Nwadiebube's lips curved into a faint, almost imperceptible smile. "Unusual?" he repeated, his tone neither mocking nor approving. Just… deliberate, probing.

"Yes," she said, regaining her composure, "in ways that are… difficult to ignore."

They walked on, the sound of their footsteps mingling with the whisper of the night breeze. He did not respond immediately, allowing the silence to stretch, giving weight to her words. When he spoke again, it was softer, quieter.

"And you think observing me… changes anything?"

Her eyes flicked to him, sharp and cautious, though a small spark of intrigue danced there. "Perhaps," she said simply, "or perhaps it is only to understand what others cannot see."

Nwadiebube's gaze drifted to the moonlit path before them, letting the words linger, testing their resonance. Then he said nothing for a long moment, letting her presence, her reasoning, settle in his mind.

Silence stretched between them, and oddly comfortable, until at last Nwadiebube came to a stop.

The female mage blinked, pulled from her thoughts, and realized where they stood. They were in the quarters assigned to her, modest, and removed from the heart of the palace. She had not noticed when their path had changed, nor when the walk had become a destination.

She turned to him.

The king regarded her with a soft smile, one stripped of calculation or at least convincing enough to appear so.

"You should get to sleep now," he said lightly. "Staying awake so late is not a good look for a fine-looking woman like you."

The words struck her with unexpected warmth. Before she could respond, he lifted a hand in a casual wave and turned away, already walking back down the corridor as though the night had concluded on his terms.

She remained where she was, watching his retreating figure, something unfamiliar stirring in her chest.

Then, his voice reached her again, carried by the wind, close enough that she could feel his breath brush against her ear.

"I have come to appreciate your presence in my office. I hope that becomes a normal occurrence."

Her breath caught. She spun around, heart pounding, but the corridor was empty. He was gone as if he had never been there at all.

Slowly, a smile spread across her face, unbidden and genuine.

She was in over her head, she knew that much. Yet hearing those words from him, few and measured as they were gave her a fragile sense of reassurance.

It felt like proof that she wasn't completely stagnant, that even if she was fumbling in the dark, she was still moving forward, however slowly. The life Yuki now live, free, secure, untouched by fear had become her quiet ideal.

Yuki had deserved that peace, and if such a life was possible at all, then she would seize it with both hands. She would endure, adapt, and sacrifice whatever was required to reach it.

And so, almost without ceremony, a strange and subdued relationship took shape between her and the king.

She learned quickly not to interrupt him while he worked; the air around him grew heavy when his focus was broken. Instead, she found ways to be useful without demanding attention, preparing his tea exactly how he preferred it, easing the tension from his shoulders with careful, silent massages, or simply sitting nearby, composed and ornamental, a presence that asked for nothing.

Days folded into one another. A week passed like this, marked only by the soft rhythm of routine and the occasional night walk through quiet corridors or moonlit gardens. No promises were made. No lines were crossed.

She told herself she should have been content.

But she wasn't.

Everything with Nwadiebube remained suspended, unresolved, and the uncertainty gnawed at her. Worse still was the king's ease with the distance between them. He seemed comfortable leaving things exactly as they were, unbothered by the silence, unwilling or uninterested in taking even the smallest step closer.

There was a gap between them she needed to cross, a barrier she could feel but not touch. And the cruel truth was that she had nothing of value to offer in exchange for that closeness. She was not powerful in her own right. She was not indispensable. She was, at her core, merely a pawn of Murmur, one more piece on a board already crowded with them.

And pawns, she realized bitterly, were easily replaced.

Her presence carried no real weight. Not yet.

She was only ever privy to what was permitted to reach her ears, no more, no less. The rest of the truth moved in deeper currents, far beyond her grasp.

She had underestimated Nwadiebube. She thought him easy to handle, believing his open curiosity, his eagerness to know what games were being played beyond his sight would make him reckless, hungry enough to take whatever fragments she offered.

It was an assumption born of familiarity, because she herself was a pawn in those very games. She knew the ache of ignorance, the way it could hollow a person out and leave them grasping at scraps of information.

She believed that would be enough for a king starved of answers.

But Nwadiebube was patient. Far too patient.

He was aware of her troubles, aware of the tension she carried in her posture and the restless edge to her silence, and he did not mind it in the least. In fact, he found a quiet, almost guilty delight in it. Her impatience mirrored his own, or rather, who he used to be. Seeing it reflected in her was like looking into a distorted mirror of himself.

Dealing with godlings had always pushed him into that same state, an unbearable impatience that tempted him toward rash decisions and costly mistakes. It was a cruel position to be in: to be fraying at the edges while the one across from you behaved as though time itself bent in their favor, as though they could afford to wait forever while you bled urgency.

Now, the roles were reversed.

As he dealt with the female mage, Nwadiebube found himself learning from the godlings he so often despised. He recognized the power in stillness, in letting the other party unravel themselves without ever lifting a hand. The sensation was unsettling and intoxicating.

This was what he had always wanted.

To watch events slip neatly into his control with minimal effort, to see his opposition exhaust themselves in a battle of the mind, defeating themselves long before he ever needed to move.

A new night arrived, and just like before, she appeared.

Yet the moment she stepped into the room, Nwadiebube sensed that something had shifted. There was a heaviness to her presence, an air of finality clinging to her like a second skin. It was the kind of stillness that followed surrender, the calm of someone who had already lost and come to terms with it.

He gave no outward sign that he noticed.

Instead, he continued with his work as though nothing had changed, pen gliding steadily across parchment. Still, beneath that practiced composure, he prepared himself. Whatever this was, a conversation was coming, one that would begin the moment he set his pen down.

And eventually, he did.

He placed the pen aside and lifted his gaze to her. Mei stood there with a seriousness that left no room for pretense. After a brief pause, the king spoke, his tone light, almost casual.

"No massage today?"

Mei met his eyes, studying his face carefully, searching for even the faintest trace of mockery or provocation. She found none. If anything, he looked… genuinely disappointed. As though the thought had truly crossed his mind and he had been looking forward to it.

She exhaled softly before answering, a small smile tugging at her lips.

"The day is not yet over," she said, her words hinting that the possibility still lingered.

The king smiled at that.

He rose from his seat and moved toward a nearby shelf, pulling down two glasses. Mei lifted a hand in response, and with a subtle flick of her fingers, ice cubes formed and dropped neatly into both. The sound was sharp in the quiet room.

Nwadiebube uncorked the bottle and poured whisky into the glasses, the amber liquid catching the low light as it settled.

Mei had her glass float effortlessly into her hand as the king carried his toward the hearth. He sat close to the fireplace, gazing into the dancing flames, saying nothing.

She watched him closely, her gaze cool and assessing. She couldn't tell whether his indifference was an act or genuine disinterest but she had already made her decision.

She would lay all her cards on the table.

Breaking the silence, she said, "I approached you because I believed you held the keys to my freedom from my master, the one I serve."

The king turned sharply, surprise flashing across his face. He stared at her, fingers brushing his cheek in an oddly thoughtful gesture. Under his breath, too softly but clear enough for her to hear, he thought out and murmured, "Here I was thinking my face alone made a beautiful woman fall into my lap."

Mei's mouth twitched.