Ledgers stood in neat ranks along the walls. Bundled writs lay stacked by date on the side table beneath the window. Nothing was out of place. Even the seal case beside Kestel's hand rested square with the edge of the desk, as if disorder itself might create a procedural opening.
Light from the high window fell across the desk in a pale block, catching on the brass corners of the inkwell and the clean edge of a bone folder. The room smelled of wax, paper, and dry wood. Kestel sat behind the desk with his back straight and one hand resting near the seal-case, as though even in conversation he preferred official things within reach.
Two distinct voices echoed in the hallway, one marked by the distinct voice of a child, while the other carried the tone of a seasoned administrator. The voices were raised but did not carry any hint of aggression toward each other.
"Someone did what?" Ezra asked.
Kestel gave a small nod. "I was surprised as well. The boy paid for his own aptitude exam and got full marks on top of that."
Ezra's brows drew together. He rested one elbow on the arm of the chair and leaned forward a little. "What was his name?"
"Demis," Kestel said.
Ezra searched his memory, then shook his head. "No. I've never heard of him. I don't remember him ever coming to the Helio meetings."
"That is why I think he is an anomaly," Kestel said. He drew one finger along the edge of the topmost writ without looking at it. "He appeared from nowhere and earned perfect marks."
"How did he get the money for the assessment?" Ezra asked.
"He has been seen doing errands for different merchants," Kestel replied. Then he paused. His fingertips settled against the desk. "There is something else."
Ezra looked up.
Kestel's eyes narrowed slightly. "He is one of Cerulle's children."
Ezra's face tightened at once, his jaw clenched. "Cerulle. The one known for using children for ugly work."
Kestel nodded once.
Ezra leaned back a fraction, his fingers tapping once against the carved arm of the chair. "Then he could have been sent there for a reason."
"Not exactly," Kestel said. "From what I gathered, the boy wants protection."
Ezra's hand stilled. "From Cerulle?"
"Yes."
Ezra's brows pulled together. "Why does he think we would give it?"
Kestel let out a quiet breath that was close to a chuckle. "Word spreads, my lord." He folded his hands neatly over the desk. "He has heard what you did for the tenement children. The scene you made at the castle gates is legend among outer ring folk."
Now fully chuckling. "He also seems to be friends with Raydall."
That made Ezra pause.
He looked away for a moment, toward the window, then back again.
Kestel continued, "My first thought was that Raydall had tutored him."
Ezra shook his head at once. "Not even Raydall, Noren, Vendis, or Justus earned perfect scores."
Kestel glanced at him. "Are you suggesting the boy cheated?"
"No," Ezra said. He frowned and tapped once more against the arm of the chair. "I am saying that I'm having a hard time wrapping my head around it."
Kestel said nothing to that. He only watched Ezra across the desk while the silence settled back into the room, neat and orderly as the ledgers on the walls.
"What are you going to do then, Lord Ezra?" Kestel asked, tapping the desk once with one finger. "We only received the exam today, but the boy specifically said he wanted a message brought to Lord Ezra."
Ezra frowned. "I'll ask Raydall about him first."
"Alright," Kestel said.
Ezra left Kestel's office and crossed into the Press Office. The room was busier than the Rolls, full of movement and low voices and boys carrying folded sheets from one table to the next. Hugo stood near the side desk with a notebook open in one hand.
Ezra turned to him. "Where is Raydall today? I saw him this morning, but not since."
Hugo glanced down at the notebook and ran one finger along the page. "He was assigned as a runner for one of the satellite stations near the outer gate."
"When is he due back?" Ezra asked.
"He is set there all morning," Hugo replied. Then he looked up at Ezra's face. "Do you need him for something, my lord?"
"If he can be bothered, I'd like to talk to him immediately," Ezra said.
Hugo's brows rose slightly. "Is this about the new passer?"
Ezra nodded once.
"Alright," Hugo said. "I'll send for him immediately."
"Send him straight to the room at the back."
Ezra turned away and made for the stairs.
A few minutes later, there came three knocks at the door.
"Come in," Ezra said.
Raydall stepped inside and closed the door behind him. "You called for me, Lord Ezra."
"Yes, I did." Ezra gave a small nod.
Raydall stiffened at once. It was the first time he had seen Ezra with such a serious face.
Ezra noticed it and his expression eased a little.
"Uh, it's not about you," he said.
Raydall relaxed by a degree.
Ezra leaned back in his chair. "Do you know a boy named Demis?"
Raydall blinked. "Uh—yes."
His voice lost some of its stiffness now that he understood.
"I fought him once," Raydall said.
Ezra stared at him. "Fought?"
Raydall rubbed at his nose and looked down. "I had a fist fight with him at the docks. He stole from me."
"What did he steal?"
"A buyer."
Ezra let out a short chuckle.
Raydall looked up at once, half-defensive. "Well, he was about to buy from me, then Demis told him I'd dropped the skewer, and that the mud on it was still there."
Ezra raised a brow.
"It wasn't even mud," Raydall said, more heated now. "It was just sauce. We were trying to make a new one."
That made Ezra chuckle again.
