The scent of incense drifted through the room, thin trails of smoke curling upward around a large portrait on the wall.
Nolan stepped forward, lifting the incense sticks and placing them carefully before the smaller portraits that flanked it.
He moved to the windows, drawing the curtains aside.
Light spilled in, soft and golden, as a gentle breeze carried the fragrance of incense further into the room.
For a moment, he stood still.
Then he returned to the large portrait, a faint, wistful smile touching his lips, before his gaze shifted to the one beside it.
His elder brother.
"You know, Sebastian…" he murmured, a quiet chuckle escaping him, "that girl's aura feels so similar to yours."
"When I first met Zarah, I thought she might be the child of some distant relative…" Nolan said, fastening his cuffs.
"But as time passed… the aura connection only grew stronger."
He lifted his gaze to his elder brother's portrait.
"You taught me yourself, such a strong connection can only exist within the main branch of Zepher."
A pause.
"And from that branch… only I remain."
His voice softened, grief threading through it.
"…Which would mean…" A flicker of hope crossed his face. "Zarah is your daughter? My lost niece?"
A quiet laugh escaped him as he shook his head.
"Listen to me… getting carried away over an aura alone…"
His gaze shifted to his mother's portrait.
"You were right, Mother. I still lack self-preservation." A faint, self-critical smile tugged at his lips. "At this rate, I'm not only risking myself, I'm risking everything you left behind."
He exhaled slowly.
"But you must see it too… If my niece lives, then she is the last of us, besides me."
His eyes darkened slightly.
"They insist Sebastian's daughter is dead… but why should I believe them?"
A beat.
"I never saw her body."
His voice dropped.
"The last time I saw her… she was a crying newborn. Alive."
He turned to the portrait of his sister-in-law.
"What do you think, Beatrice?" he murmured. "Am I being unreasonable… or do you believe it too?"
A faint smirk touched his lips.
"Or perhaps my dear sister Vivian had a secret love child… only now coming to light."
He glanced toward Vivian's portrait.
His eyes shimmered with unshed tears.
"…Ah."
His voice grew quieter.
"You can't bicker with me anymore, can you?"
A shaky breath.
"Or hit me for saying something like that…"
He lifted a hand, brushing the tears away.
He stepped closer and adjusted the flower vase before Vivian's portrait.
"This used to sit in your chambers, remember?" he said softly, a rueful smile tugging at his lips.
Reaching for the flowers he had set aside, he picked up a small bundle of lily of the valley and arranged them carefully in the vase.
"I brought your favorites."
He lingered there for a moment, adjusting a stray stem before looking up.
"Happy birthday, Vivian… You would have been thirty-six today." A quiet breath left him. "Can you believe that?"
A faint laugh escaped him as his gaze shifted toward Sebastian.
"You'd have been married by now too, like him. Children of your own…" His smile softened. "Perhaps you and Beatrice would have raised them together."
The smile faded.
"But… that's not how things turned out."
His eyes moved to his mother's portrait.
"Mother doesn't make cakes for my birthday anymore." His voice grew quieter. "Maybe you get them from her… wherever you are."
Then to his father.
"It's a good thing Father left earlier, before the massacre. He wouldn't have been able to bear it… seeing Mother take up the sword with her aching knees."
Silence settled in the room.
Nolan exhaled and glanced at the clock.
"…Almost nine."
He straightened slightly.
"I should leave for the Imperial Palace."
A pause.
"I sent someone to the Cerulean brothel, disguised. To look into Zarah's past."
His gaze flickered back to the portraits.
"Most abandoned children end up there… but if she had the Zepher locket on her…"
A small, uncertain breath.
"…then perhaps I'll finally have my answer."
With that, he turned and walked toward the door.
Zarah sat stiffly on Ines's lap as the Empress worked, her quill moving steadily across document after document. One arm remained wrapped around Zarah's waist, holding her firmly in place.
The servants in the room kept their heads lowered, pretending not to notice.
It was almost impressive, how not a single one of them so much as glanced in their direction.
