Prince Dio was halfway down the Bastion's grand staircase when movement below caught his attention.
At first, it was only a discrepancy.
Reise was climbing toward the second floor, one hand gripping the stone railing. She wore the same black training attire he had seen earlier, though the clothing was now dusted with pale sand and darkened in places with sweat.
Something about her pace was wrong.
Her steps were controlled, but too deliberate.
As though every movement required conscious instruction.
Prince Dio slowed.
Reise's fingers tightened around the railing.
Then loosened.
Her hand slipped several inches before catching again.
His expression sharpened.
She took another step.
Her knee trembled.
"Reise?"
She did not respond.
Prince Dio saw the next failure coming before it happened.
"Speed."
The invocation left his lips immediately.
Mana gathered through his body during the brief interval required for the enhancement to take hold. Two seconds might have been insignificant under ordinary circumstances.
Watching someone lose control of their balance on a stone staircase made those seconds feel considerably longer.
Reise reached for the next section of railing.
Her fingers missed.
Her knee gave way.
The moment the enhancement settled into Prince Dio's legs, he moved.
He pushed from the step beneath him, crossed the remaining distance in a burst of reinforced speed, and reached her just as her body tipped backward.
One arm caught beneath her shoulders.
The other closed securely around her waist.
Her fall stopped before the back of her head could strike the stone.
The sudden weight forced Prince Dio to brace one foot against the lower step, but Reise offered no resistance whatsoever.
She simply collapsed against him.
Completely limp.
Prince Dio's expression changed.
"Reise?"
Nothing.
Her head rested against his chest, rose-gold strands slipping loose from the messy knot at the back of her head.
He touched the side of her face.
Cold.
Not the ordinary coolness of pale skin.
Cold and damp.
A thin layer of sweat clung near her temple.
Her breathing remained present, but shallow.
Prince Dio looked down at her.
Yesterday, she had stood in front of him and told him to get lost without the slightest hesitation.
This morning, apparently, she had done something severe enough to leave her unable even to remain conscious.
A shout echoed from the corridor connecting the Bastion's main hall to the internal arena access.
"REISE!"
Another voice followed immediately.
"LADY REISE!"
Prince Dio looked up.
Lord Keith emerged first from the corridor at a hurried pace, his hair disordered and clothing marked with sand. Edmund followed close behind him, equally disheveled despite whatever effort he had made to preserve his usual composure.
Both stopped when they saw Reise in Prince Dio's arms.
Lord Keith's face changed instantly.
"What happened?"
"She collapsed."
Prince Dio looked between them.
The sand on their clothing.
The sweat.
The training equipment still visible farther behind them.
"Were you with her?"
His question carried enough authority that Edmund visibly stiffened.
Lord Keith and Edmund exchanged a quick glance.
Neither answered immediately.
Prince Dio noticed.
Lord Keith moved closer and took Reise's hand.
His teasing demeanor disappeared completely.
"She is ice cold."
Prince Dio did not wait for another explanation.
"The clinic. Now!"
He adjusted his hold before lifting her fully into his arms.
Reise felt disturbingly light.
Not because she lacked weight, but because there was no tension in her body whatsoever. No instinctive attempt to support herself. No irritated movement. No sharp command telling him to put her down.
Nothing.
Prince Dio turned toward the first-floor medical clinic.
Lord Keith and Edmund followed.
❈.❈.❈
The clinic door opened hard enough to startle everyone inside.
The head nurse turned immediately.
Eliza, who had been observing a healing session near one of the treatment tables, looked up as well.
"Your Highness!"
"She collapsed on the stairs."
Prince Dio crossed the room and carefully lowered Reise onto the nearest examination cot.
"Attend to her. Immediately."
The head nurse was already moving.
She pressed two fingers against Reise's wrist while an assistant approached with supplies.
"Pulse is stable, but weak."
Her hand moved toward Reise's forehead.
"Cold perspiration. Exhaustion, most likely."
She looked toward her assistant.
"Revitalizing potion."
A small vial was handed over.
The nurse supported Reise's head and administered the potion carefully, ensuring she swallowed before lowering her back against the pillow.
A faint greenish light spread across Reise's skin as the restorative properties took effect.
The glow belonged entirely to the potion.
