Naoko placed her cup down gently, the clink of porcelain soft yet final.
Then, with a sudden shift in tone, her silver eyes settled on the two girls seated across from her.
"And since we're discussing courtship..." she said, voice smooth like silk brushing against ice.
"...have either of you ever dated a boy?"
Rina's eyes widened. A faint flush crept over her cheeks, golden eyes flicking nervously to her mother, then back to Naoko.
"N-no… I haven't," she admitted, her voice barely more than a whisper.
Her fingers curled tightly around the delicate handle of her teacup.
Beside her, Amelia's response came with sharp certainty.
"Rina is the heir to House Amberhart. She will not be permitted to court anyone."
Her tone was calm, but there was no room for debate in it.
Naoko's expression didn't shift. She merely hummed quietly, as though filing the information away in some mental archive.
Then, Leona spoke, brushing a silver strand behind her ear.
"I haven't dated anyone either," she said, then paused, as if reconsidering her own words. "But… we *have* had friends. That's the difference."
Her blue eyes flicked in the direction where Jean had exited earlier.
"Jin doesn't have any. We do."
Naoko's lips curved slightly at the corners. Not quite a smile.
"Jin is my son," she said simply, "and he's not the kind to form friendships. He doesn't need them."
There was something strange in the way she said it. Not with pride. Not with sadness.
As if it were an unchangeable truth, as self-evident as the moon's presence in the night sky.
"He's only seen the outside world once," she added, her voice softening a fraction. "And that… was with his sister."
She stopped there.
Abruptly.
The air in the room shifted.
Amelia's golden eyes grew still. She didn't speak—but in that moment, she knew.
She alone in that room remembered the name that no one dared utter.
*Estelle.*
The golden daughter of House Rochey
The girl who died five years ago.
Killed by demons in a massacre that carved a hole through the world.
And Naoko's retaliation… had scarred the realm of shadows forever.
It was a wound no one dared touch.
Sensing the tension, Amelia quickly leaned forward, trying to change the subject. "Naoko, regarding the trade accords between—"
But Leona, wide-eyed and oblivious, ruined everything.
"Where is she now?" she asked, her tone curious, almost innocent. "His sister, I mean."
The silence that followed was brutal.
Rina blinked. Even she had felt a flicker of curiosity. Who was the sister Jean had seen the world with? Where was she?
But Naoko…
Naoko did not move.
Her silver eyes were locked on her cup. One second. Two.
A stillness that was almost terrifying.
Then she looked up.
Her gaze cut through the room like glass, cold and merciless.
"She's dead."
Her voice was quiet. Devoid of emotion. Not angry. Not sad.
Just… a statement. A verdict.
"She was murdered by demons."
The room went silent. Not even the soft rustling of clothing, or the faint sound of birds outside the window.
Only silence.
Naoko's fingers traced the rim of her teacup slowly.
"Jin was there when it happened."
A breath caught in Rina's throat.
Naoko didn't elaborate. She didn't explain how Estelle had died, or what Jin had witnessed, or how he had survived.
She didn't need to.
Amelia closed her eyes for a moment, then looked down at her lap, guilt stirring behind her golden gaze.
She had known.
She had chosen to stay silent.
But now the truth hung in the air, sharp and heavy.
Leona's expression shifted—first shock, then something deeper. Regret. Shame.
"I… I didn't know," she murmured, eyes lowering.
Naoko gave a small nod, as if to acknowledge the apology without truly accepting it.
Her silver eyes drifted once more to Rina.
She didn't say a word, but the meaning was clear:
*You are walking into a life built on loss.*
*Are you ready to stand beside someone who was shaped by that fire?*
Rina felt a chill crawl up her spine.
She gripped her cup again, but it had already gone cold.
........
Heat: Okay, I think there are spelling mistakes in Jane and Estelle's name. I'll fix them later. Anyway, the important thing is that you get the idea across. Please don't worry about the spelling mistakes at the end. I'm not very good at English, so please excuse the mistakes.