"You've become more competent."
She said it so casually that for a second, I genuinely froze, staring at her in disbelief.
Ariel, meanwhile, simply turned and walked away as if she hadn't just said something completely unexpected.
That was what snapped me back to reality.
"So I wasn't competent before?"
I called after her, but she didn't bother responding. Her tail flicked once behind her as she continued heading downstairs without even looking back.
I ended up smiling despite myself.
Honestly, I never expected a compliment to come from Ariel of all people.
If anything, I was more used to her complaining, threatening to expose secrets, or acting like I was personally responsible for every inconvenience in her life.
So hearing something like that from her felt... strangely satisfying.
I leaned back slightly and thought about what might've changed her opinion.
The most obvious answer was the clan itself.
