Kael awoke slowly, like soone erging from the bottom of a very deep lake, his consciousness returning in slow waves as every part of his body seed to protest its very existence. The first thing he noticed wasn’t the soft morning light filtering through the heavy curtains of the room, nor the comfortable silence of the still-sleeping mansion. It was the pain. Not a sharp or worrying pain, but that specific kind of physical exhaustion that made every muscle feel slightly inflad, as if he had spent the entire night fighting... or doing sothing equally exhausting.
He opened his eyes slowly, blinking a few tis as he tried to focus on the high ceiling of the room. His brain was still in a comfortable haze, that mont between sleep and full lucidity where everything seed distant and without urgency. Then he tried to move his arm.
And imdiately grimaced.
"...Ouch."
The sound ca out low, almost a tired groan.
Kael slowly turned his head to the side, trying to better understand why his body felt like it had been run over by a carriage. It was then that he realized he wasn’t alone in bed.
Umbra was fast asleep to his left.
Her dark hair was spread across the pillow like an ink stain, her face relaxed in a tranquil expression that contrasted sharply with the normally sharp and observant personality she displayed when awake. Part of the blanket had slipped during the night, revealing that she still slept completely naked, utterly unconcerned with any kind of morning dignity.
On the other side, Inari was also asleep.
If Umbra seed peaceful, Inari seed practically in a coma. The goddess lay on her side, hugging a pillow as if it were the most comfortable thing in the world, her slow, deep breathing indicating that she probably wouldn’t wake up for anything in the next few hours.
Kael stared at the two for a few seconds.
The mories of the previous night began to slowly return.
First fragnts.
Then much clearer flashes.
He closed his eyes for a second.
"...Ah."
Now it made sense. Kael ran a hand slowly across his face, breathing deeply as he tried to gather enough energy to simply sit up in bed without feeling his muscles betraying him.
He finally managed to lift himself slightly, supporting himself on his elbows as he looked again at the two sleeping figures beside him.
Neither of them seed remotely worried.
Umbra had a slight, lazy smile on her face, like soone who had finally experienced sothing they had wanted for a long ti. Inari, on the other hand, seed simply satisfied, completely relaxed in a way that only a very ancient deity could appear after a particularly interesting night.
Kael let out a long sigh.
"...I’ll need coffee."
He began to move carefully out of bed, each movent requiring a little extra effort as his muscles silently protested. His feet finally touched the cold floor of the room, and he stood up slowly, stretching his shoulders slightly as he tried to regain so mobility.
It was then that he felt sothing.
Presence.
Soone was on the other side of the door.
Instinct ca even before conscious thought.
Kael turned his head imdiately toward the bedroom entrance, his eyes narrowing slightly as he listened more intently.
Soft footsteps in the hallway.
Very close.
Very close to the door.
And then his brain finally connected the dots.
Alia.
Irelia.
They didn’t know.
Kael’s eyes widened.
He turned his head imdiately toward the bed.
Umbra and Inari continued to sleep soundly, completely exposed, completely unconcerned, and utterly incapable of reacting quickly should soone enter that room at that mont.
Kael panicked.
It was the kind of instantaneous, irrational reaction of soone who realizes, too late, that they forgot to explain a potentially explosive situation to the people who definitely should have known about it beforehand.
He moved with impressive speed for soone who had just woken up.
First, she picked up the clothes that were lying on the floor.
Then he started putting on whatever he could find, almost tripping as he tried to slip his arm into the correct sleeve of his shirt while walking quickly toward the door.
The sound of footsteps on the other side stopped.
The person was clearly about to knock.
Kael reached the door literally a second before.
He opened it.
The person on the other side jumped slightly in surprise.
It was just a maid.
A young woman who clearly hadn’t expected the door to open so suddenly.
The two stared at each other for a brief mont.
She blinked a few tis, clearly surprised to find Kael already standing, dressed sowhat hastily and breathing slightly faster than soone who had just woken up would normally breathe.
But her surprise lasted only a few seconds.
The maid quickly regained her professional posture, straightening up slightly while bowing her head respectfully.
