Eric knew he had made a mistake the moment the question landed.
Not because the question was suspicious. It wasn’t. It was asked calmly, politely, the way adults asked things when they assumed the answer would be simple.
“Have you seen my daughter?” the woman said. “Her name is Soliana.”
Eric blinked.
Once.
Twice.
His brain helpfully supplied several answers at once, each worse than the last.
Who?
What girl?
Why is a royal attendant asking me this?
Is this a test?
He stood there like someone had dropped him into the wrong exam room halfway through the test, clutching books he no longer remembered picking up. Lying felt dangerous. Telling the truth felt worse. And whatever was happening behind that pillar—because something was definitely happening—was not his business.
Unfortunately, it had just become his problem.
His mind helpfully replayed the last few minutes in perfect clarity.
A girl with blue hair, like Flora.
A sudden run.
And now this…
Oh.
Oh.
His eyes flicked—just for a fraction of a second—to the side.
The pillar stood there, wide and unremarkable, like it had always been part of the corridor. Too wide. Too deliberate.
He looked back at the woman in front of him.
She was smiling. Tired, but warm. The kind of smile that assumed cooperation because it had never needed to demand it.
Eric opened his mouth.
Nothing came out.
Behind the pillar, Soliana pressed her back flat against the stone.
Her heart was trying to escape her chest.
She could hear them. Every word. Every shift of weight. Eric’s boots scraping faintly as he adjusted his stance. Flora’s voice—her voice—close enough that Soliana could imagine the shape of her expression without seeing it.
She squeezed her eyes shut.
Please don’t say it.
Eric swallowed.
“I—uh,” he began.
Flora waited.
The silence stretched.
Eric’s thoughts began colliding with each other.
If I say no, that’s lying and could get me in trouble.
If I say yes, then she gets in trouble.
Why is this happening to me.
“I think—” he said, then stopped.
Flora tilted her head slightly. “You think?”
“Yes. No. I mean—”
Eric laughed once. Too loud. Too sharp.
“Sorry. Long day.”
This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
Behind the pillar, Soliana opened one eye.
Eric wasn’t looking at Flora.
He was staring at the floor.
He’s stuck, she realized.
Not panicking.
Frozen.
She took a slow breath and leaned just enough to peek around the edge of the pillar.
Eric’s shoulders were tense. His grip on the strap around the books was too tight. He wasn’t betraying her.
He just… couldn’t decide.
Soliana raised one hand.
Out of the corner of his eye, Eric caught movement.
A hand. Then another.
Small. Pale. Waving too urgently to mean nothing.
Eric glanced once—just once—and his stomach dropped.
Oh.
She was behind the pillar.
Soliana stared at him with the intensity of someone silently screaming. Her hands moved again, sharp and deliberate. She pointed to herself. Then made a vague circling motion. Then—confusingly—spread her arms wide.
Eric frowned.
Circle? Arms? Is that… running? Friends? Territory?
He turned back to Flora, brain scrambling, and said the first thing that almost made sense.
“Uh—she might be… around?”
“What do you mean?” Flora urged.
Eric’s eyes flicked sideways again.
She waved.
Just once.
His eyes widened.
She pointed at herself.
Then pointed outward, down the corridor.
Then spread her hands apart, like she was indicating more than one person.
Eric frowned.
Friends? he thought.
He looked back at Flora.
“Uh—she was… not alone?” he said.
Flora blinked. “Not alone?”
“Yes. I mean. With people.”
“With who?”
Eric opened his mouth.
Nothing.
Behind the pillar, Soliana clenched her fists.
She mimed talking. Laughing. Walking side by side.
Eric squinted.
“Other… servants?” he guessed.
Soliana shook her head violently.
Flora watched his face carefully now. Not suspicious. Curious.
Eric scratched the back of his neck. “I think she was… with a group?”
“What group?” Flora asked gently.
Eric’s brain screamed.
Behind the pillar, Soliana pinched her fingers together and made a small crown shape above her head.
Eric stared.
“…Nobles?” he blurted.
