Early March – Markov Estate
Morning Without Ceremony
Jay woke up before the bell rang.
The estate was quiet in that heavy, winter-muffled way—sunlight trying and failing to slip through the frost-lined windows. For once, there was no knock at the door. No servant entering with pressed clothes or a strict itinerary.
But Jay didn't need the bell today.
He was already dressed when Vincent arrived.
"Council room again?" Jay asked without looking up.
Vincent shook his head. "Not today."
Jay raised an eyebrow.
Vincent gestured to a sealed envelope left on the tray. "It's done. You're going. Three days from now. Flight details are enclosed."
Jay didn't move. "He's not going to say goodbye?"
Vincent's eyes didn't flinch. "He already did. That offer was his goodbye."
Jay looked down at the envelope.
He didn't pick it up.
The Drawing Room Window
Christin was reading by the east wing window again.
She didn't look surprised when Jay appeared.
"Good morning," she said softly.
"I said yes."
She closed the book gently. "I know."
Jay raised an eyebrow. "You knew?"
"I saw you walk away from the gate last night. You had the look of someone who'd already decided."
Jay stepped closer. "You were watching?"
Christin smiled, just barely. "Always."
There was a pause.
Then Jay said, "You don't seem... concerned."
"I'm relieved."
He blinked. "Why?"
"Because I didn't want to go alone."
Jay sat beside her on the window bench.
Silence stretched again, but this one felt warmer. More mutual.
"I still don't know what I'm doing," he admitted.
"That's fine," she said. "Neither do I."
Jay glanced sideways. "That's terrifying."
"It should be," Christin said, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear. "But somehow, it's not."
III. Theo's Big Mouth
Word didn't spread fast.
But Theo found out anyway.
He ran up to Jay just after lunch, eyes wide. "You're really going? Like, out of the country? With her?"
Jay nodded.
Theo's jaw dropped. "Like with her?!"
Jay gave him a flat look. "I don't know what that means."
Theo gestured wildly. "You know! Fancy hotel rooms. Long walks under foreign moonlight. Unexplained swordfights. Secret assassins. Hidden feelings—"
"Stop reading romance manga in the guardhouse."
Theo pouted. "You're no fun."
Jay smirked. "I'm plenty of fun. Just not for you."
"Rude."
Jay clapped a hand on his shoulder. "You'll be fine without me for a week."
Theo groaned. "You say that, but if Lady Clara finds out you're gone, I'll be dead before you return."
Jay laughed. "I'll send flowers."
The Quiet Approval
Later that evening, Jay found his mother in the conservatory.
Celeste was tending to her orchids, her hands dirt-dusted in a way that didn't match the velvet of her sleeves.
"You're going," she said without looking up.
Jay stood there, unsure what to say.
Finally: "Yes."
She looked at him. Eyes calm. Sad.
"You're not doing this for him," she said.
"No."
"You're doing it for yourself."
Jay hesitated. "Maybe. Or maybe just for... something that still feels real."
Celeste nodded.
She stepped forward, wiped her hands, and brushed his collar down.
"My son," she whispered. "Not just theirs. Never just theirs."
Jay didn't speak.
She kissed his forehead once.
Then walked away.
Luggage, Lists, and Late Hours
By the next morning, the staff began making quiet preparations. Documents reviewed. Luggage weighed. Vincent handed him a phone with encrypted contact sheets and a pocket diary with names circled in red.
Jay memorized the top three.
He didn't ask why those names were circled.
He just knew what it meant.
Christin joined him during the final packing run. She didn't offer advice. Just sat on the edge of the bed, sipping mint tea while Jay folded dress shirts.
"You know," he said, "for a diplomatic expert, you're surprisingly chill about being exiled with me."
"I wouldn't call this exile," she replied.
"No?"
"No. Exile is being forced to live someone else's life. This?" She looked at him. "This feels like a pause. A breath."
Jay paused. "You're full of metaphors tonight."
She smirked. "Blame the tea."
They worked in silence after that.
Comfortable. Efficient. Together.
One Last Walk
Late that night, Jay wandered to the south garden again.
He wasn't surprised when Christin found him there.
"You keep showing up at convenient moments," he said.
She stood beside him. "Maybe you're easier to read than you think."
"Or maybe you're just reading me more than you admit."
Her lips curved slightly. "Touché."
Jay looked at her in the moonlight. "You're really okay with this? Leaving everything familiar?"
She nodded. "I don't belong to one place. Or one house. I go where I'm needed."
"And where are you needed now?"
She looked at him.
"Beside you."
Jay's chest tightened.
He didn't speak.
He didn't need to.
They stood in silence.
Not as strangers.
Not as heirs.
Just two people preparing to leave behind everything that defined them.
Together.