"Excuse , Mr. Kael."
She spoke in a polite tone.
"I didn’t an to bother you."
Kael blinked a few tis, forcing his face to assu a much calr expression than he actually felt at that mont.
"No, no. Everything’s fine."
He replied quickly, resting a hand on the door fra as if he were simply relaxing.
"I was already awake."
The maid nodded politely.
"I just ca to check if you needed anything."
She paused briefly before adding.
"On Young Mistress’s orders."
Kael imdiately understood.
Irelia.
Of course.
He nodded quickly, trying to appear completely casual while, at the sa ti, keeping his body strategically positioned to prevent any direct view of the room’s interior.
"Ah, yes. Of course."
He gave a small, diplomatic smile.
"But don’t worry. Everything is... quiet here."
The maid nodded again.
"I understand."
She seed ready to leave, but Kael decided to seize the opportunity.
"Actually," he added quickly, "I’d like to ask a small favor."
She looked up again.
"Yes, sir?"
Kael crossed his arms, trying to appear thoughtful rather than desperate.
"Today... I’d prefer that no maids enter my room."
The woman blinked a few tis, but didn’t seem to find it particularly strange.
After all, nobles had strange habits all the ti.
"Understood."
She replied calmly.
"I’ll inform the others."
Kael nodded.
"Thank you."
She gave a small, polite bow.
"Have a good morning, sir."
Then she turned and began walking down the hall again, her soft footsteps slowly fading as she walked away.
Kael waited.
One second.
Two. Three.
Only when he was absolutely certain she had truly left did he finally close the door slowly.
The click of the lock echoed softly through the room.
He rested his forehead against the wood for a mont.
Then he let out a long sigh.
"...Damn it."
Kael rubbed his face slowly with both hands.
"I forgot to count."
He turned his head slowly to look at the bed.
Umbra and Inari were still sleeping exactly as before, completely unaware of the small diplomatic disaster that had almost happened.
Kael stared at the two for a few seconds.
Then he let out another tired sigh.
"This is going to be a very long conversation."
Kael woke slowly, like soone erging from the bottom of a very deep lake, consciousness returning in slow waves as each part of his body seed to protest its own existence. The first thing he noticed wasn’t the soft morning light filtering through the heavy curtains of the room, nor the comfortable silence of the still-sleeping mansion. It was the pain. Not a sharp or worrying pain, but that specific kind of physical exhaustion that made every muscle feel slightly inflad, as if he’d spent the entire night fighting... or doing sothing equally exhausting.
He slowly opened his eyes, blinking a few tis as he tried to focus on the high ceiling of the room. His brain was still in a comfortable haze, that mont between sleep and full lucidity where everything seed distant and without urgency. Then he tried to move his arm.
And imdiately grimaced.
"...Ouch."
The sound ca out low, almost a tired groan.
Kael slowly turned his head to the side, trying to better understand why his body felt like it had been run over by a carriage. It was then that he realized he wasn’t alone in bed.
Umbra was fast asleep to his left.
Her dark hair was spread across the pillow like an ink stain, her face relaxed in a tranquil expression that contrasted sharply with the normally sharp and observant personality she displayed when awake. Part of the blanket had slipped during the night, revealing that she still slept completely naked, utterly unconcerned with any kind of morning dignity.
On the other side, Inari also slept.
If Umbra seed tranquil, Inari seed practically in a coma. The goddess lay on her side, hugging a pillow as if it were the most comfortable thing in the world, her slow, deep breathing indicating that she probably wouldn’t wake up for anything in the next few hours.
Kael stared at the two for a few seconds.
The mories of the previous night began to slowly return.
First fragnts.
Then much clearer flashes.
He closed his eyes for a second.
"...Ah."
Now it made sense.
Kael ran a hand slowly across his face, breathing deeply as he tried to gather enough energy to simply sit up in bed without feeling his muscles betraying him.
He finally managed to lift himself slightly, supporting himself on his elbows as he looked again at the two sleeping figures beside him.
Neither of them seed remotely worried.