Zarah's cheeks burned, heat creeping all the way to her ears. At this rate, she might simply combust from embarrassment.
"Is this… necessary, Your Majesty?" she asked quietly, her fingers curling into her lap.
"Yes," Ines replied, utterly unfazed. "It helps me focus."
Her chin rested lightly against Zarah's shoulder as she continued writing.
Zarah's protests died before they could even form.
What was she supposed to do, push the Empress away?
That would only result in being summoned later… and when they were alone—
Her face flushed even deeper.
She let out a small sigh, tilting her head just enough to glance at Ines.
A week and three days had passed since that afternoon in the imperial gardens… when the peacocks had interrupted them.
Some things had changed.
Whether for better or worse… Zarah still wasn't sure.
Ines called for her every day, as before.
But now, it wasn't just at night.
Sometimes, she would summon her during the day as well, and they would simply sit together, sharing tea, talking quietly.
And on nights when Ines exhausted her too much, she wouldn't call for her again the next evening.
Instead, they would have tea.
Though one thing remained unchanged—
Ines always left before Zarah woke.
And perhaps that was the most troubling part.
Zarah looked away, yet her body unconsciously leaned back into Ines.
She had grown… attached.
She wouldn't deny it, some foolish part of her had begun to wish the Empress would stay instead of leaving.
It was ridiculous.
And yet…
Had that stopped her from stealing glances even now?
No.
Her gaze lingered on Ines as she worked.
"One might say you're obsessed, the way you keep staring," Ines remarked, not looking up, though the corner of her lips curved faintly.
Zarah quickly averted her eyes, her ears flushing pink.
"I am not obsessed with Your Majesty," she replied, her voice betraying her.
Ines set her quill aside.
Her hand rose, fingers brushing against Zarah's jaw before tilting it upward.
"No?"
She leaned closer, her breath warm against Zarah's skin.
Zarah's breath hitched.
A sharp inhale filled her lungs, the faint scent of rosemary, and something distinctly Ines, overwhelming her senses.
"Does Your Majesty want me to be obsessed with you?" Zarah managed, gathering what little composure she had left.
Ines hummed softly.
"Do I lack in some way," she murmured, "that you are not already?"
Her arm tightened, pulling Zarah closer against her.
Around them, the servants shifted uncomfortably.
The Empress… behaving like this, in broad daylight—
Had she been possessed?
Or had they all lost their minds, and she alone remained sane?
A knock sounded from outside, followed by a servant's voice.
"Your Majesty, Duke Zepher has arrived and requests an audience."
Ines leaned into Zarah's neck, inhaling softly before flicking her wrist toward the servant standing nearby.
The servant bowed quickly, almost too quickly, before slipping out of the room.
The moment he stepped outside, he exhaled deeply, as though he had just escaped something far more dangerous than duty.
Composing himself, he turned to the waiting figure.
"Her Majesty grants you audience, Your Grace," he said, his voice still slightly unsteady.
Nolan raised a brow. "Are you quite alright?"
The servant nodded hastily. "Perfectly fine, Your Grace. Merely… relieved to be dismissed."
There was something odd about the way he said it.
Nolan watched him hurry off, a faint frown forming.
'What exactly was he running from?'
He shook the thought aside.
A familiar warmth settled around him.
Zarah.
She was nearby.
As he approached the doors to the Imperial study, the sensation grew stronger.
'So the Empress summoned her here…'
That would certainly explain the servant's behavior.
Nolan knocked.
A moment later, the door opened, and he stepped inside.
He bowed.
"Blessings and glory upon the brilliant light of the Caelthra Empire, Her Majesty the Empress."
"Rise," Ines said.
Nolan paused.
That was unusual.
Normally, she would simply gesture.
Still, he straightened—
—and froze.
His breath caught.
There, before him—
The Empress sat with Zarah in her lap.
A flower maiden.
In her lap.
For a moment, Nolan felt as though the world had tilted off its axis.
"Your Majesty…?" he managed, the shock evident in his voice.
Of all the things he had expected… this was not one of them.