He looked up at Eris, his expression one of profound apology. He looked, as Eris had thought before, like an incredibly earnest rabbit that had failed to find the right burrow.
"I'm sorry, Your Majesty. I could not fulfill the assignment you gave me. I have failed to give you the answer you need."
He took a shaky breath, his shoulders squaring as if preparing for a blow. "I… I should be punished. For the failure. For wasting your time when the Empire is at the brink."
Eris looked at him for a long moment. It was a gaze of strange, unwilling endearment.
She saw the raw sincerity in him, the desperate need to be useful in a world that was falling apart.
A small, genuine smile touched her lips, a rare occurrence that seemed to brighten the dim corner of the library more than any lantern.
"I am not going to punish you, Ellyn," she said.
