Silvi watched Kael for a moment after Misty left, then said, "You talk differently to different people, don't you?"
Kael didn't answer immediately.
"It depends," he said.
"On what?" she asked.
"The way they speak."
Silvi tilted her head slightly. "Explain."
Kael glanced briefly toward the mansion, then back at her.
"Misty ignored me in the morning," he said calmly. "You didn't."
A short pause.
"You started a conversation. She tested. You asked."
Silvi understood.
"So you respond accordingly."
Kael gave a slight nod.
"People show how they want to be treated."
Silvi smiled faintly. "That's one way to see it."
There was a brief silence, but it felt natural.
"You're careful," she said.
"I'm alive," Kael replied.
That made her laugh lightly, but her eyes stayed on him.
"You don't trust easily."
"Trust isn't useful."
Silvi raised an eyebrow. "Then what is?"
"Control."
She didn't respond immediately.
That answer stayed in her mind.
Before she could continue, a staff member approached.
"Kael Verin. You've been called to the Directorate."
Silvi glanced at him. "That was quick."
Kael stood up.
"Nothing here moves slowly."
He left without another word.
The Bastlo Intelligence Directorate felt colder the second time.
Less unfamiliar. More calculated.
Kael was led deeper inside, through multiple secured sections, before entering a larger room filled with screens and officers.
At the center sat Devil.
"You're adapting quickly," Devil said.
Kael remained calm. "You called."
"Routine verification."
Kael sat when instructed.
Devices were placed in front of him.
"Voice pattern," an officer said.
Kael spoke. Names, codes, timelines. Every word measured.
Another device followed.
"Neural response check."
Questions came one after another. Some direct, some unrelated, some designed to provoke reaction.
Kael answered all of them the same way.
Calm. Steady. Controlled.
Time passed.
No hesitation.
No mistake.
Devil observed everything in silence.
Then finally said, "Enough."
The room quieted.
"You're clean," Devil said.
A pause.
"But that doesn't mean you're trusted."
Kael nodded slightly. "Understood."
"You'll remain under observation."
Expected.
Kael stood. "Anything else?"
Devil looked at him for a moment, then said, "Go."
Kael left.
He didn't return directly to the mansion.
Instead, he moved through the city, blending into normal movement, until he reached a public terminal zone.
Old systems.
Minimal security.
He sat down and accessed a layered entry point.
Not direct.
Never direct.
A hidden channel opened.
Silent.
Waiting.
Kael typed.
"Entry successful."
A few seconds passed.
Then a reply appeared.
"Status?"
"Integrated. High proximity to target."
Another pause.
"Suspicion?"
"None."
The reply came after a moment.
"Maintain position."
Kael's gaze didn't shift.
"Phase two initiated."
Silence.
Longer this time.
Then—
"Proceed."
The connection ended instantly.
No trace.
No record.
Nothing.
Kael stood up and walked away, just another figure in the moving crowd.
From the outside, he was now part of Bastlo.
Trusted. Positioned. Observed.
But beneath that—
he was something else.
A link between two nations.
A variable no system could track.
And the only one who understood both sides completely.
Phase two was no longer a plan.
It was already happening.