Soliana’s eyes went wide in horror.
She waved both arms in an aggressive no.
Flora frowned slightly. “Nobles?”
Eric immediately backtracked. “No. No. Probably not nobles. That would be—yeah, no.”
He laughed again. No one joined him.
Flora glanced past him, her gaze drifting down the corridor.
Eric followed her eyes.
Oh no.
She took one step to the side.
Soliana reacted instantly—slipping fully behind the pillar just as Flora turned her head.
Flora saw nothing.
Just stone. Torchlight. Quiet.
She looked back at Eric.
Eric was sweating.
“Sorry,” he said quickly. “I think I’m mixing things up.”
Flora studied him for a moment longer than necessary.
Soliana pressed a hand over her mouth.
Think, she thought. Think of something he understands.
Soliana froze.
Friends weren’t working. Roland and Anastasia were getting misunderstood as nobles. Every option she reached for made the situation more dangerous, not less.
She needed someone familiar.
Someone Eric would understand.
Someone Flora would believe.
The name surfaced before she could stop it.
Leon.
Her stomach sank, but she had no other choice.
She peeked again.
Eric’s eyes darted toward the pillar, pleading.
Slowly—reluctantly—she mimed a sword. Straight posture. A look of absolute seriousness. Then placed a clutched hand into her chest for Inferna’s salute as if bracing for impact… as well as a small token of apology for Leon in advance.
She repeated the motion sharply. Deliberately.
Eric’s mind went blank.
Who?
She then mimed getting hit.
Then standing back up.
Then hit again.
Eric’s face twisted.
What?
She crossed her arms. Then pointed down. Then pointed at him.
Eric stared.
Then it clicked.
“Oh.”
Flora’s eyebrows lifted. “Oh?”
Eric’s mouth opened.
Closed.
Opened again.
Soliana made one final motion.
She pointed to an imaginary person. Tall. Straight-backed.
Then drew a straight line down her face. Flat. Severe.
Eric exhaled through his nose.
Leon.
Of course it was Leon.
He looked back at Flora.
This was the moment. The fork in the road.
He could say nothing.
He could say “I don’t know.”
He could save himself.
Instead, he thought about the bruises.
About his crazy instructor telling him “Again”.
About standing up just to be knocked down.
Eric smiled as something dark and petty bloomed beautifully in his chest.
“Well,” he said, suddenly confident, “I think she’s with Instructor Leon.”
Flora stiffened.
“With Leon?”
“Yes,” Eric continued quickly, words tumbling out now that he’d committed. “He wanted to train her. You know. Like us.”
For a moment, Flora did not move.
Without asking for my permission, Leon took her to training?
Flora imagined an image of Soliana, walking back upright, covered in bruises, and the sound of wood striking bone.
Her smile faded.
Not loudly. Not dramatically.
It simply failed to return.
“I see,” she said.
Eric swallowed.
Flora nodded once. “Thank you.”
She turned sharply and walked away, skirts brushing the stone with purpose.
Her footsteps faded quickly.
Too quickly.
Eric stood there, frozen.
Silence settled.
Slowly, Soliana stepped out from behind the pillar.
Eric looked at her.
She looked at him.
Neither spoke.
“…I panicked,” Eric said finally.
He lied.
He kept his face neutral—heroic, even. But inside, he was grinning like a villain in a cheap play. Not because he hated Soliana. He didn’t. She was quiet. Helpful. Nice.
But Leon?
Leon deserved this.
All those painful drills.
All those endless, sleepless nights.
This is simply karma coming back to bite him.
Soliana stared.
“…I might have made it worse.”
She nodded once.
“Yes,” she agreed quietly.
Eric winced. “I’m sorry.”
She hesitated.
Then sighed.
“…Thank you,” she said.
Eric blinked. “For what?”
“For lying for me.”
He considered that.
“…You’re welcome?”
They stood there for another second.
Somewhere down the corridor, Inferna continued moving.
Eric adjusted the strap on the books.
“…So,” he said. “You’re not a servant?”
Soliana almost smiled.
“Maybe.”
