Renard Dreel, presently a fly on the wall, wanted to interject.
He’d rather take his chances elsewhere, honestly.
But the mont he opened his mouth, he nearly choked. How? How could this gorgeous boy be so utterly blind? Calling him—him, the young, good-looking Renard—a "mister"? But calling that woman, who looked every bit a middle-aged clerk, a "miss"?!
He internally scread.
His dignity limped away. He had to regroup. Regain his footing. Nurse his wounded ego before he collapses completely.
So he forced a cough and waved a hand. "I-it’s fine. I’ll just get back to work." He bent quickly to scoop up the tablet he had oh-so-carefully given to Luca, hoping—praying—that maybe a few questions had been answered.
But the mont his fingers brushed the screen—
Clack!
A grip like iron clamped down on his wrist.
His head whipped up. The frail-looking woman. The one who had smiled so prettily despite looking so plain. Her hand locked around him with the strength of a crushing vice.
He yelped in shock.
Luca gasped, alarm flooding his golden eyes. "Oh no! Is it that painful already?!"
"I-I’m fine!" Renard wheezed, his voice breaking into panicked hiccups. He tried to pull away, but the pressure spiked. "Ah—ah—ahhh! What are you doing?!"
The Empress’s smile widened, serene as a saint. "Ah! Apologies! I’ll bring you straight to the dical bay. How thoughtless of !"
"W-what?!"
Her voice rang with certainty. Exactly as she wanted it.
She would drag him out. Away from the chipmunk. And in the anti, her shadows could quietly "verify" his identity.
But then a soft voice interrupted, halting her triumph.
"Miss, I’ll help you carry him."
She froze.
Renard froze.
They both turned slowly toward Luca, who looked genuinely troubled. "He said I was taking his breath away. So I feel like I ought to do sothing."
In fact, Luca had been worried.
Even D-29 thought that the attendant might be experiencing a problem, which was why he was speaking such words. Because why else would the attendant have been using sentences from different shows?
Didn’t he know it was not good to mix and match too much?
But in the mind of the golden-eyed rock, he was wondering if this was so sort of symptom or maybe another case of defamation that could possibly earn him sothing. Because really, he couldn’t rember committing cris in the capital!
anwhile, the Empress and Renard both stiffened, though for very different reasons.
Renard felt his soul leave his body. Exposed. Failed. Ruined. He was really going to be rembered as the idiot who got outdone by a literal rock.
anwhile, the Empress was about to explode. Carry him?! No, no, no. The wax with a face was not allowed to touch a single part of her son’s beloved.
"It’s fine," she said quickly, her voice firm. "I can carry him."
Luca blinked. "But Miss, isn’t that unfair when I can help? I should offer."
Unfair? UNFAIR?! She nearly laughed herself into madness.
Her eyes narrowed as she spoke more firmly. "No, I’m actually very strong. I can carry him just fine."
But Luca’s face only furrowed in confusion. "Why would we need to carry him when we can just bring him to the dical bay like this? And they say it’s bad to jostle around the patient, so if we bring him like this, I think it would be better!"
"!!!"
Both the Empress and Renard froze in shock as Luca casually extended his hand.
Spiritual energy wrapped around the poor fool like a silken rope, lifting him effortlessly into the air. Smooth, controlled, precise. Not a single thread wavered.
Renard’s eyes rolled back dramatically, and he fainted on the spot.
To him, it was certain death. Being encased like that? Surely he was about to combust, be shattered, or worse, dragged into so unspeakable dinsion. Overreaction? Absolutely. But to most people of the Empire, this was unthinkable, especially when spiritual energy tended to be violent, destructive, and deadly.
The Empress almost forgot how to breathe. Her steps faltered. She nearly forgot to move forward entirely.
Because this—this level of control, especially when not ant as an offensive move? This level of finesse?
A genius.
And yet the boy with the bright golden eyes looked entirely unbothered, like he had just decided to carry luggage rather than an unconscious man.
"Miss," Luca said politely, turning toward her with a small smile. "Where do we go now? I don’t know where the dical bay is."
"Ah—" She blinked. Her brain caught up a second too late, and then she nodded quickly.
"Yes. This way."
She led him down the hall, following the blueprint she had morized during the briefing. But as they walked, her thoughts tangled.
This is insane. Why is no one looking for him? Shouldn’t a boy like this have at least a dozen guards glued to his side? How can he just... slip away like this?
But it wasn’t that Luca had no one watching him.
It was that everyone who was supposed to be watching him had been cornered... by her husband.
The Emperor, her oh-so-clever partner, was working overti to give her these monts. From loudly pointing out "interesting" details of machinery, to calling random staff for help, to distracting the other cadets with allegedly critical questions—he had been doing it all.
Partly because of selfless devotion, of course, but also for self-preservation. Because he, too, wanted to avoid being in the middle of whatever his wife was plotting.
Fair enough. He knew her too well.
Then again, if Luca had been the kind of boy you could easily calculate, distract, and win against, then the Empire would be in a very different place right now.
The Empress shook herself back to focus just in ti to watch Luca gently deposit Renard onto a bed.
The doctor on duty turned, smiling reverently, and gave a short bow. "I’ll be checking him thoroughly."
"Yes, please," the Empress replied smoothly, her eyes gleaming like twin blades. "A thorough inspection is absolutely needed."
The doctor caught the signal. After all, this wasn’t the first ti. As a mber of her personal security team, he was aware of what the Empress intended to do.
And today’s dish? Renard Holt Dreel.
They had already found sothing interesting about him. It was ti to peel back the layers.
anwhile, Luca shifted awkwardly, his hands clasped in front of him. "Would it be possible for to wait here? Just in case sothing happens?"
The Empress blinked.
Then it hit her.
Her heart jolted, her ears twitched.
This was it.
He was here. With her. Alone.
She had actually managed it.
Now it was just her and the boy she had been dying to talk to.
Now what?!
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