Chapter 83
"If during your investigation you encounter a piece of evidence that confuses you, a clue you cannot interpret, a piece of information whose source you cannot trace, you are welcome to ask me and Tegar.
Whatever we know, we will share.
Because we also want justice to be upheld, just like you."
Inside Nirma's heart, a long murmur flowed like an underground river that never appeared on the surface.
She watched every movement Ashita made, every shift in her tone, every blink of her eyes, and behind all of it she saw only one thing.
Acting.
Acting performed with great skill, acting that was almost perfect, yet still nothing more than acting.
Not a single drop of sincerity existed behind that offer.
Not a single drop of genuine desire to help.
There was only strategy, only a game, only an effort to remain close to the investigation, to continue monitoring every step Nirma and Arya took, to ensure that everything proceeded according to their plan, whatever that plan truly was.
Nirma smiled faintly, the same smile she always wore when facing cunning opponents.
Slowly, she closed her left eye.
Only for a moment, only for a few seconds, long enough to take a deep breath and calm herself.
Long enough to remind herself that she must not be carried away by emotion.
That she must remain calm.
That she must continue playing within the rules of this game.
When her left eye opened again, there was no trace of murmuring thoughts or anger within it.
There was only the same faint smile.
Only the same calmness.
Only the same determination never to reveal weakness before an enemy.
"Thank you, Ashita."
Her voice was flat, polite, formal, like that of an official responding to the courtesy of a foreign guest.
"We appreciate your offer of assistance.
In investigations like this, sometimes we do need new perspectives, viewpoints from people who are not confined by the usual ways of thinking in this city.
Who knows, perhaps there may be something we have overlooked that you might notice with fresh eyes."
She paused for a moment, looking at Ashita with the same intensity.
Inside Arya's mind, when Ashita finished presenting her offer of assistance wrapped in flawless acting, he had already prepared himself to hear Nirma's polite refusal.
He knew exactly how Nirma usually responded to suspicious offers from people she did not trust.
With a courteous smile and elegant words that, in the end, still closed the door tightly.
He had already imagined that scenario.
He had prepared himself to support Nirma's decision.
He had already planned his next move if Ashita and Tegar tried to force the matter.
But when Nirma opened her mouth, when those words came out, Arya could hardly believe what he heard.
Nirma nodded.
Nirma agreed.
Nirma accepted the offer from the woman she had once made an orphan.
From the sworn enemy she should have avoided.
From a time agent whose very presence in the year 1101 was already a violation of every rule that existed.
Ashita smiled happily.
For the first time that afternoon, her smile looked slightly more genuine, slightly warmer, although Arya knew that behind it still lay layers of deception he could never fully count.
"Thank you, Nirma. I truly appreciate this decision."
Her voice was soft, almost sweet.
For a moment Arya imagined what it might be like if they had met under different circumstances.
In a world where no dark history floated between them.
In a world where they could have been friends as well as rivals.
But that thought vanished instantly when Nirma spoke again.
She continued in the same flat tone, the same formal tone, but with one small addition that made Arya want to applaud.
"Only this once, Ashita."
Nirma's left eye stared sharply, emphasizing every word that left her lips.
"I accept your offer of assistance for this investigation only, for the murder case of Étienne d'Arques that we are currently handling.
But for future investigations, for other cases we may face later, we will continue to conduct them ourselves as usual, without expecting assistance from anyone else, including you.
I hope you can understand this agreement."
Arya beside her could only remain silent.
He admired the way his captain always found a path out of every difficult situation.
The way she could turn a potential trap into an advantage.
The way she could keep control of the game even when her opponents attempted to seize it.
Ashita turned toward Tegar, a quick signal that required no translation.
Tegar, who had remained mostly silent until now, immediately nodded and spoke with a deep and steady voice.
"We have no objection to that agreement at all, Nirma.
In fact, we are ready if our assistance is needed even now.
Whatever we can do to help reveal the truth behind the death of Étienne d'Arques, we will gladly do."
He paused briefly.
His eyes shifted to Ashita, then returned to Nirma.
For a moment Arya caught something behind those eyes.
Something resembling respect.
Or at least an acknowledgment that Nirma was not an opponent to be underestimated.
"We have indeed only recently arrived in this city, and we do not know much about the intricacies of investigations in Byzantium.
But we have experience, Nirma.
Experience that perhaps you do not possess.
And if that experience can be useful, we will share it without condition."
The four of them fell silent for a moment.
They looked at one another in a silence that strangely felt lighter than before, as though the agreement they had just made had melted a small portion of the tension frozen between them.
Nirma with her faint smile.
Ashita with her cheerful smile.
Arya with the admiration he could not completely hide.
And Tegar with his expressionless face that was difficult to interpret.
Then, simultaneously, without coordination, without signals, the four heads turned.
Four pairs of eyes shifted together.
All of them directed their gaze toward Ioannis Taronites, who had been sitting quietly behind his teakwood desk, watching the entire conversation with the same diplomatic smile that had never changed.
With narrow eyes that continued calculating.
With the patience of a chess player waiting for his opponent to finish several minor moves before moving his principal piece.
Ioannis Taronites smiled.
The same smile he had worn since they entered this room.
A smile that never changed, never faded, never revealed what truly hid behind it.
His slender hand moved slowly, picking up the cup of wine on the table.
He took a small sip.
Then he placed it back down with a sound that was almost inaudible.
"I am very pleased, ladies and gentlemen, that you have reached such a good decision.
Cooperation, mutual assistance, mutual support—those are the keys to every success, both in investigations and in the life of society."
His voice was smooth and gentle, like silk brushed against the skin.
Yet beneath that softness Nirma sensed something else.
Something stirring.
Something that suggested this man never spoke without a purpose.
His gaze shifted, leaving Nirma and Arya, now directed toward Ashita and Tegar seated on the right side.
To be continued…