Rina kept looking at Clara for a moment longer than she should have.
The look wasn't childish this time.
It was an attempt to read what lay behind the smile.
And before her expression could change, she heard the sound of footsteps whose rhythm she knew well.
Osana doesn't make noise when she walks,
but her presence announces itself without need for sound.
She stopped behind Karina and placed both palms on her shoulders.
The touch was steady, unwavering.
Palms accustomed to grasping decisions before hands.
"Rina, why are you alone? Did the Second Prince leave?"
Rina nodded immediately, as if the question itself rearranged her thoughts.
Her grandmother's presence didn't change the place… but it changed her feeling within it.
On the other side, Clara saw Osana.
She didn't freeze.
She didn't get flustered.
But she shifted her weight to her back foot lightly, like one choosing not to stand in the middle.
The two women exchanged a brief look.
Not long enough to be called a confrontation.
And not fleeting enough to be forgotten.
Clara bowed, then withdrew.
When she walked away, Osana's and Karina's eyes met.
They stared at each other for a moment — as if both realized what was left unsaid —
then they laughed, a quick laugh, as if they'd agreed to bypass something without explanation.
But the voice echoing from the entrance cut through the lightness:
"We welcome Count Flax."
Heads turned slowly.
The Count entered first.
His steps neither fast nor slow… measured.
Beside him, the Countess.
Her features precisely taut, as if she didn't allow her face to relax except before a mirror.
And with them, another woman.
No one knew her.
Her elegance wasn't loud, but it was intentional.
Her posture didn't seek attention, but didn't flee from it.
Her gaze didn't explore the hall… it measured it.
Behind them, Victoria.
And beside her, her younger brother, trying to keep up with the formal rhythm with a body that hadn't yet learned steadiness.
Rina almost rushed forward.
But she saw her grandmother.
So she stepped forward with calmer steps, even though enthusiasm still preceded her by half a step.
"Welcome, Count and Countess, to the Duchy's founding anniversary party."
Osana said it with a calculated smile; neither exaggerated nor cold.
Karina's eyes slid toward the Countess.
This woman…
who in the past was a name echoing in investigation corridors.
Abuse.
Muffled screaming.
Repeated complaints.
Victoria used to complain for a long time.
Then suddenly stop.
But—
Who was this new woman?
She wasn't mentioned in any previous invitation.
She wasn't seen at any gathering.
Her presence didn't seem coincidental.
"Thank you for inviting us, Lady Osana Vershi."
The Countess said, pulling her son closer with a movement that revealed whether it was affection or possession.
In the next moment—
"Vickyyyy!"
Rina didn't wait for protocol's permission.
She rushed forward and hugged her tightly.
Victoria's body tensed at first — a reaction accustomed to caution —
then surrendered to the embrace.
They laughed.
An unpolished, uncalculated laugh.
Osana approached.
"How are you, Miss Victoria?"
Victoria gasped slightly and bowed.
"I'm fine, my lady."
The words came out straighter than suited her age.
The Countess's gaze settled on her.
"Don't forget your manners."
She said it without raising her voice, but there was no need.
"Yes."
She replied quickly.
Then she breathed… as if allowing her lungs to work again.
But Rina grabbed her hand and pulled her.
Her laugh rose, light, clear.
"Rina, don't run, my dear."
Osana said.
Rina nodded, without slowing much.
"Vicki! Tomorrow's your birthday! You'll be thirteen!"
Victoria stopped for half a moment.
Thirteen.
A number that didn't seem big… but wasn't childish either.
Then she laughed.
And they ran.
Their steps were irregular.
Their laughs intertwined.
And the hall — which usually preserved seriousness — allowed itself to hear the sound of their childhood without objection.
---
Karina moved with sincere enthusiasm, pointing to the high arches, to the paintings preserving dates older than their ages, and to the shields no longer used but still gleaming as if awaiting another war.
She explained quickly, jumping from one story to another, her voice rising and falling without order.
Their laughter, hers and Victoria's, didn't remain confined to the corner.
Some heads turned.
There was nothing in the hall accustomed to this much lightness.
Karina suddenly grabbed Vicki's hand, with an impulsive movement.
"What do you think about we—"
Victoria's face tightened.
She furrowed her brows and quickly pulled her hand away.
"Karina… my hand. Don't touch it."
Karina froze for a second, then lowered her hand immediately.
Only then did she notice.
The gloves.
Vicki wasn't wearing them upon entry.
Silk gloves covering her hands completely, tighter than necessary.
Karina's face changed.
Blood rushed to her cheeks, not from shame… but anger.
"Is she hurting you again?"
Victoria didn't raise her eyes.
She sufficed with a small head shake.
She was looking at the gloves as if looking at evidence of a crime.
Tears glistened in her eyes, but she wiped them before they fell.
She had learned not to allow tears freedom.
But Karina didn't back down this time.
She grabbed her shoulders and shook her.
"Vicki! How long will you stay like this?! Until she kills you?! Move! You must change something!"
"Karina… stop shaking me… There's nothing I can do!"
Karina suddenly released her, as if hitting an invisible wall.
Then she shook her head.
"There is. Trust me."
She didn't explain.
She left no room for objection.
She grabbed her wrist — this time carefully — and pulled her out of the hall.
They passed through semi-empty corridors, fewer lights, distant sounds.
Until they reached the balcony.
The cold air hit their faces.
