The next night, Mira appeared at his room after dinner.
She knocked softly, almost fearfully, and when Kael opened, she was there with a handkerchief wrapping three honey cakes and two pieces of dark chocolate.
---Young Kael ---she said with trembling voice, not meeting his eyes---. I... Ser Aldric said you wanted...
---Thank you, Mira ---Kael said, taking the handkerchief---. You can go.
She hesitated, as if wanting to say something more, but finally just nodded and hurried back down the hallway.
Kael closed the door and sat on his bed, unwrapping the sweets carefully. The chocolate melted slightly on his fingers, and the first bite was... disappointing.
It didn't taste as good as he'd expected. In fact, it tasted quite ordinary.
But it wasn't really about the sweets, was it?
It was about knowing he could get them. That he'd seen an opportunity and taken it. That he'd made two adults---a trained knight and a servant---do exactly what he wanted.
First lesson, he thought while mechanically chewing the chocolate. Information is power. But only if you're willing to use it.
Second lesson: People will do almost anything to protect their secrets.
Third lesson...
He stopped, considering.
Third lesson: This doesn't feel as good as I thought it would.
He'd expected euphoria. Triumph. The intoxicating sensation of victory.
And there was some of that, yes. But there was also something else. Something cold and empty that settled in his stomach alongside the chocolate.
Mira wasn't a bad person. She was a victim. And he'd used her. Maybe not as cruelly as Aldric, but he'd used her all the same.
Does that make me bad? he wondered.
And then, more disturbing: Do I care if it does?
He found no answer that night. He just finished his sweets, washed his hands, and lay down staring at the ceiling while the storm raged outside.
But as he fell asleep, a small smile touched his lips.
Because bad or good didn't really matter.
What mattered was that he was no longer invisible.
At least not to Mira and Aldric.
And that was a beginning.
The sweets continued arriving for the next three days. Each night, after dinner, Mira appeared with her small wrapped package. She never spoke more than necessary, never looked him in the eyes, simply delivered the sweets and left.
Kael ate them without much pleasure. The taste had become secondary to what they represented: tangible proof that he'd learned something important.
But on the fourth day, something changed.
Kael was in the secondary library---because Sareth had a private music lesson that Elyn had insisted he take alone ("he needs at least one refined skill if he can't be a warrior")---when he heard familiar footsteps approaching.
He looked up from his book just as Lyssara entered.
She closed the door behind her. Locked it.
Kael felt his pulse quicken, but kept his face perfectly neutral.
---Cousin ---he said with polite tone, using the technically correct term. They shared a father but not a mother, which made them half-siblings, but in the complexities of nobility, "cousin" was sometimes more appropriate.
---Kael ---Lyssara responded, and her voice was cold as scraped ice---. We need to talk.
She approached with measured steps, her dark blue dress whispering against the stone floor. At thirteen years old, she already moved with the kind of deliberate control most people took decades to learn.
She sat in the chair across from him, crossing her hands over her lap, and studied him with those calculating gray eyes that saw too much.
---I've noticed something interesting ---she said---. Mira, the kitchen servant, has been visiting your room every night after dinner.
Kael didn't react. Not visibly. But his mind raced.
How did she know? Has she been watching me? Why?
---I didn't know you paid attention to servants' movements ---he said carefully.
---I pay attention to everything ---Lyssara corrected---. It's a useful habit. And when I see unusual patterns, I investigate.
---It's nothing important. She just brings me...
---Sweets. I know. ---Lyssara leaned slightly forward---. What I wonder is: why? Mira has never shown particular affection for you. In fact, she works mainly in the kitchens and rarely interacts with the family outside the dining hall. Yet suddenly, she's making personal deliveries. Every night. Without fail.
Kael realized he'd seriously underestimated Lyssara.
She didn't just notice the pattern, he understood. She's looking for the explanation. And she probably already has theories.
---Maybe she just likes me ---he tried.
Lyssara laughed. It wasn't a cheerful laugh. It was the sound of someone who'd just heard something absurdly naive.
