Octavia had always defended me. Taken my side no matter the circumstance. But ever since Max showed up, she’s been catering to his every menial demand. Why? I know these two had a close-knit relationship back at the county… but even so, I thought Via and I had also gotten quite close over the past few days…

Is that why I’m feeling so annoyed right now? Listening to Max’s ramblings didn’t sway my heart in the slightest. The Alistairs weren’t my real family, so how they felt after I left wasn’t of any importance to me. But Octavia…! Seeing her defend that idiot for seemingly no good reason was beginning to seriously tick me off…

“Ugh…!” I groaned, baring my left canine. “I’m not in the mood to be lectured by two brats, Octavia!”

Octavia planted her feet firmly in front of me and crossed her arms.

“Actually, it seems like you’re not in the mood to simply listen to these “two brats”,” she said in a high but cold tone. “You were compassionate with me yesterday, were you not? What is wrong with showing Lord Maximus some compassion as well?”

I couldn’t contain an eye roll. Maximus this, Maximus that! I’m so sick of having everything be about him!

I overlooked Octavia and gave Max a glare. As if to say, “This is what I have to deal with because of you.” With terror in his eyes, he raised his shoulders and put his head down in avoidance. I scoffed at his jittery demeanour and went back to addressing Octavia.

“Fine. You’re right,” I snapped as I pinched the bridge of my nose. “Truthfully, I’m not in the mood to be doing any of this right now. What’s the point of compassion when I already know what this idiot has to say?”

“But what if you don’t?!” Octavia replied adamantly. Her gaze was intense, and my resolve almost wavered.

“Is this about the money?” she went on. “You know Count Alistair wouldn’t mind paying it for us, right?”

I looked away, trying to think of an answer. I couldn’t tell her the truth about why this entire thing was bothering me, so I just said the second thing that came to my mind. And that was about the delays I would face now that we had become a party of three. Unfortunately, my message was delivered headlong into the Ebuna River, and not the intended horizon.

“I don’t care about that!” I groaned. “I’m frustrated that I now have another piece of baggage to haul around with me!”

Just as those words left my mouth, I realized the double meaning of my comment. I clasped my mouth in horror, eyeing Octavia with nothing but remorse.

“V- Via,” I laughed nervously. “You know I didn’t mean it like that, right?”

But she said nothing. And in a way, her silence hurt even more than any word she could have spoken. Octavia turned to Max.

“I think we should all get some rest. You’ll be able to formulate your thoughts more clearly in the morning, Lord Maximus.”

She gave me a side glance.

“As will the rest of us...”

“But the payment…” Max protested weakly, but Octavia had already begun to help him up to his feet.

“You’re in urgent need of a bath, young lord. And please, don’t worry about that right now,” Octavia said in a calming tone.

As she said this, my eyes shifted toward Max’s body. This was the first time I took a good look at his physical state. His coat was thin and ragged. His shoes were muddy, and the soles were worn. His lips were dry like he hadn’t drunk any water for some time. Parts of the makeup on his face were fading as if he had worn it for well over a day.

Wasn’t this a part of his get-up? Thinking of it now though, it doesn’t make sense for him to subject himself to the bitter cold even while in a disguise.

Suddenly, my heart felt uneasy. I felt as if I had made the wrong choice just now by not letting him finish. Like I had chosen the wrong dialogue and was headed toward the bad ending of a game. In a rush, I tried to remedy the situation.

“U- use my bath,” I interjected, handing Octavia the key to my cabin. “I’m sure Ms. Drago wouldn’t be too pleased about sharing her bath.”

Octavia stood stone-faced for a moment, and then quietly nodded as she took the key.

“We use communal toilets,” she added as the pair walked through the door.

SLAM!

They were gone. As the room around me had now become, my insides felt empty. I looked outside at the dark clouds above. The sun had set completely, and Ebuna’s waters were pitch black. I walked to the window and slowly drew the blinds, cutting off my view of the darkness outside.

Tk—

I looked up to see that the curtain had caught in something. I pulled again. But it was no use. If any more force were put in, the binds would rip, and not even part of the window could be covered anymore. So, I let go of the cloth as it were, halfway across the window, and my impassive reflection in the glass turned to that of deep sorrow.