The silence here was different… wider.
Karina sat down and gestured for her to sit.
"How did this happen?"
Victoria didn't answer immediately.
She looked at her hands.
Then slowly removed one glove.
The skin was revealed.
Overlapping bruises, their colors ranging from dark blue to yellowish purple.
Wounds that hadn't healed yet.
Fingers trembling involuntarily.
Karina swallowed her breath.
For a moment, she wished she hadn't asked to see.
Tears rose in her eyes, but she didn't allow them to fall.
Victoria began speaking.
"I was at dinner… with the Countess… and my father's mistress. After my father left the table."
She paused.
She wiped a tear that escaped without permission.
"I finished my dinner… I wanted to leave… but his mistress stopped me."
A short silence.
As if the memory needed courage to continue.
"She said I wasn't eating enough… the Countess replied that I was full… so she interrupted. She said the Countess was bad to me… hurting me… I tried to defend her… because I know… she threatens me with something if I don't."
She gasped.
She placed both hands on her face.
"Then she told me to go to my room… and after that…"
Her voice broke.
"That happened."
She didn't describe.
She didn't need to describe.
But the images came despite herself.
The cold floor beneath her body.
Her head hitting the wood.
Consciousness slowly withdrawing.
Blood she didn't know where it started from.
"No one cared… except one maid."
She said it as if confessing something shameful.
Then she looked at her hands again.
"Now… I'm ugly. Full of bruises. There's nothing alive in myself… in my body… nor my soul."
Karina shook her head firmly.
"Don't say that."
She approached her.
"You're very beautiful. Your body will heal. The marks will disappear. And you'll return stronger than you were."
She hesitated a moment.
"And don't think you're the only one who has suffered."
She didn't go into details.
But her tone carried enough.
She hugged her.
Not just a friend's hug…
but a hug resembling what Revellina used to do when embracing her little sister, absorbing her fear while hiding her own.
Victoria began wiping her tears gently, as if afraid her face would become disfigured like her skin.
Karina's voice changed.
It was no longer angry.
It became decisive.
"This won't happen again."
Victoria raised her eyes, disbelieving.
"How?"
Karina looked directly at her.
"You love veterinary medicine, don't you?"
Victoria nodded.
"We'll send you to an academy. Far away from them."
She gasped.
"But how?! My father won't acc—"
"Tomorrow is your birthday."
She interrupted her quietly this time.
"You'll stay here. And we'll send you as a birthday gift."
The idea seemed impossible on Victoria's face.
She tried to object, but Karina lightly placed her hand over her mouth.
"Be quiet now. Wipe your tears. Read. Study. Gather everything you need."
She looked at her steadily.
"And I'll take care of the rest."
And at that moment—
for the first time in a long time—
A different idea from fear glimmered in Victoria's eyes.
An idea resembling… the possibility of survival.
---
Karina looked at her with quiet determination, then placed her hand on her chest, directly over her heart, as if solidifying a promise she didn't want to waver.
"Come with me. The Vershi library is empty now. The corporal in charge is on leave… it's closed, and only family members have its key."
She paused for a moment, then a sideways smile appeared on her lips, containing something of childish pride.
"And Father gifted me the key last year… even though I was forbidden from entering because I was young."
Victoria nodded.
She carefully wiped the remainder of her tears with her fingertips, then stood.
Her back was still tired, but her eyes tried to hold steady.
As if she decided not to be the victim at least in this moment.
They moved together through the palace corridors.
The fourth floor was quieter.
The sounds from below reached them faintly, as if belonging to another world.
Their steps were lighter than usual, not from fear… but from a feeling that they were doing something that shouldn't be public.
Karina took out the key.
Golden, relatively small, but heavier than it appeared.
The light from the wall lamps reflected on it, passing a quick gleam over her fingers.
They stopped before a wide, dark wooden door, with ancient engravings of the Vershi emblem in its center.
Karina looked right and left.
No one.
She inserted the key.
The sound of metal scraping against the lock was louder than they expected.
She turned it slowly.
The door opened.
Before them appeared a vast, still space, stretching until it almost swallowed the light.
Long shelves, precisely arranged, reaching almost the height of the floor.
Books of various sizes, dark leather, titles engraved in gold or silver letters.
The scent of old paper mixed with the wood of the shelves, a scent unlike anything outside.
Victoria gasped.
"Wow… it's so big."
They entered, and Karina closed the door behind them.
The sound of closing made the place seem deeper.
Karina walked ahead, slowly this time.
Her eyes moved between the wooden signs fixed above each section.
The library was clearly divided.
"Spells" — thick books, some closed with small locks.
"Life Sciences" — volumes arranged in similar sizes.
"Deep History" — entire rows bearing names of bygone eras.
"Medicines" — extended shelves, tightly packed, as if never-ending.
And a literature section, a maps section, and other less-used sections.
They kept advancing until they stopped before a sign engraved with:
"Medicines".
Hundreds of books.
Titles on human anatomy, herbs, poison treatment, ancient surgeries…
Victoria's eyes searched between the shelves with eager speed.
Then she raised her head.
There.
At the top.
A small section dedicated to veterinary medicine, stacked on the last shelf, far above eye level.
A place not easily reached by hand.
She looked at Karina.
Karina looked at her.
A short silence.
Then a slow smile appeared on both their faces.
Not a joyful smile this time.
But the smile of a plan.