Ashley let out a soft, unsteady breath, her chest tightening as sothing warm and unfamiliar stirred within her. She loved it, every inch of it. The thought crossed her mind, half in disbelief, that she could stay in this room for an entire year and never grow bored with it, as it had everything.
Only then did she recall what she had briefly noticed earlier, lined neatly beyond the foot of her bed, just past where the television would descend, was a display of gaming consoles.
Not just one or two, but an entire collection, accompanied by limited-edition controllers arranged with care. At the ti, she hadn’t thought much of it, too overwheld by everything else. But now, standing in her personal study, the realization settled in.
Aunt Lavinia hadn’t known what she liked.
So she had prepared for everything.
Even this.
If Ashley turned out to enjoy gaming, it was already there, waiting for her. The sa thought echoed through every part of the room, the books, the space, the quiet details woven into every corner. It wasn’t just luxurious. It was thoughtful.
And that was what made it feel... hers.
Her fingers curled slightly against her lap as another quiet breath left her, her heart still trembling.
"Aunt Lavinia... this room is just—" Ashley’s voice caught, emotion tightening her throat as she struggled to finish, her eyes still roaming the space in quiet wonder.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
Before Aunt Lavinia could respond, they heard the knock coming from the open doorway. She turned and gently pushed Ashley out of the study, and there, leaning casually against the doorfra, stood Apollo. His arms were crossed, his gaze sweeping across the room as he gave a small, approving nod, clearly satisfied with what he saw.
"Ash, do you have a mont?" he asked.
He waited.
Only when Ashley gave a small nod did he step inside.
Sensing Apollo’s serious expression, Aunt Lavinia excused herself without a word, leaving the siblings to speak in private. She moved quietly out, intending to prepare so light refreshnts downstairs.
anwhile, Apollo stepped behind Ashley’s wheelchair and took hold of it, guiding her toward the balcony she had yet to explore.
As the doors opened to the soft evening air, Aunt Lavinia gently closed the heavy double doors behind them, leaving the two alone.
A cool evening breeze brushed against Ashley’s cheeks as the balcony opened fully before her, revealing a view that felt almost unreal.
To her left, the maze garden glowed under soft lights, its intricate paths taking on a different kind of allure in the night, looking all mysterious, almost enchanting. To her right, the lake stretched out in quiet stillness, its surface reflecting scattered lights from carefully placed lamps along the shore.
Stone lanterns lined the pathways, casting a gentle glow over the nearby flower beds, while further out, she noticed sothing she hadn’t seen before, a small pavilion resting at the center of the water. A narrow bridge, delicately lit, connected it to the land, and beside it, a small boat lay anchored, completing the scene like sothing out of a dream.
Her gaze lingered there, drawn in without effort.
Apollo followed her line of sight and let out a soft chuckle. "I’ll take you there tomorrow," he said, his tone calm, almost indulgent. "For now... let’s talk about sothing."
He guided her closer to the balcony table before taking a seat across from her. At the sound of his voice settling into sothing more serious, Ashley turned her head to face him, her attention shifting from the tranquil view to the man now sitting opposite her.
"What is it?" Ashley asked, her voice soft as she looked at him.
"It’s about Ophelia."
Ashley tilted her head slightly, her expression calm, almost innocent. "What about her?" she asked, as if she had no idea what he was referring to.
Apollo didn’t hesitate. "I don’t want you to misunderstand her place in this family," he said plainly, choosing not to beat around the bush. "We didn’t bring her in to replace you."
"Then... why did you bring her in?" Ashley asked quietly. She intertwined her fingers, resting her elbows against the armrests of her wheelchair as she looked at Apollo with steady, unflinching seriousness.
There was no trace of hesitation in her gaze, only calm, direct intent. And for a brief mont, faced with that unexpected composure, even Apollo felt a flicker of unease stir within him.
"Well," Apollo began, his voice quieter now, his gaze drifting past her toward the distant line of trees swaying under the night sky, "as I told you before... when our enemies attacked, everything fell apart in an instant."
"We had no choice but to scatter. Each of us, your brothers, you, Mother, we all fled in different directions, taking only the servants and guards we could manage."
He paused briefly, the mory settling heavily in his tone. "We couldn’t move as one. A large group would’ve drawn attention imdiately, and that would have been the end of us. At the sa ti, we couldn’t take everyone as we had to leave Father with enough n to hold the line, to buy us ti."
His expression hardened slightly. "Even then, what we had wasn’t enough. We were still cornered."
A slow breath left him as he continued, his voice steady but carrying a weight that hadn’t faded with ti. "And I... I was placed under the heaviest protection. Because father made it clear that nothing could happen to ."
"As the eldest, he believed I had to survive. He always said I was the only one among us willing to shoulder the responsibility of the family... the only one interested in its wealth, its structure, its future. The others had their own paths, their own ambitions. But ..."
His jaw tightened faintly. "He trained to carry everything. To beco what he was."
The wind stirred faintly around them, the quiet of the night pressing in as he spoke.
"And if sothing had happened to ," he added, almost to himself, "then the foundation holding the family together... would’ve collapsed with ."
"And because of that," Apollo continued, his voice lowering, "everyone around beca a shield." His gaze dropped for a mont, as if the mories were too heavy for him to rember. "One by one, the guards and servants who fled with ... they died protecting . In the end, it was just Aunt Lavinia and left."
A faint tension tightened in his jaw. "I couldn’t bear to lose her, too. Everything was happening too fast, and I was still young back then... I wasn’t strong enough to carry it all. Aunt Lavinia saw that. She knew if I lost anything more, I might break completely, and that would only put in greater danger. She couldn’t let that happen."
He drew in a slow breath before continuing. "So while we were still fleeing, she made a decision. She sought out a rcenary group, led by a man known for his reckless fighting, like a beast, soone who didn’t care whether he lived or died. But he had already retired by then... after discovering he had a daughter."
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