Nathan felt good walking away from the throne room.
Not the uncomplicated good of a problem resolved — the specific good of having finally seen the real shape of something and being able to work with it honestly. Amaterasu had been worrying herself into silence for weeks, maybe months, asking Kaguya to manage the information carefully, to keep Nathan moving toward his exit before he understood enough to want to stay.
He understood now.
And he was staying.
Tomorrow he would leave officially — visibly, with Haruka and Ryuuji, the Lord Commander of Tenebria concluding his diplomatic visit and returning home. Every noble who'd been watching since his arrival would see it. The story would be clean.
Tonight was something else.
He moved through the castle's corridors. Just a man walking through a quiet castle in the deep hours after midnight.
He was tracking a specific magical signature.
