After finishing the meal quietly, I left the hall. A passing carriage offered me a ride back to the estate, though I had no covering against the rain. The droplets chilled my skin as I walked the final stretch under the darkening sky.
When I reached my quarters, I bathed and changed into dry attire. Later, I saw another announcement posted through the estate’s messenger board. It showed Darian inside Selara’s residence, standing beside her and the child. Warm lamplight filled the room, casting a soft glow around them—an intimate brightness that contrasted sharply with the cold rain that had followed me home.
The sight did not break me. It only confirmed what I had already understood: my path lay elsewhere, guided by my own resolve.
Darian did not return to the family quarters until the pale light of dawn filtered through the estate windows. When he finally stepped inside, he launched into explanation as though eager to justify every move.
“Jesse burned with fever the entire night. The heat would not leave him.”
Jesse—the child of Selara. The name felt foreign to me, like a shadow passing through a territory I had never walked.