Prince Dio remained beside the cot.
The head nurse watched Reise's breathing for several moments before checking her pulse again.
"Hmm, it is improving."
Lord Keith released a breath.
The nurse frowned.
"Still, this is severe fatigue. Not ordinary tiredness."
Her gaze moved over Reise's training clothing.
"It feels as though she forced her body beyond what it has been physically conditioned to withstand."
"We were engaged in light physical training." Keith replied immediately.
The head nurse looked at him.
Then at his sand-covered trousers.
Then at Edmund's equally questionable appearance.
"Light." The nurse repeated.
Lord Keith smiled.
The nurse did not.
Prince Dio looked down at Reise.
"Is she out of danger?"
"She should be, provided she rests."
The head nurse examined Reise once more.
"The potion has stabilized her. Her body simply appears to have exhausted itself."
Edmund stepped forward.
"My lady slept very late and rose before dawn. Severe lack of rest is the most probable cause. Thank you for your swift care."
His tone was respectful.
A polite dismissal disguised as an explanation.
Prince Dio looked at him.
Lord Keith looked at him too.
Neither believed him.
Edmund knew that.
His expression did not change.
Before Prince Dio could press further, hurried footsteps approached from outside.
The clinic door opened.
"Lady Reise!"
Lilia rushed inside.
Tina followed immediately behind her.
The child's eyes went straight to the examination cot.
She ran toward it and grabbed the edge of Reise's sleeve with both hands.
Tina's gaze moved from Reise's pale face to Edmund.
"What happened? You were meant to ensure her well-being!"
Edmund accepted the accusation without flinching.
"Forgive me. But you know our lady's nature as well as I. Do you truly believe anyone can dissuade her once her mind is set?"
Tina opened her mouth.
Stopped.
Looked toward Reise.
Then sighed heavily.
Her shoulders dropped.
Unfortunately, Edmund had a point.
Only then did Tina properly notice everyone else in the room.
She straightened.
"Your Highness. Lord Keith."
Prince Dio acknowledged her with a slight nod.
Lilia remained beside the cot.
"Is she going to be alright?"
Her voice trembled.
The head nurse's expression softened.
"You must be very fond of your lady. Do not worry. She simply needs profound rest."
Lilia tightened her grip on Reise's sleeve.
Eliza had remained several steps away, watching the treatment.
After a moment, she stepped forward.
"If it pleases you, Your Highness, I have mastered a spell that can dispel fatigue entirely. It is quite effective."
Prince Dio looked toward the head nurse.
The nurse considered the suggestion before giving a curt nod.
"I can vouch for its safety."
"Then proceed."
Eliza approached the examination cot.
Reise remained unconscious.
Her breathing had steadied since receiving the potion, though her face remained pale.
Eliza lifted one hand.
Her fingers moved toward Reise's forehead.
She never reached it.
The change happened before anyone fully understood what they were seeing.
The instant Eliza's hand entered the space near G6's face, something buried far beneath conscious thought registered the approaching contact.
Her body reacted.
G6's left hand snapped upward and caught Eliza by the wrist before her palm could touch her forehead. The motion pulled Eliza slightly forward, breaking her balance for just long enough to create an opening.
At the same time, G6's other hand reached behind her own head.
Her fingers found one of the pins securing the messy rose-gold knot.
She ripped it free.
Several strands of hair immediately loosened around her shoulder.
Before Eliza could pull away, G6 turned the pin in her fingers and brought the sharpened end beneath Eliza's jaw.
The point stopped against the soft skin of her throat.
Not piercing.
Close enough.
The entire clinic froze.
Eliza's breath caught.
G6's eyes opened.
There was no sleepy confusion in them.
Only immediate threat recognition.
"What do you think you are doing?"
Her voice was low.
Cold.
Eliza did not move.
Neither did Prince Dio.
He had seen trained soldiers wake violently after battlefield injuries.
This was different.
There had been no hesitation between unconsciousness and defense.
No search for orientation.
No question.
Threat. Control. Weapon.
All before she appeared fully awake.
Then something smaller moved beside her.
Lilia's trembling fingers touched G6's forearm.
"L-Lady Reise… it is okay."
G6's eyes shifted.
The voice registered first.
