Klaus raised his hand to knock, but the door swung open before his knuckles touched wood.
"Young Master Klaus!"
The maid's gasp of surprise rippled through the annex like a stone dropped in still water. Within moments, half a dozen servants had materialized in the entryway, their faces lighting up with genuine joy that caught Klaus off guard.
"My lord, you look..." The head maid, an older woman named Marta who had worked for the family since before his birth, studied his face with the careful attention of someone who had watched him grow up. "Well. You look well."
Klaus felt his lips curve into the first genuine smile he'd worn in days. These people had seen him at his worst—the cursed child who couldn't form a proper mana core, the stubborn boy who insisted on sword training despite his limitations, the young man who'd returned from Northwatch forever changed. Yet their eyes held nothing but warmth.
"It's good to see you all," Klaus said, and meant it.
