Hyran stood, disgust plain on his face.
"Thank you for the food, Veda."
Her voice wavered."You're not having more?"
"I'm full." he replied, turning and heading for the door.
Yulia gave Veda a faint nod—clear enough to mean follow him outside.
Veda caught it and rose from her chair, stepping toward Hyran as she reached him.
"Where are you going so early?"
"I'll take a walk," Hyran said without turning, his voice cold."Before the noise starts."
"Wait—I'll come with you."
Hyran raised an arm. He didn't say a word.
The door closed behind them.
Yulia exhaled slowly.
"Mori… what really happened last night?"
Moriana sank deeper into her chair.
"After thinking about it…" she said quietly, "I felt my Exim went off on its own. For no clear reason."
Her face tightened. One of her hands trembled.
Yulia noticed immediately. She moved closer, sat beside her, and took her hand. Their eyes met.
"What is it, Mori?" she asked gently. "What scares you? We're all here with you."
Moriana's shaking eased just enough for her to speak. She kept her head down.
"I… I feel it fighting inside me. I'm afraid to use it again."
Yulia's heart pounded harde and painfully and made Yulia making a face for a second. However, she didn't pull her hand away. She held it gently, as if nothing had happened and said with steady tone.
"Seems like you're struggling to control the flow of your Exim."
Zarius stood still, lost in thought.He'd noticed the way Yulia touched her.
Damn it, Yulia… you don't get to touch her casually anymore.See?... Everything lines up with what I concluded.
Across from him, Gord watched with a cold, measured stare—emotion stripped away, sharp and deliberate, like a hunter already choosing where to strike.
"Half-breed," Gord said evenly."You were with her at the time. Don't you have something to tell us? What did you see? What happened before it?"
Zarius didn't react. His gaze stayed unfocused, his mind far away.
There's no doubt.She's dangerous—to everyone.
Gord continued, his tone calm, controlled.
"And what the hell made you enter her room in the first place?"
Nothing.
Zarius remained silent, thoughts circling, analyzing, disconnecting.
After what happened that night… I won't try again.I don't wanna rot from that fucking Exim.
Yulia noticed. Her eyes narrowed, and she raised her voice.
"Zarius!"
He blinked once. Then again—like surfacing from deep water. He stared at the three of them, silent for a brief moment, recalibrating.
"What's wrong with you?" Yulia snapped."We're trying to deal with this. Are you going to help or not?"
Zarius inhaled lightly.
"S-sorry," he said, a faint stutter slipping through—but his face stayed calm. Too calm. No tension. No cracks."I was thinking about something related to Arcadia for a moment."
His eyes shifted.
"What is it, Gord…?"
Gord opened his mouth—
—but Yulia cut in.
"He was asking about what happened back then," she said flatly."And what pushed you to enter Mori's room."
Zarius stepped closer to the table, rolling the empty bottle between his fingers.
"I went downstairs to the kitchen to grab a bottle," he said at last. His voice was steady. No rush."When I came back up, I noticed a light coming from Yulia's room. So I went to check on her."
Gord's gaze didn't leave him.
"I slipped inside—she was awake."
Zarius paused, choosing his words carefully.
"We talked for a few minutes. About the next plan. The priority was Moriana's recovery. After that, Skaldvin—for Yulia's condition."
He nodded once.
"She was exhausted. You could see it."
Yulia stepped forward, her voice calm but firm.
"I asked him to check on Mori," she said."I couldn't move anymore. I was done for the night."
She lowered her head, letting her hair fall like a curtain to hide her face. guilt tightening her chest.
Zarius continued without looking at Gord.
"When I entered Moriana's room, she was asleep. But the blanket had slipped—and her neck was bent at a bad angle."
His tone hardened slightly.
"I fixed the blanket first. Then I tried to adjust her head—"
He stopped. Swallowed.
"Before I even touched her… it happened."
He lowered his gaze, rubbing his hand—the marks still there.
"I stepped back immediately… but her Exim—"
He rubbed his hand, as if trying to scrub away a stain of invisible sin
"It caught my hand. You saw it."
Moriana clenched her fist, trembling.
Silence pressed down on the room.
Gord showed nothing. No reaction. No approval.
Yulia rose from her chair and stepped behind Gord. She wrapped her arms around his upper chest, resting her forehead near his shoulder.
"I'm sorry, Gord," she whispered beside his rough cheek."This is on me."
Her grip tightened slightly.
"I promise I'll keep helping your princess recover. And I won't rely on anyone but you for that."
A weak movement followed.
Moriana lifted her head after a long moment of silence. Tears stuck in her glowing eyes as she looked at Gord.
"Young man…" her voice was tired, but sharp."I was the one who ordered you to leave me alone last night. I was sick of being watched. Sick of being taken care of."
She raised a finger, pointing at him.
"Enough with the suspicions. Enough with the accusations."
Her breath hitched.
"Can't you see everyone here is trying to help me? Stop it. After all this time together… do you really think any of them would want to hurt me?"
Then she struck her thigh with her fist.
"I almost killed Zarius—can't you see that?!"