---Please. Nobody in this mansion does anything without reason. Especially not the servants, who understand better than anyone that each action has consequences.
She stood, walking toward the window, deliberately turning her back on him. It was a show of confidence---or perhaps disdain. She was saying she didn't consider him a physical threat.
---So I investigated further ---she continued---. And I discovered that Ser Aldric has been... let's say, unusually interested in Mira during the past few weeks. And that four nights ago, both were seen near the stables at midnight.
Shit.
---And then I remembered something ---Lyssara turned, her eyes drilling into Kael's---. Four nights ago, I couldn't sleep. I was walking through the hallways when I saw a small figure---too small to be an adult---slipping toward the stables.
Kael kept his face immobile, but his mind screamed.
She saw me. She saw me and said nothing. She's been waiting. Watching. Building the complete puzzle before confronting me.
Just like I would do.
---Impressive investigative work ---he said finally, deciding denial was useless---. What do you want?
Lyssara smiled. It was a small smile, sharp as a dagger.
---There it is. No attempts at denial. No excuses. Straight to business. ---She sat again, this time closer---. You're smarter than I thought, Kael. Which makes me wonder what else you've been hiding.
---I'm only eight years old ---he pointed out---. I haven't had much time to hide things.
---And yet, you've already learned basic blackmail. Fascinating. ---Lyssara tilted her head, studying him like a hawk studying prey---. So here's my question: how was your Resonance Ceremony really?
Kael felt his blood chill.
There it is. The real reason for this conversation.
---You already know the result ---he said carefully---. Average, maybe with potential.
---Yes, that's what the priest declared. ---Lyssara leaned even closer, lowering her voice to a whisper---. But I was there, Kael. And I saw something nobody else saw. Or that they saw but decided to ignore.
---I don't know what you're talking about.
---The crystal glowed blue. Drayvar blue. That was expected. ---Her eyes narrowed---. But for a fraction of a second, I saw a greater flash.
The silence that followed was so heavy Kael could feel it crushing him.
---That's impossible ---he said finally---. The crystal can't give two glows. It doesn't work...
---I know. That's why I said nothing. Because it shouldn't be possible. ---Lyssara leaned back, but her eyes never left his---. But I saw it. And I've been waiting to see if you knew what it meant.
---I don't know ---Kael admitted, and it was true---. I never knew. I thought I'd imagined it.
---You didn't. And neither did I. ---Lyssara drummed her fingers against the chair arm, thinking---. Which means you're... something different. I don't know what. But different.
---And what do you plan to do with that information?
It was the same question he'd used with Aldric. Information as currency. Secrets as power.
Lyssara noticed and smiled with appreciation.
---For now, nothing. ---She stood, smoothing her dress---. But I want you to know that I know. And that I'm watching. Because if you're smart enough to blackmail a knight at eight years old, and if you have something strange in your blood that even the priests can't explain...
She walked toward the door, unlocking it.
---Then maybe you're the most interesting person in this boring mansion. And that, dear cousin, makes you someone worth knowing.
She opened the door, but stopped at the threshold.
---Oh, and Kael. A suggestion. If you're going to keep extorting people, make sure nobody else is watching. Because next time, the person who discovers you might not be as... understanding as me.
And she left, leaving Kael alone in the library with a forgotten book in his lap and a million thoughts racing through his head.
Lyssara knows. About the sweets. About the blackmail. About the strange flash in my ceremony.
And she didn't use it against me.
Why?
The answer came slowly, like clearing fog.
Because she wants to see what I do. She's testing me. Evaluating if I'm useful or just curious.
Just like I would do.
Kael closed his book and looked toward the door where Lyssara had disappeared.
Very well, he thought. If she wants to watch, let her watch. But she's not the only one who can play this game.
For the first time since he'd taken those sweets from Mira, Kael felt something more than that cold emptiness.
He felt... excitement.
Because Lyssara had just shown him something important: he wasn't alone in seeing the world as a chessboard.
And that meant he'd finally found someone worth playing with.
Though she didn't know yet that the game had begun.