At that mont, Es returned from the restroom, her face bright as ever, unaware of the heavy silence that had just passed. Valerie quickly brushed at the corner of her eye and smiled but this ti her smile was different. Still fragile, yet more honest.
In her heart, Valerie knew her life hadn’t changed. She would still return to the castle. Still stand at a duke’s side. Still carry a suspended status with no certainty.
But for a few minutes in that small café, with an old friend who saw her as she truly was, Valerie felt if only briefly that she still had room to breathe.
"Do you know?" Es said, her voice trembling with genuine excitent. "The opera at the eastern hall is staging a new production tonight. They say it’s beautiful about a reunion after a long separation. We should go watch it, then take a walk. Like we used to."
The words like we used to landed gently, yet struck sothing deep in Valerie’s chest. For a mont, she fell silent. A warm impulse nearly made her nod without thinking a desire to beco her old self again, the one who could laugh freely without counting the hours, who could return ho without dread. But another image quickly followed: the castle gates, the servants’ watchful eyes, the clock that always seed to tick too loudly.
Ethan rescued the silence with a small smile."An opera sounds nice," he said calmly. "It’s been a long ti since the three of us did sothing like this."
And in the end, they went.
The night welcod them with lights flickering on one by one, the city streets shimring with a golden glow. Inside the opera house, the music rose lofty, grand, and filled with yearning. Valerie sat between Es and Ethan, her dress immaculate, her posture composed. But her heart her heart trembled. Every note seed to remind her of sothing she once had, and then slowly let go.
Es leaned over from ti to ti, whispering about stage details or praising a singer she adored. Ethan, on the other hand, comnted only occasionally brief, sincere, always precise. Valerie listened, smiled softly, laughed when Es went overboard with her admiration for a scene. In between those monts, she forgot forgot the title, forgot the distance, forgot the great na now attached to her.
When the opera ended, they walked along streets embraced by the deepening night. Streetlamps cast their three shadows onto the damp stone. Es talked endlessly about her wedding plans, about Ronald who was stiff but loyal, about her dream of a small house with windows facing a garden. Ethan listened, sotis nodding, sotis adding a short remark that made Es scoff in mock annoyance before laughing again.
Valerie walked between them, her hands clasped in front of her. She felt warm not only from the air, but from the simple truth that she was rembered, invited, included. That she was not rely a na spoken by others.
Without realizing it, ti slipped away. Valerie glanced up at the sky the moon was high now, the night far later than she had expected. Her steps slowed.
"Es," she said softly, almost reluctant to break the mont, "I have to go back."
Es stopped abruptly. Her smile faded, replaced by an honest, childlike disappointnt."Already?" she asked. "It feels like we just got here. I’m not ready to part yet."
Valerie looked at her friend’s face the face that had known her before everything changed."I’m not either," she replied quietly. "But I can’t stay too long."
There was another aning behind those words one that didn’t need explaining. Es understood, even if her heart resisted it. She was about to say sothing, perhaps to persuade, perhaps to hold on. But Ethan stepped half a pace forward.
"Es," he said gently but firmly, "Valerie really does have to return."
Es turned to him, slightly annoyed."You’re always too reasonable," she muttered half teasing, half resigned.
Ethan gave a small smile, then looked at Valerie a gaze without judgnt, without pressure."We can et again," he said. "It doesn’t have to be today. It doesn’t have to be long. But next ti peacefully."
Valerie nodded. The words were simple, yet they felt like a small promise she could safely hold onto."Yes," she said. "I’d like that."
Es hugged Valerie tightly longer than usual."Don’t disappear again," she whispered. "At least let know you’re alright."
Valerie returned the embrace. Her chest ward, her eyes burned slightly."I’ll try," she answered honestly.
Ethan stood a short distance away, giving them space. When Valerie approached him, he inclined his head slightly not out of formality, but respect."Take care on your way back," he said.
"You too," Valerie replied.
When she finally walked away, Valerie did not look back. She was afraid afraid that if she saw their faces one more ti, her feet would refuse to move. Yet within her, sothing remained simple laughter, lighter steps, and the reminder that before she beca a duke’s woman, she had been and still was Valerie.
And that night, brief as it was, gave her the breath she needed to move forward once more.
The upper-floor corridor should have been silent as it always was, like every night when the castle began to fall asleep. Yet for Valerie, that night felt as though soone had deliberately switched on a light far too bright right in front of her eyes.
She had just stepped onto the final stair when the door to Demian’s study opened.
And the world stopped moving.
Ivanka Kosler stepped out first.
Her hair was loose, her expression calm almost satisfied and her body was wrapped in nothing but Demian’s shirt. It hung oversized on her fra, falling to mid-thigh, the sleeves slightly rolled as if she had adjusted them without much care for how it looked.
Then Demian followed.
Shirtless.Only dark trousers clung to his hips. His shoulders were bare, his chest rising and falling slowly, silver hair faintly disheveled.
Valerie didn’t know which hurt more the sight itself, or the fact that for a fraction of a second, neither of them looked guilty.
Demian noticed her first.
"Valerie—" he paused, then spoke quickly, as if an explanation could still fix everything. "Ivanka spilled tea on her dress. She couldn’t go out like that, so she wore my shirt for now. She’ll change into another gown after this."
The words were neat. Too neat.
Valerie looked at him. Her gaze was flat, her face calm a calmness that made Demian’s chest tighten.
"I don’t care,"
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