Then the touch.
She blinked.
Her focus changed.
The clinic began returning around her.
White walls.
Treatment tables.
The smell of medicine.
Prince Dio. Lord Keith.
Edmund. Tina. Lilia.
Eliza standing directly in front of her.
Then—the metal pin in her own hand.
G6's gaze dropped to it.
Her grip loosened.
Conscious control replaced the defensive reflex almost instantly.
She released Eliza's wrist and withdrew the pin from her throat.
Eliza stepped backward at once.
G6 sat upright.
Several loosened strands of rose-gold hair fell around her face.
Her expression returned to its usual unreadable neutrality.
"What happened?"
Tina swallowed.
"You lost consciousness on the stairs. His Highness brought you here."
G6's eyes moved toward Prince Dio.
Then Lord Keith.
Edmund.
The nurse.
Finally Eliza.
She looked toward the pin still held between her fingers.
"Excuse my actions."
The apology sounded clinical rather than remorseful.
"My body is not fond of unsolicited touch."
Eliza instinctively raised one hand toward her throat.
"I was… only trying to ease your fatigue."
G6 looked at her.
"Ease my fatigue? How is my body supposed to adapt if you keep forcing it to skip recovery?"
Eliza blinked as if she just did something inconvenient.
The head nurse stepped closer.
"My lady, there is no harm in a restorative spell. Miss Eliza was only—"
"I was pushing my body for a reason."
The nurse stopped.
G6 looked down at her own hands.
The fingers remained slightly weak.
Not enough to concern her.
Enough to record.
"What happens next time, when I am alone? If my body grows accustomed to a rescue that may not come, it will never learn its own limits. It will never learn to survive."
The word settled differently in the room.
Survive.
Not improve.
Not become healthier.
Survive.
Prince Dio's attention sharpened.
G6 continued.
She was not speaking emotionally.
She was explaining procedure.
"Leave my body to its own devices."
She swung her legs over the side of the cot.
Tina immediately moved closer.
G6 planted both boots against the floor and waited a moment before standing.
The revitalizing potion had restored enough of her strength to prevent another immediate collapse, but it had not erased the heaviness in her legs.
She felt it.
Adjusted for it.
Then stood anyway.
"If it cannot endure, then that is its limit. A fact I need to know."
The head nurse stared at her.
Lord Keith looked considerably less amused than usual.
G6 reached behind her head and pushed the loosened rose-gold strands back into place as best she could without the missing pin.
Then her gaze landed on Prince Dio.
"Thank you for your assistance."
Nothing bashful.
Nothing sentimental.
Just acknowledgment.
He had prevented her from striking a staircase with her skull.
That deserved recognition.
Prince Dio gave a slight nod.
Before anyone could argue with her further, G6 turned and walked toward the door.
Her stride was slower than usual.
But steady.
Lilia hurried after her immediately.
Tina stopped beside Eliza.
"Miss Eliza, please forgive my lady's reaction. She has never been… comfortable with unauthorized touch."
Edmund bowed as well.
"Thank you for your assistance, Lord Keith. Our deepest gratitude to you, Your Highness."
Then both servants followed their mistress.
The head nurse released a long breath after the door closed.
"My, my. I had no idea the House of Worthon's self-defense training was so… intense."
Lord Keith looked toward the abandoned hairpin.
Prince Dio did the same.
Neither commented.
"Thank you for your services," Prince Dio said.
His voice had become distant.
He turned toward the door.
Lord Keith followed.
❈.❈.❈
Prince Dio walked toward the second-floor office wing without speaking.
Lord Keith fell into step beside him, still carrying enough sand on his clothing to leave small traces across the polished floor.
The events inside the clinic repeated themselves in Prince Dio's mind.
Reise waking.
The instant control of Eliza's wrist.
The hairpin.
The exact placement beneath the throat.
Then the cold explanation afterward.
She rejects restorative healing because she wants her body to adapt, Prince Dio thought.
That alone was strange enough.
But the reflex bothered him more.
Reise Worthon had been raised as a noblewoman.
Pampered, according to her own brothers.
Protected.
Educated in etiquette, politics, magic, and the expectations surrounding her future title.
None of that explained why an unconscious woman could wake and place a weapon against another person's throat before fully recognizing the room around her.
