] I was a prince. I'm not anymore, not really. I'm just Wilhelm.
[Wilhelm doesn't miss it. The weight of such grand expectations resting uneasily on his narrow shoulders, and the weight of so many eyes following his every move, so many cameras zooming in on his mistakes. The sense, knotted in his stomach, that he was going to fail. He was going to disappoint everyone.]
You're not going to start calling me your highness, are you?
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Anyway, he half laughs, half winces as his roommate pokes at his royal status. He puts off answering by slipping more wine, and appeases Iris by offering the bottle again and hitting him with puppy eyes.]
It just never came up...? [He shakes his head, then clarifies:] I was a prince. I'm not anymore, not really. I'm just Wilhelm.
[Wilhelm doesn't miss it. The weight of such grand expectations resting uneasily on his narrow shoulders, and the weight of so many eyes following his every move, so many cameras zooming in on his mistakes. The sense, knotted in his stomach, that he was going to fail. He was going to disappoint everyone.]
You're not going to start calling me your highness, are you?