Juliette's reflection in the glass looked pale, her fingers splayed like a prisoner's against invisible bars. Behind her, she heard the rustle of a page turning.
"You're going to wear a hole in that window if you keep staring at it," Ash's voice drifted lazily, low and calm, but with that familiar edge of mockery.
She turned halfway toward him. He hadn't even looked up from his book, one hand resting against his temple as though he could read like this forever without moving.
"I'm not staring," she muttered.
"You are." He flipped the page, still not meeting her eyes. "At nothing."
Leo stretched out across the table now, chin propped on his folded arms, tail swishing. "She wants to go outside again," he said with a smirk, as if it was obvious. "Princess isn't used to walls."
Juliette shot him a sharp glare. "I didn't say that."
"You didn't have to." Leo winked.
Ash finally glanced up, eyes sharp as cut obsidian. "You can't keep pretending you're a normal villager. You're not. If you stroll into town again, ribbon and necklace swinging, it won't take long before the wrong people notice."
The reminder of her necklace , and how he always seemed to circle back to it , stung. She folded her arms, chin lifting stubbornly. "Then maybe I want to take that risk."
Ash held her gaze for a long, unreadable moment. Then he closed the book with a soft thud, leaning back against the couch. "You don't understand risk."
Something about the way he said it wasn't dismissive, but weighted. Like the words came from somewhere far away, somewhere she couldn't see.
The silence stretched too long. Finally, Leo broke it with a sigh, rolling onto his side like the air had grown too heavy. "Can we at least eat something before you two kill each other with words? I'm starving."
Juliette exhaled sharply, realizing she'd been holding her breath.
Ash gave Leo the faintest glance, then stood and walked toward the kitchen, muttering, "Fine."
Juliette blinked, surprised he hadn't argued further. For someone who claimed not to care, he kept giving ground in the smallest, strangest ways.
The smell of sizzling meat soon drifted through the house, breaking the tension. Ash worked in silence at the counter, movements sharp and efficient, while Leo lounged with the restless energy of someone who couldn't sit still.
Juliette sat at the table, elbows on the wood, but her mind was elsewhere. Her fingers strayed unconsciously to her collarbone, to where the ribbon should've been. Every time she thought of her mother's face, the hollow space it left in her chest ached deeper.
"Earth to princess," Leo's voice cut in. He waved a hand in front of her eyes, tail flicking. "You look like you're watching ghosts."
"I'm fine," she said too quickly.
Leo tilted his head. "You're lying."
Ash placed the food on the table; bread, seared meat, a few vegetables, and sat without ceremony. His expression was unreadable as his eyes briefly lingered on Juliette.
She caught the glance and straightened. "Just thinking."
"Dangerous hobby," Ash murmured, cutting into his portion.
Juliette bristled. "Not as dangerous as flying into monster territory every other day."
Leo barked out a laugh, nearly choking on his food. "She got you there."
Ash didn't rise to the bait. He ate calmly, as though he hadn't heard. And that silence felt heavier than any retort.
Juliette poked at her plate. Her mind kept circling back to the ribbon, how it had vanished, how a new one had mysteriously returned, how Leo had no idea about it. Which left only one possibility.
Her gaze slid to Ash. He didn't look at her, didn't acknowledge her eyes on him. But she knew. He wasn't saying it, but he knew what that ribbon meant to her. He had gone back for it.
The thought twisted something in her chest, confusion, gratitude, anger, she couldn't decide.
When the meal was done and Leo went to sprawl across the couch, Juliette excused herself. Back in her room, she leaned against the closed door, staring down at her hands.
"He acts like he doesn't care," she whispered to herself, voice trembling. "Like nothing matters. But if that were true… he wouldn't have bothered."
Her eyes burned, but she held back tears this time. Instead, she tied the ribbon carefully back in her hair, fingers brushing it as though it might vanish again.
For the first time, her thoughts weren't only of her mother. They were of him too , the witch boy without a heart, and why someone who claimed to feel nothing had gone out of his way for her.
The last of the bread disappeared from the table, and Leo was already licking his fingers when Juliette pushed her plate away, her appetite barely touched.
Ash stood, wordless as ever, gathering the plates. For a moment, the sunlight caught across his profile; sharp, aloof, distant, and Juliette's chest tightened.
She excused herself, slipping toward the window instead of her room this time. The ribbon brushed lightly against her cheek as she leaned out, gazing at the morning bustle in the village below. Market carts rattled over cobblestones, shopkeepers raised their voices, children darted between stalls. Life. Normal life.
Her hand found the ribbon automatically. Why go back for it? Why pretend nothing happened?
Behind her, Leo padded over, tail swishing. "You're staring again," he said lightly, but there was a quietness in his tone.
Juliette didn't answer right away. Then she whispered, "I always wanted this."
Leo blinked. "What? A window?"
"A village," she corrected, half-smiling despite herself. "The noise, the mess, the freedom… I used to dream about sneaking out of the castle and walking streets like these. Now I'm here, and all I can do is watch from up here."
She bit her lip, the ribbon clutched in her fingers. "And every time I look at him, I can't decide if he's the reason I'm trapped… or the reason I'm finally free."
Leo tilted his head, studying her. He didn't laugh this time. "Maybe he's both."
That answer sat heavy in the morning light.
Juliette turned back toward the window, the ribbon swaying in her hair. She didn't know what the day would bring, but one thing was certain, she wasn't going to stay a caged bird. Not anymore.
The quiet hum of the floating house shattered under the roar of gunfire. From the southern horizon, streaks of blazing rounds tore through the clouds, ripping into the air dangerously close to the drifting home. The walls shook with the impact, glasses clattering off the shelves.
Juliette gasped, clutching the window frame. "What was that?!"
Leo was already on his feet, tail lashing nervously as he peered outside. His voice dropped into a growl. "That's no storm. Someone's firing on us."
Ash's black eyes flicked toward the flashes in the distance. His jaw tightened as the faint silhouette of an airship cut through the haze. Even from here, the glint of metal and the rhythmic bursts of its guns were unmistakable.
"They're not shooting at the village," Ash muttered, stepping closer to the glass. "They're aiming at us."
Another volley struck, rattling the house hard enough to send Juliette stumbling back. She caught herself on the table, heart pounding.
But Ash was already moving. He pushed the door open, stepping out onto the balcony of the floating home, his cloak whipping in the windless sky. His black gaze locked on the distant airship.
On its deck, two figures stood clear against the pale sky. Cain adjusted the scope of his long rifle, the barrel gleaming as he lined up another shot.
Beside him, Axel leaned forward against the rail, blonde hair catching the light. His grin was sharp as his blade itself. "There you are…"
Ash's lips curved into something cold, unreadable. Shadows rippled across the wooden balcony, curling like smoke at his feet.
"oh it's you again.." he murmured, voice steady against the wind. "But you made the mistake of finding me."
Inside the house, Juliette pressed her hands against the window, fear etched on her face. Leo bristled beside her. "Juliette, stay back. This isn't some stray monster…"
Juliette's eyes never left Ash, framed against the vast sky, a lone figure staring down an airship like he had no reason to fear.