Dawin paused, barely. Just long enough for Hades to register it. His blue eyes, usually so composed, held a fleeting spark of genuine surprise, swiftly extinguished. Then, as quickly as it came, his mask was back on. Smooth. Painless. Practiced.
"Hmm… you do know that, too?" Dawin said slowly, his voice almost admiring now, pulling Hades back to the moment. "You always were three steps ahead." His tone, for the first time, held a genuine note of respect.
Still no words from Hades. His silence was its own form of pressure.
"Now, I'm curious. The reason you are here now. Is it for the girl on paper, or the girl fake…" Dawin's voice trailed off, but the implication hung heavy, pointed directly at Alice's true identity.
Once again, the tension was there. Intense. Powerful.
And then,