"Anyway," Raydall muttered, rubbing once at the back of his neck, "I got a good hit on him after the buyer left. We fought. I gave him a black eye. He got a kick in my stomach. So we were even."
Ezra's mouth twitched.
Raydall shrugged. "Then another day, he helped me sell the rest of the skewers, so after that, we really were even. He also helped me learn how to count better and read signs."
When Ezra heard that, his attention sharpened.
"How does he know how to read and count?"
"He used to be at a foundling home," Raydall said. "Someone there taught him. I told him to come to the Helio classes, but he never did. He never said why."
Ezra leaned forward slightly. "So after that, he learned the rest on his own?"
"Pretty much," Raydall said.
"What happened to him after that? Why is he with Cerulle?"
Raydall shifted his weight. "I'm not fully sure. I heard the home he was at got closed, so he had to go to another one. Then, after that, Cerulle probably bought him."
Ezra's eyes narrowed.
"That home is closed now, too," Raydall added. "I think Brenn said they were selling children instead of trying to place them."
"Do you still see him?"
"Yeah," Raydall said. "We still play sometimes. I went fishing with him not long ago down at the docks."
Ezra looked at him for a moment.
"He got perfect scores on the Literacy Aptitude Exam," Ezra said.
"What?!" Raydall blurted, his voice jumping loud enough to bounce off the walls. "Even the long division section?"
"Yes," Ezra said solemnly.
Raydall's mouth fell open.
"Even Vendis didn't finish that section," he said. Raydall scrunched his brows, then looked up again. "So, Lord Ezra, are you going to hire him for the Press Office?"
"That is why I called you, actually," Ezra said.
Raydall blinked. "What do you mean?"
"Can you vouch for him?"
Raydall looked down for a moment and scratched once at the side of his jaw.
"Uh… he's a pain in my backside sometimes," he said at last. "He got me into trouble a few times, but he sort of makes up for it after. We're still friends. He's never done me in once we patched things up. So… I think it would be alright."
Ezra nodded slowly. "Alright."
He leaned back again, though his fingers still rested against the arm of the chair.
"His scores are too good to ignore," he said.
The last part came quieter, more to himself than to Raydall.
"It's just that he'll be complicated."
Raydall tilted his head. "What do you mean?"
"He's with Cerulle, right?"
Raydall nodded.
Ezra's mouth flattened. "Then Cerulle may try to use him to look into the castle."
Raydall's face shifted at once. "Ah."
Ezra lifted one hand a little, then let it fall back to the arm of the chair. "Don't worry. I'll handle it."
Raydall nodded.
"You can go back to your duties now," Ezra said. "But send Galwell to me on your way out. He should be at the northwest satellite office managing the ink and resin sheet work."
Raydall gave a quick nod, turned, and slipped out the door.
The room went quiet again for a short while before another knock sounded.
"Enter," Ezra said.
Galwell stepped in and shut the door behind him. "M'lord? Ya called?"
"Yes." Ezra motioned him closer. "There is a new student named Demis, whom I want to bring in as an intern for the Press Office. He passed the aptitude exam with a perfect score."
Galwell's brows shot up. "A perfect score?" His mouth opened for a beat. "What in the? I've never heard o' this Demis. He never took the classes, did he?"
Ezra shook his head.
Galwell let out a low breath through his nose. "Then he's brilliant. We should get 'im workin' for us at once."
"Yes," Ezra said. Then he paused. "But there is a catch."
Galwell's expression shifted.
"He has ties to Cerulle's gang."
Galwell said nothing at first, but his eyes sharpened.
"I do not want him keeping too much contact with Cerulle," Ezra said.
Galwell folded his arms loosely. "Ya want a way to sever the guardianship?"
"Maybe later," Ezra said. "But not yet. For now, I want him watched."
Galwell nodded once. "Then he'll need somewhere ta sleep where we can keep an eye on him."
"Yes," Ezra said. "Somewhere under our reach, but not inside anything sensitive."
Galwell scratched at his chin with a finger. "There are a few rooms in the Ironbale manor in the inner ring. We could put him there."
Ezra shook his head at once. "No. There are too many things there I do not want him near at first."
Galwell gave a small grunt and thought for a moment.
"We've got rooms for factors in the outer ring," he said. "At the new bookshop near the maecellum. Clean enough, easy ta guard, and close enough ta call him in when needed."
Ezra considered that, then nodded. "That can work."
"We'll post a few men there as well," Galwell said. "Just in case Cerulle makes trouble. We can also say that it is part of the contract for working in the castle under a special case. I'll have the draft for it and give it to Maester Rowan"
"Good," Ezra said.
Galwell shifted his weight. "And if ya do mean ta strip Cerulle's hold later, the boy will need another guardian."
"We should really do something about the gangs in Bren," Ezra shook his head.
"They are starting to become a bigger problem now, aye." Galwell said, "Maybe for another day."
Ezra nodded.
Galwell gave a slow nod.
"I'll be interviewing Demis tomorrow," Ezra said. "For now, I just want to understand him. Prepare the room. Prepare the guards. Assume that if he passes the interview, he stays."
Galwell straightened a little. "Aye, m'lord."
"Thank you, Galwell."
"Anytime."
Galwell dipped his head, then turned and left Ezra alone with the matter at last.