Prince Dio frowned.
Where did you learn to move like that? he wondered.
He had thought he understood the boundaries of Reise Worthon's life.
The last several days had repeatedly shown him otherwise.
Before either man reached Prince Dio's office, a voice drifted through a slightly open door farther down the corridor.
"What is for lunch? I am starving."
Lord Keith stopped.
Prince Dio stopped beside him.
Tina's voice followed.
"My lady, were you not just instructed to avoid—?"
"Ugh! Stop nagging. What are you, my mother?"
A pause.
"I have not done anything. I was just… running a diagnostic. Now, where is my food?"
"Lady Reise, it is only ten. But we have cupcakes from the cafeteria."
Lord Keith's mouth curved upward.
"Sounds like a full recovery."
He crept toward the partly open door and peered inside.
Prince Dio watched him.
Then, despite knowing perfectly well that he should continue toward his own office, he looked as well.
The scene inside was not what he expected.
Reise lounged across one of the couches with almost offensive disregard for noble posture.
One leg rested normally on the floor.
The other had been draped over the backrest while she ate.
Her rose-gold hair remained partially loosened from the clinic incident, several long strands falling over one shoulder.
Lilia sat on a small footstool nearby.
Tina and Edmund occupied adjacent chairs.
Actually occupied them.
Both held cups of tea.
Prince Dio stared.
The old Reise had maintained rigid distinctions between noble and servant, even inside private rooms.
This version seemed to have dragged everyone around her into a different set of rules entirely.
Tina looked exhausted.
Edmund looked resigned.
Lilia looked perfectly content.
None of them looked afraid.
I understand nothing about her at all, Prince Dio thought.
Footsteps suddenly thundered from the corridor behind them.
Lord Keith barely managed to move aside before the office door was pushed fully open.
"Move."
The cold command came first.
Two men entered immediately after.
"My sister!"
Both voices struck at once.
G6 looked up from the couch.
Her expression became profoundly annoyed.
Oh, great. Fantastic start to day one.
Lord Ray reached her first.
He crossed the room in several long strides and dropped into a crouch in front of the couch.
"I heard you collapsed! Are you alright?"
Lord Ron came directly behind him.
"Why do you look like this?"
His arms opened.
"Do they not take care of you?"
G6 moved before he could hug her.
She shifted sharply sideways and rose from the couch, forcing Lord Ron to stop before he walked directly into the furniture.
"Back off. You are suffocating me."
G6 straightened her training clothes.
Lord Ron looked offended.
Lord Ray looked furious for an entirely different reason.
"That is it. You are coming to stay at the Sanctum."
His attention shifted toward Prince Dio, who had now entered the office properly with Lord Keith.
The pointed look was impossible to miss.
Lord Keith lifted both hands.
"Now, now, my beloved seniors. We were just having a light swo—"
Lord Ray turned.
"Wind Blade."
Mana gathered immediately.
Lord Keith recognized the invocation and stopped speaking.
Lord Ray's right hand shifted slightly as the Wind affinity condensed around his fingers. The pressure in the office changed just enough for loose papers along the desk to stir.
Lord Keith watched the angle.
Not his throat. Not his face.
Beside his head. A warning.
Lord Keith wisely stayed still.
The spell completed.
Compressed air snapped across the short distance between them.
The blade of wind passed beside Lord Keith's temple so closely that he felt the pressure against his skin.
A lock of hair separated cleanly.
It floated toward the floor.
The Wind Blade dispersed immediately afterward, its remaining force unraveling before it could strike anyone or damage the office behind him.
Lord Keith stared at the severed hair.
Lord Ray lowered his hand.
"Why did you let my sister hold a sword?"
The playful older brother from yesterday was gone.
"Do you have any idea how delicate she is?"
Lord Keith slowly touched the shortened section of his hair.
For once, he had no immediate joke.
Lord Ron stepped forward.
"He is right."
His gaze hardened.
"Are you the reason our sister collapsed?"
G6 walked toward her desk.
She leaned against the edge and crossed her arms.
"Get out. All of you."
Lord Ray looked at her.
"No. You are coming with us."
His tone carried the authority of the Worthon heir.
"Your first day, and you collapse? Unacceptable."
