The campfire crackled warmly, casting flickering shadows across the group huddled near it. Estella's laughter rang out, bright and unrestrained, as she teased Lira about the newfound glow on her face.
"Admit it, Lira," Estella said, a mischievous grin lighting up her features.
"Even as a maid, you've got to be the envy of noblewon everywhere right now. This glow? They'd trade their pearls for it!"
Lira, ever composed, raised a delicate brow and inspected her hand with mock seriousness.
"Envy is such an exhausting emotion to manage, Estella. I'll leave that to others." Despite her nonchalant tone, the faintest hint of a smile tugged at her lips.
Estella's grin widened as she leaned closer.
"Oh, co on. You must be reveling in it just a little. Admit it."
"As much as you revel in behaving like a child?" Lira countered smoothly, her voice honeyed with sarcasm.
Even Cerys, seated off to the side, cracked a rare smile. The faint curve of her lips was fleeting, but it softened the perpetual sternness of her expression.
"You're both insufferable," she said, her tone carrying a trace of warmth beneath its usual bluntness.
The atmosphere around the fire was light, almost fragile in its camaraderie. Lira's elegance, Estella's bubbly energy, and Cerys's begrudging amusent created a harmony that felt rare amidst their usual tension.
Mikhailis leaned back against a nearby tree, his glasses catching the firelight. He watched the girls quietly, the corner of his lips curling into a faint smirk.
They act like they're at a gala instead of a makeshift camp. Guess I'll let them have this mont.
He adjusted his glasses, observing how the laughter softened the edges of their usually guarded expressions. It was a rare display of humanity amidst their otherwise somber journey, and for a brief mont, he allowed himself to bask in it.
Rodion's sharp, formal voice cut through his thoughts, dragging him back to reality.
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