"It seems we're missing one," Lucien himself began as the two maids accompanying him stood beside him on either side of his seat.
"I was quite surprised when I heard the news," Finsten commented. "For you to allow someone as inexperienced as him to be in the same league as us. Only eighteen years old, might I add."
"As much as I hate to agree with Ironhead over there," Natasha added, "you were the one most against the notion from the start, even though it wasn't against the rules. What changed your mind, Head Captain?"
Natasha's remark highlighted the Head Captain's initial rejection of the decision to make someone like Cosmo a captain. The abrupt shift was enough to make any of them suspect an ulterior motive.
"Indeed, I was wholly against the idea from the beginning," Lucien admitted. "Though that boy's been involved in Veil affairs since he was just an infant, due to a strange set of circumstances, I still wasn't keen on letting him shoulder this responsibility. Especially after losing those who raised him so tragically, I feared he might act recklessly."
He paused, his voice carrying a weight of regret.
"But as you said..." he continued, glancing toward Natasha, "...it isn't against regulation. He earned the qualifications of a captain fair and square. After much thought, I realized it was childish of me to keep holding him to a different standard than the others. I finally decided to respect his resolve."
It was an endearing statement, measured, thoughtful, and full of concern. A sentiment that might've convinced anybody... if they weren't privy to certain information.
"Bullsh*t," Nithya snapped, slamming the table as she stood. "Like I'd buy that! I know what you did, my lieutenants told me everything."
"What do you mean, Nithya?" Natasha asked, puzzled. Judging by their expressions, the others hadn't been filled in either.
Nithya pointed squarely at Lucien. "He assigned Cosmo recruits taken directly from the bottom of the academic rankings."
A heavy silence followed.
"Is that true, Captain?" Yoru spoke up first, unusual for him. "As an Eminent, the most capable among us, you should understand better than anyone how much our words mean."
"I'm not fond of his promotion either," Finsten said coolly. "But it would've been more honorable to follow through with conviction instead of hedging with irresponsibility."
Lucien let out a breath. "I won't deny it. I did make that choice. But I believed it was the best path. It made sense to assign him a unit proportional to his standing, as someone newly appointed."
"So you handed him the worst of the lot? Even among those barely scraping by?" Natasha countered sharply.
"Bitter tonic, not the intoxication of wine. That was the cry by which the peacock threw, claiming it could not afford to yield its pride for the sake of the young."
"That was rather cutting, Qinghua." Lucien chuckled, amused despite himself. "But I refuse to regret my decision. I wouldn't let him ruin himself. That was the promise I made to her the day I found out what happened." At the end of his statement, there was a hint of solemnity.
"I intend to fuf-"
"Don't you dare…" Yoru interjected suddenly.
The mood in the room tensed significantly.
"We all still feel the weight of losing her," He continued. "But don't you dare use that as an excuse while you still treat her kid with disdain."
"I have no idea what you mean."
"Don't play dumb." Nithya cut in. "I don't know if you blame him for what happened or you're still holding on to some form of petty jealousy, Head Captain. But we all know you've despised Cosmo ever since."
Once again, the room fell silent. All before a laughter echoed from a voice that had been silent throughout the ordeal.
"Bwa–ha–ha! Lucien's just as big a prick as ever. Nothing new." Lambert's voice drew their attention. "Though I wouldn't worry about that kid. The last time I saw him was five years ago, when he first submitted the request; I felt something in him that reminded me of myself. I'm pretty sure he'd come out on top no matter what hand he's drawn."
"Yeah, right. I didn't find him anything like you." Natasha responded. "You're probably opposites. But you're right, there's something about him that makes me not want to underestimate him."
"Underestimate him or not, you won't disagree that you should probably hold that door open if you want him to get in here among us," Finsten commented.
"That's true," Lambert admitted. "His void age isn't very high either. I don't think his authority level could be remotely close to that of a lieutenant, much less a captain's."
"Then you must at least understand my point." Lucien uses those statements of doubt to support his logic. "Do not worry, as an exception, I will have Alber-"
Just then, the door that was being referred to. The door, so heavy that it seemed to distort the space around it. The door that no one within headquarters, outside the room, could hope to budge began to rumble.
The door opened wide, so too did their eyes, tracking the figure that strode through.
A shift, nearly imperceptible yet undeniable, passed through the room. Hearts stirred at the sight, unprepared for the presence they now acknowledged.
Scattered across the captains were fractured sentiments: pride, wonder, disdain. The impulse to challenge. The desire to dominate. The instinct to leash. The urge to devour.
His hands were bound in white bandages up to the elbows. He wore a black sweater vest, moving with a calm so casual it felt deliberate. Only the soft rhythm of his footsteps broke the silence, each one echoing faintly against the walls.
And when he'd crossed the threshold, the door, so impossibly heavy it once thundered like a storm, closed behind him as gently as a whisper.
"Sorry I'm late," Cosmo said, breaking the silence. "I was stuck babysitting."
"Welcome, Rookie Captain of the Nebula Branch. Cosmo."
"Even if you intended to make a show of your return," Finsten commented, "I find it uncharacteristic for you to expend effort just to close the door gently as well. I thought efficiency was the one value we had in common."
"Well, I believe it's more efficient to ensure my actions don't interrupt other operations. In case you weren't aware, that door tends to shake the entire headquarters."
"When we heard nothing from you for five years, it was assumed you'd left, or worse," Lucien added. "Imagine my surprise when you contacted me out of nowhere, just days ago, to resubmit your promotion request. And now here you are, somehow managing to enter unassisted. Care to enlighten us on what you've been up to all this time?"
"Hello to you, too, 'Mr. Lucy'. Or should I say... Head Captain," Cosmo said, dragging the title with a smirk. "Still as hateful as ever, I see. Though you've gotten better at hiding it behind that awkward smile of yours."
"And you still haven't learned not to speak every delusion aloud."
"Delusions often sprout from the bedrock of reality, wouldn't you agree?"
"But when the mind roams too far, it strays into the impossible. Just ask the girl in your possession."
"I'd rather you not refer to her as a possession. It's distasteful."
"Ladies, ladies." Natasha sighed. "That's enough. Let's get on with this."
With that, Cosmo sank into the last available seat, elbows resting on the table, fingers folded beneath his chin. He waited, silent and still, for what was to come.