Tina stepped between them before the argument worsened.
"I am afraid that will not be possible, Master Ray."
She bowed.
"It was Her Majesty who assigned Lady Reise here."
Lord Ray stared at her.
"Is she out of her mind?"
Prince Dio's eye twitched at the complete absence of fear in Lord Ray's response regarding his mother.
G6's gaze sharpened.
"Reise has been pampered all her life. She knows nothing beyond etiquette and decorum!"
"Do not speak about my boss that way."
The temperature of G6's voice changed instantly.
Lord Ray looked at her.
Prince Dio remained silent near the doorway.
This was no longer a departmental disagreement.
This was a Worthon family argument.
For now.
"I was the one who told the Queen I wanted something else," G6 continued.
She moved behind the desk and leaned lightly against the edge near the window.
"She could not grant my first request, so this was the compromise."
Her expression shifted with faint resignation.
"I suppose my first request was too much."
Tina froze.
Her face drained.
"Do not tell me…"
She leaned toward Edmund.
"This is not something she should reveal," Tina whispered.
Edmund's expression changed.
"What should we do?"
Lord Ray stepped closer.
"What do you mean? What was your first request?"
Lord Ron immediately stopped worrying about G6's physical health long enough to become interested.
Lord Keith did the same.
Prince Dio's gaze sharpened.
G6 smiled.
Not pleasantly.
"Well."
Tina's panic intensified.
"I just asked her to—"
"I heard the food in the cafeteria today is roasted meat!"
Tina's voice cut across the room.
Silence.
Everyone turned toward her.
G6 stared.
What's with her?
Is she trying to shut me up? Well, do better.
"So, as I was saying."
Tina looked horrified.
G6's smirk widened.
"I asked Her Majesty to—"
"Edmund will show you his favorite place in the West Villa later!"
The second interruption came even faster.
Lord Ron stared at Tina.
"What in the world are you doing, Tina?"
G6 tilted her head.
The distraction was ridiculous.
Unfortunately, the wording had caught her attention.
"What could that be?"
Tina immediately seized Edmund by the sleeve and dragged him several steps away.
"Edmund, whisper it to her."
Edmund stared down at her.
"What do you mean?"
Tina leaned closer.
"The liquor storage."
Edmund's brows rose.
"How will that make her stop talking?"
"Just trust me!"
Everyone else watched the whispered exchange with increasing confusion.
G6 waited.
Edmund finally straightened.
His expression became perfectly professional again.
"My lady, a word in private?"
G6 nodded.
He approached and leaned toward her.
"The liquor storage is where I usually hide."
G6's entire expression changed.
Not dramatically.
But enough.
Her grey eyes lit with such immediate interest that Tina knew she had chosen correctly.
Am I finally… is this…?
A wicked smirk slowly appeared.
"Forget it."
Lord Ray blinked.
G6 waved one hand.
"If you are so curious, ask my boss."
Prince Dio looked between G6, Tina, and Edmund.
Another secret? This group is a vault of them, Prince Dio thought.
Lord Ray was not finished.
"But Reise, this is for your own good."
"I can handle myself."
The answer dismissed the concern without addressing it.
G6's attention had already moved elsewhere.
"I promise I will not let the Prince—"
She glanced toward Prince Dio.
"—or anyone else, catch me if I fall again."
No one in the room believed the promise carried much weight.
G6 had made it to end the argument.
More importantly, Tina had just revealed the existence of liquor storage.
Priorities had shifted.
Lord Ron followed G6's glance toward Prince Dio.
"Prince Dio?"
His expression became openly mocking.
"Oh, so your eyes have finally deigned to see my sister?"
G6 looked between them.
The hostility was obvious now.
I can tell now.
They are not on good terms.
Lord Ray joined his brother immediately.
"Tell me about it."
Then, with a reluctant adjustment in tone, he looked at Prince Dio.
"Anyway, thank you for saving our sister."
Prince Dio met his gaze without reacting to the earlier jab.
"You are welcome. It was mere chance."
Lord Ray accepted the answer.
Then returned his attention to G6.
"Reise."
His tone became stern again.
"Next time you collapse, you are leaving this place. We will allow this… for now."
G6 stared at him.
