He walked past the guard and descended the stone steps into the garden.
The space that opened before him was large and carefully maintained. At this hour, the shapes of the hedges and flowers were reduced to dark outlines, but the mana lamps placed at intervals helped push back the darkness. They emitted a soft, warm light with a faint bluish tint, and wherever it fell, it made the area look more dreamy and ethereal.
Julian walked slowly.
The air was cold and fresh, carrying with it the scent of earth and night-blooming flowers. They swayed gently in the moonlight, moving with the breeze in a soft, almost hypnotic rhythm. The whole place felt calm and quiet, wrapped in a peaceful stillness.
He took a slow breath, letting the cool night air fill his lungs. As he exhaled, so of the tension he had been carrying all evening began to ease.
Ahead, the stone path curved and opened into a wider clearing. A stone fountain stood at its center.
Julian walked to the edge and looked down at the reflected sky. He simply stood there for a mont, letting his thoughts run.
Then he heard footsteps.
They ca from the path to his left, though they weren’t patrol steps. Guards moved with a specific rhythm, and their armor made their presence obvious on the gravel.
Julian did not turn.
"I did not think I would find company here," he said.
A brief pause. Then a voice ca from behind him, sweet and husky.
"Lord Kraven... I’m sorry. I didn’t know you were here."
Julian turned slowly.
The woman standing on the path was Cathy.
She was a soldier under Liam’s command, which the armor she wore confird at a glance. But the armor itself was unlike anything worn by others in the castle corridors. Calling it "armor" felt like a joke. It was more of a fetish cosplay than a protection, clearly designed to show off her body rather than shield it.
The chestplate was minimal and extrely provocative. Two curved, glossy black plates that cupped her diumly-sized breasts. It lifted and squeezed them upward into an eye-catching display of her cleavage.
The tal barely covered her nipples, leaving the soft, milky upper curves of her breasts completely exposed to the night air. With every breath she took, they rose and fell enticingly, threatening to spill out.
Below the chestplate, everything was bare.
Her entire torso was on full display — smooth, toned muscles with a clinched, elegant waist and the faint, alluring definition of her abs catching the mana-light. A slender silver chain rested just under the swell of her breasts, drawing the eye to her narrow waist and the tempting flare of her hips.
The lower half was even lewder.
What should have been a protective skirt was nothing more than a short, combat skirt in dark fabric and leather. It ended high on her mid-thigh and clung tightly to her wide hips and round, firm ass. Black leather straps with silver buckles was wrapped around her upper thighs, holding a small throwing knives.
Cathy stood tall and confident, her short hair shifting slightly in the breeze as she offered a small, respectful bow.
"I was just doing a night patrol of the gardens, my lord," she said, her voice smooth and slightly husky. "I didn’t an to intrude on your peace."
Julian stared at her.
Sothing about the encounter did not sit right. A beautiful, lightly armored female soldier "accidentally" stumbling upon him in the gardens at this hour? The garden that Julian himself had only decided to visit on a impulse twenty minutes ago.
No. This must have been prepared.
Soone had been waiting for exactly that kind of opening.
Julian sighed internally.
What the hell is wrong with this family? First Vanessa sends Sera, now soone else sends this one. Did the original Kraven really have such a pathetic, desperate reputation that people think throwing half-naked won at is the best strategy?
After a few monts of thinking, he let out a small breath. Maybe I can’t bla them entirely. From their perspective, it made perfect sense.
He turned his attention back to Cathy.
"Hmm," he said lazily. "You can continue your patrol."
Her expression changed instantly.
For a split second, genuine panic flashed across her pretty face. Her confident posture faltered replaced by sothing more urgent.
"My lord—" she said. Her voice ca out slightly faster than before. "I an... Lord Kraven. I could give you so company. The garden is large and the hour is late. It seems a sha to walk it alone."
Julian smiled inwardly. There it is.
That confird it cleanly. A soldier actually on patrol who had genuinely stumbled onto him would have accepted the dismissal and moved on. She would have bowed, perhaps exchanged one more pleasantry, and continued down the path. She would not have pressed.
He looked at her armor again. The crossed swords and shield of Liam’s faction sat on her chestplate, clear in the lamplight.
Liam isn’t that stupid, is he? he thought slowly. Surely not. Sending soone wearing his own faction’s emblem for sothing like this would be reckless.
That kind of move pointed to one of two things: either a level of confidence that bordered on arrogance, or the possibility that Louisa was acting on her own.
He thought of Louisa at the breakfast table—the sharpness in her eyes, the careful mask of warmth she usually wore so naturally that most people wouldn’t question it, and the sense that nothing about her attention was ever truly simple.
Even in simple conversation, there had always been that subtle edge to her presence. A pause here, a glance there, as if she were constantly asuring the room, weighing people, and running calculations just beneath her polite expressions.
Louisa, he decided. This was Louisa’s move. Liam would have been more patient.
Julian turned away from the fountain and began walking deeper into the garden.
"No thank you," he said pleasantly. "I prefer to be alone."
He had only taken a few steps when he heard the quick crunch of gravel behind him. Cathy moved fast.
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