She folded her fingers together in her lap, as if restraining something turbulent in her chest.
"All this time, I've been walking with my eyes closed," she continued quietly. "I don't want to be that way anymore."
Sera and Lira exchanged glances. This time there was no hesitation between them only a decision to be honest.
Lira drew a breath first.
"Lady Ivanka Kosler…" she began slowly, as if weighing every word, "…is not a woman easily read."
Valerie did not interrupt.
"On the surface," Lira went on, "she is perfect. Always smiling, always graceful, always knowing exactly what to say and to whom."
Sera added, "She was raised to be the wife of a great noble. From childhood, she was taught how to stand, how to speak, even how to cry in front of the right people."
Valerie watched them without blinking.
"But beneath that," Sera continued, her tone lowering, "she is extremely… calculating."
"Calculating?" Valerie asked softly.