Lord Ray's expression softened almost immediately.
"But before we leave, give me a hug."
Lord Ron opened his arms.
"Yes, a hug!"
G6's eyes narrowed.
"I will snap your neck if you keep invading my personal space."
Lord Ron stopped.
His arms slowly lowered.
"You are truly mean."
He pouted.
"You are not the little girl who used to say 'Big brother, you are so handsome!'"
Lord Ray turned toward him.
"She said that to you? Stop lying."
Lord Ron looked offended.
"She did not say that to you?"
Then his expression brightened with malicious delight.
"You must be the ugliest among us!"
"You take that back!"
Within seconds, the two serious Worthon heirs who had entered the room ready to remove their sister from the Bastion were arguing over childhood compliments.
G6 watched them.
Tina closed her eyes briefly.
Then stepped in.
"I believe you both have important matters in the Sanctum."
She began guiding them toward the door with the practiced firmness of someone who had clearly done this before.
"Please, allow your sister to rest."
"Tina, why do you always nag like our mother? Good grace, get a boyfrie—"
Lord Ron disappeared into the corridor before he could finish.
"Reise, my little sugar plum! Visit us!"
Lord Ray followed.
"Do not forget what I said, sweetie!"
The door closed behind them.
G6 stared at it for a moment.
It seems Tina is indeed a big part of this family.
That explained several things.
Unfortunately, the room was still not empty.
Lord Keith had already welcomed himself into a chair.
Prince Dio remained standing near the doorway.
G6 looked toward Lord Keith.
"I would appreciate it if you got the hell out of my office."
Lord Keith leaned back.
"I want to speak with you, partner."
His tone had somehow regained its whining quality.
G6 dropped onto the couch.
"I want to rest. Get out."
Lord Keith remained exactly where he was.
G6 closed her eyes.
Then opened them again.
Her gaze moved to Prince Dio.
"Hey. Do not just stand there. Drag your pet out of my room."
Prince Dio went still.
"'Hey'?"
Of everything Reise Worthon had said to him over the last several days, apparently that was what offended his royal upbringing most.
G6 stared back at him.
Prince Dio's eyes narrowed.
Then his expression smoothed.
He recovered his composure with visible effort.
"Then, please rest and regain your strength. You have our well wishes. Excuse us for the intrusion."
Lord Keith turned toward him.
"Dio, I am not—"
Prince Dio stepped behind the chair, caught Lord Keith firmly by the back of his collar, and pulled.
Lord Keith nearly slid out of the seat.
"Wait—"
Prince Dio kept walking.
Keith was forced to stumble backward several steps before finding his footing, one hand grabbing at Prince Dio's wrist while the other reached uselessly toward G6.
"Partner! Tomorrow!"
G6's expression did not change.
Prince Dio dragged him through the doorway.
The door shut behind them.
Only once they were in the corridor did Prince Dio release Lord Keith's collar.
Keith straightened his clothing with great offense.
"You could have asked."
"I did not."
Prince Dio continued walking.
Lord Keith muttered something under his breath and followed.
Prince Dio said nothing more.
Yet his thoughts did not return easily to his duties.
Reise had collapsed after deliberately pushing herself far beyond what her body could tolerate.
She had woken from unconsciousness with a weapon already at another person's throat.
She had argued with a medical professional about the value of learning her own limitations.
She had treated her servants with a familiarity that would have horrified most high nobles.
She had threatened both of her brothers without hesitation.
And when those same brothers turned on him, she had watched the exchange with the detached attention of someone discovering a political relationship she apparently should already have understood.
Then there was the Queen.
Whatever arrangement existed between Reise and his mother remained hidden from him.
Prince Dio had spent years believing Reise Worthon was predictable because her attention always returned to the same place.
Him.
That certainty no longer existed.
He did not know what she wanted.
He did not know why she had entered the Royal Collegium.
He did not know where she had learned those reflexes.
He did not know why she treated physical collapse like information rather than danger.
And increasingly, he disliked not knowing.
Prince Dio glanced once toward the closed door behind them.
Not attraction. Not yet.
Something more irritating.
A question that refused to remain unanswered.
Reise Worthon had become impossible for him to understand.
And for the first time in years—
he was actually trying.
—To Be Continued…—