Naked, Unafraid
"You don't need to stand like statues," she said gently. "No one here is forcing you."
One maid swallowed hard. "L-Lady Lira, we… we were only - "
Not looking? That was Cynthia, voice steady, grown-up quiet. Moving up next to Lira, she stepped without rush, dark strands flat along her back. Shame doesn't belong here
A hush fell as Rias tilted forward, eyes locking on the maid whose hands wouldn't stop shaking. Closer now, voice low like a secret shared at midnight, she let the words slip out slow. Fear hung in the air - ripe, pulsing - and her smile widened just enough to notice. "Could it be," she murmured, the sound barely louder than breath, "that you're already scared?"
A sharp gasp escaped her. The air froze in her chest.
Laughing quietly, Syra's bright green strands slipped down to touch her shoulder. Push too hard, she said, and fear will spoil everything instead