Umbra had a slight, lazy smile on her face, like soone who had finally experienced sothing they had wanted for a long ti. Inari, on the other hand, seed simply satisfied, completely relaxed in a way that only a very ancient deity could appear after a particularly interesting night.
Kael let out a long sigh.
"...I’ll need coffee."
He began to move carefully out of bed, each movent requiring a little extra effort as his muscles silently protested. His feet finally touched the cold floor of the room, and he stood up slowly, stretching his shoulders slightly as he tried to regain so mobility.
It was then that he felt sothing.
Presence.
Soone was on the other side of the door.
Instinct ca even before conscious thought.
Kael turned his head imdiately toward the bedroom entrance, his eyes narrowing slightly as he listened more intently.
Soft footsteps in the hallway.
Very close.
Very close to the door.
And then his brain finally connected the dots.
Alia.
Irelia.
They didn’t know.
Kael’s eyes widened.
He turned his head imdiately toward the bed.
Umbra and Inari continued to sleep soundly, completely exposed, completely unconcerned, and utterly incapable of reacting quickly should soone enter that room at that mont.
Kael panicked.
It was the kind of instantaneous, irrational reaction of soone who realizes, too late, that they forgot to explain a potentially explosive situation to the people who definitely should have known about it beforehand.
He moved with impressive speed for soone who had just woken up.
First he picked up the clothes scattered on the floor.
Then he began to put on whatever he could find, almost tripping as he tried to slip his arm into the correct sleeve of his shirt while walking quickly toward the door.
The sound of footsteps on the other side stopped.
The person was clearly about to knock.
Kael reached the door literally a second before.
He opened it.
The person on the other side jumped slightly in surprise.
It was just a maid.
A young woman who clearly hadn’t expected the door to be opened so suddenly.
The two stared at each other for a brief mont.
She blinked a few tis, clearly surprised to find Kael already standing, dressed sowhat hastily and breathing slightly faster than soone who had just woken up would normally breathe.
But her surprise lasted only a few seconds.
The maid quickly regained her professional posture, straightening up slightly while bowing her head respectfully.
"Excuse , Mr. Kael."
She spoke in a polite tone.
"I didn’t an to bother you."
Kael blinked a few tis, forcing his face to assu a much calr expression than he actually felt at that mont.
"No, no. It’s alright."
He replied quickly, resting a hand on the door fra as if he were simply relaxing.
"I was already awake."
The maid nodded politely.
"I just ca to check if you needed anything."
She paused briefly before adding.
"On the Young Mistress’s orders."
Kael imdiately understood. Irelia.
Of course.
He nodded quickly, trying to appear completely casual while, at the sa ti, keeping his body strategically positioned to prevent any direct view of the room’s interior.
"Ah, yes. Of course."
He gave a small, diplomatic smile.
"But don’t worry. Everything is... quiet here."
The maid nodded again.
"I understand."
She seed ready to leave, but Kael decided to seize the opportunity.
"Actually," he added quickly, "I would like to ask a small favor."
She looked up again.
"Yes, sir?"
Kael crossed his arms, trying to appear thoughtful rather than desperate.
"Today... I would prefer that no maid enter my room."
The woman blinked a few tis, but didn’t seem to find it particularly strange.
After all, nobles had strange habits all the ti.
"Understood."
She answered calmly.
"I’ll inform the others."
Kael nodded.
"Thank you."
She gave a small, polite bow.
"Have a good morning, sir."
Then she turned and began walking down the hall again, her soft footsteps slowly fading as she walked away.
Kael waited.
One second.
Two.
Three.
Only when he was absolutely certain she had truly left did he finally close the door slowly.
The click of the lock echoed softly through the room.
He rested his forehead against the wood for a mont.
Then he let out a long sigh.
"...Damn it."
Kael rubbed his face slowly with both hands.
"I forgot to ntion it."
He turned his head slowly to look at the bed.
Umbra and Inari were still sleeping exactly as before, completely unaware of the small diplomatic disaster that had almost occurred. Kael stared at the two of them for a few seconds.
Then he let out another tired sigh.
"This is going to be a very long conversation."
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