Valerie studied her more closely this ti.
She rembered clearly the night Bianca had co to her, her face pale, her hands trembling. The half-sister who had always lived in the family’s shadow had begged for help any work, anywhere, as long as she could gather money and escape the marriage arranged for her. The castle had been the only place Valerie could think of then. A dangerous place, yes but also the only one that might offer Bianca a way out.
Valerie had never imagined Bianca would be placed this close.
"It was the head steward who assigned you?" Valerie asked again, making sure.
"Yes," Bianca replied without hesitation. "I was summoned this morning. No explanation was given."
Valerie nodded slowly. She stepped closer, just one pace close enough that only the two of them could hear each other.
"Are you all right?" she asked more quietly now. Not as a mistress, but as soone who had once held Bianca’s hands and promised to help her.
Bianca smiled faintly. A smile that looked obedient, grateful yet behind it lay a composure far too controlled for soone who was supposed to be nothing more than a frightened maid.
"I’m fine," she said. "Better than before."
Valerie did not catch the oddity in that. She rely let out a small breath, as if feeling both guilty and relieved.
"Then... be careful," she said. "This place isn’t kind to those who take a wrong step."
"I know," Bianca replied, bowing her head deeper.
Valerie passed her, her dress whispering softly through the quiet corridor. She did not look back, did not see how Bianca slowly lifted her head after she was gone her gaze changing, no longer rely obedient.
Because the truth was this, Bianca had indeed co to the castle with Valerie’s help. Money and freedom from marriage were only the reasons she had given reasons believable enough to conceal her true intent.
She did want to work here. She did want to be this close.
But not to escape.
There was another purpose that had drawn her into the heart of the castle, sothing she had never told Valerie sothing that had nothing to do with compassion or family ties.
And while Valerie walked away believing she had saved her half-sister, Bianca remained standing in the corridor, realizing one thing with absolute certainty, she was already exactly where she had wanted to be from the very beginning.
Valerie did not return to her chamber.
The mont she left the corridor where Bianca stood, her pace quickened instead purposeful, decisive, as if whatever doubt had flickered earlier had now been compressed into a single, hard resolve. The hem of her dress whispered against the floor as she made her way down the corridor toward the head steward’s office the place where every movent within the castle was arranged neatly, quietly, and often without question.
Sean was standing behind the large wooden desk, reviewing the morning’s task lists, when Valerie entered. He looked up at once, clearly not expecting her to co in person.
"Sean," Valerie said without preamble. Her voice was calm, yet carried a firmness that made the room feel narrower. "I want Bianca transferred out of this wing."
The head steward fell silent for a mont. He closed the docunt in his hand and inclined his head respectfully. "Is there a particular reason, Miss Valerie?"
"There is," Valerie replied shortly. "I don’t want to interact with her too often. Assign her to another part of the castle."
Her tone held no emotion, no haste and precisely because of that, the request sounded final. Sean hesitated for a fraction of a second, not in refusal, but because he knew that any change of placent in this wing was rarely simple.
"I’ll see to it," he said at last.
Valerie nodded. Slightly relieved, though not entirely. She turned to leave when a voice stopped her at the very threshold.
"Are you trying to keep her away from you?"
Valerie froze.
She didn’t need to turn around to know who was speaking. The voice was far too familiar calm, low, and carrying a pressure it never tried to hide.
Demian stood behind her.
He was impeccably dressed, his dark coat set perfectly, gloves already on his hands. He looked like a man about to face the outside world or one who had just heard sothing he hadn’t planned for.
Valerie turned slowly. "Not keeping her away," she said flatly. "I simply don’t want much interaction with her."
Demian frowned. The crease in his brow wasn’t anger, but restrained confusion. "Why?"
Sean, sensing an unspoken boundary, bowed more deeply and withdrew quietly, leaving the two of them alone in the room. The door closed softly, and silence settled between Valerie and Demian.
Valerie let out a small breath. "Because she’s slippery," she said at last. There was no tremor in her voice only cold certainty. "I don’t fully trust what she’s doing now. Everything about her... always turns into trouble."
Demian fell silent.
He studied Valerie, trying to reconcile her words with his own mories. It had been Valerie who ca to him before calm, asking without pleading requesting that Bianca be given a path, a chance to work in the castle. Valerie who had insisted it mattered, that it was necessary.
And now... Valerie was the one asking to push her away.
Demian opened his mouth, then closed it again. For the first ti, he truly didn’t know what he should say. To contradict Valerie felt wrong. To support her without question didn’t feel right either.
Valerie caught his hesitation. She didn’t wait for him to speak. Instead, she shifted the conversation with a small, almost casual motion. Her gaze dropped briefly to his attire, noting details she normally wouldn’t comnt on.
"By the way," she said lightly, as though they hadn’t just been discussing sothing dangerous, "you look very put together. Are you going out again?"
Demian blinked, pulled back from his thoughts. "I’m eting the Emperor."
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