The girl's frantic steps slowed as she reached the end of the corridor, cornered by Kev's looming presence and Zack's playful grin. Her breath came in ragged gasps, eyes wide with terror.
"Please…" she whispered, pressing her back against the cold stone wall. "I didn't mean to do it they forced me."
Kev's crimson eye glowed faintly, shadows curling at his feet. "They. That means you know something."
Zack raised his hands casually, trying to soften the tension. "Easy, stiff‑bones. Let's hear her out before you scare her into fainting."
The girl trembled, clutching her torn gown. "They… they told me to befriend you. To stay close. They said if I did, they'd heal my mother. She's sick… dying. I didn't have a choice."
Kev's gaze sharpened. "Who?"
Her lips quivered. "I don't know their names. They cover there faces."
The shadows beneath Kev stirred violently, but he forced them down. No one could know. Not here.
Zack tilted his head, eyes narrowing with rare seriousness. "So you're not an assassin. You're bait."
Tears welled in her eyes. "I swear, I didn't want to hurt anyone. I just… I just wanted my mother to live."
Kev stepped closer, his voice cold but measured. "Then you've already hurt me. Because now I know you're a spy. And spies don't get second chances."
The girl flinched, expecting death.
But Zack suddenly slipped between them, grinning faintly. "Hold up, Kev. Killing her won't heal her mom, and it won't stop the whispers. Better to keep her alive. Use her. If the people thinks she's still working for them, we can feed them lies."
Kev's violet eye flickered, calculating. He stared at the girl for a long moment, then finally spoke: "You'll live. But only because you're more useful breathing than dead. Betray me once, and the shadows will be the last thing you see."
The girl collapsed to her knees, sobbing with relief. Zack smirked, patting Kev's shoulder. "See? You do have a heart. A terrifying, abyss‑shaped heart, but still."
Kev ignored him, his gaze fixed on the trembling spy. "From now on, you serve me. Not them."
The corridor fell silent after the girl's trembling confession. Zack, still smirking, nudged Keal's shoulder as they walked back toward their chambers.
"You're terrifying, you know that?" Zack teased, half‑laughing. "One glare and she nearly fainted. If you keep this up, people will start calling you the palace ghost."
Keal's eyes flickered crimson in the torchlight. "Joke less, Zack. You don't understand the weight of what you're playing with."
Zack raised his hands in mock surrender, though his grin lingered. "Alright, alright. Mister Shadows doesn't like jokes. Noted."
They reached their rooms, the palace quiet around them. Keal sat by the window, shadows curling faintly beneath his skin, whispering warnings he refused to voice. Zack collapsed onto his bed with a laugh, already drifting into sleep.
The corridor fell silent after the girl's trembling confession. Zack, still smirking, nudged Keal's shoulder as they walked back toward their chambers.
"You're terrifying, you know that?" Zack teased, half‑laughing. "One glare and she nearly fainted. If you keep this up, people will start calling you the palace ghost."
Keal's eyes flickered crimson in the torchlight. "Joke less, Zack. You don't understand the weight of what you're playing with."
Zack raised his hands in mock surrender, though his grin lingered. "Alright, alright. Mister Shadows doesn't like jokes. Noted."
It most likely the koran clan he thought has he entered his room
They reached their rooms, the palace quiet around them. Keal sat by the window, shadows curling faintly beneath his skin, whispering warnings he refused to voice. Zack collapsed onto his bed with a laugh, already drifting into sleep.
The morning light spilled faintly through the palace corridors. Servants whispered in hushed tones, their voices carrying fragments of rumor like drifting smoke.
Keal, moving silently through the hall, caught the words of two maids near the kitchens.
"…the girl and her mother. Both dead. No wounds. No poison. Just… gone." "…and people saw the Second Prince and his butler chasing her last night. They say she was terrified."
Keal's crimson eye flickered. He stepped closer, his presence silencing the maids instantly. They bowed quickly and fled, leaving only the echo of their whispers behind.
Without hesitation, Keal strode down the corridor, shadows curling faintly at his heels. He slammed open Zack's chamber door.
Zack groaned, half‑buried in silken sheets, his hair a mess. "What the hell, Keal? It's too early—"
Keal's voice was sharp, cutting through the room like a blade.
"She's dead. The girl. And her mother. Rumors are spreading already. They saw us chase her last night."
Zack sat up instantly, his usual grin gone. "Dead? Both of them?"
Keal nodded once. "No wounds. No poison. Just gone. And now the palace thinks we're involved."
The room was heavy with silence after Keal's warning. Zack sat on the edge of his bed, his usual grin gone, staring at the floor as the weight of the rumors pressed down on him.
Keal stood by the window, shadows curling faintly beneath his skin, his crimson and violet eyes scanning the courtyard below. Whispers carried through the palace like wildfire — servants murmuring, nobles speculating. The deaths of the girl and her mother had already become a story, and in that story, Zack and his "butler" were the villains.
Zack finally broke the silence, his voice low. "They're going to twist this against me. Against us."
Keal didn't turn. "Then we twist back. Or we cut the tongues that spread it."
Before Zack could reply, the door creaked open. A palace guard stepped inside, bowing stiffly. His expression was unreadable, but his voice carried authority.
"Prince Zack. Butler Keal. Princess Zackline requests your presence. Immediately."
Zack blinked, then forced a crooked smile. "Well… looks like Aunt wants a word. And when she wants a word, it's never just a word."