CHAPTER 43: MIYU’S INVITATION***

The hall had begun to thin, nobles filing out in orderly lines, their robes brushing the marble floor with soft rustles. The air still carried the weight of the Dire’s words and the lingering hum of the crest’s resonance.

Eran hadn’t moved yet. He stayed seated a moment longer, arms still folded, his gaze distant, until a faint shift beside him pulled him back.

Miyu rose slowly, her movements measured, almost too graceful for someone of her usual sharpness. Only then did he realize how close she had been sitting all along.

He turned slightly, and there she was... Miyu, her violet eyes glinting faintly in the fading light of the hall, her expression calm but unreadable.

For a long moment, he had almost forgotten she was beside him at all.

Her presence was quiet, but it carried a weight of its own... a noble’s poise, a faint tension in the air between them.

Eran’s lips curved faintly, not quite a smile, and then he rose as well, brushing invisible dust from his sleeve as though nothing had disturbed his composure.

Selene’s voice finally cut through the lingering hum of voices from the hall’s center.

"Are you going to stand there and stare all day?"

Her tone was light, but there was an understanding in it that only Eran could catch... something meant for him alone.

Nyssa stood just behind her, graceful as ever, her hair catching the faint light of the chamber as her gaze slid toward Eran. Their eyes met for a moment — hers unreadable, his calm but lingering just a second too long.

Eran’s gaze lingered on them for a breath longer before he finally straitened, his lips tugging into that faint, unreadable smirk.

He walked slowly, folding his arms behind him as he followed their steps until they reached the chamber hallway.

By the time they reached the chamber hallways, Selene glanced back over her shoulder, her robe sweeping lightly at her ankles.

"I’ll be back soon," she said casually, as if it was nothing, though her tone had that warmth that made the words linger.

"Dire wants to meet with us, and we have to give the new noble his proper orientation."

Nyssa gave a small shrug as if to say don’twait up, before the two of them walked off toward the council chambers, their presence leaving the hallway feeling a little quieter.

And then...

The sound of Selene’s heels echoed softly, measured and precise, until the last click faded into the quiet halls... leaving Eran standing there in the silence they left behind.

Only then did his gaze shift, and there she was.

Miyu.

She had risen at some point during the exchange, and now she stood only a step away, violet eyes already on him. For a moment, Eran almost forgot she had been there the entire time... quiet, observant, as if waiting for this exact moment.

The hall was empty enough now that their breaths felt louder than they should.

Eran’s thoughts already read the heat radiating from Miyu, he didn’t need his system to tell him. The air between them was charged, but he only let a low chuckle escape, quiet and knowing.

Without another glance, he started forward, steps deliberate, heading into the chambers as if the whole moment were nothing more than a passing breeze.

But then...

"E...Eran," Miyu’s voice cracked softly, catching on her own breath.

He stopped mid-step.

When he turned back, her face was flushed crimson, her violet eyes glossy, almost shimmering as they locked on him. She stood stiffly, as though caught between pride and something much more vulnerable.

The silence after her voice seemed to stretch, heavy with something unspoken.

Eran tilted his head slightly, the corner of his mouth twitching in that same low, amused way, the kind of expression that never gave away whether he was mocking her or encouraging her.

Miyu’s breath hitched, her heels clicking once against the stone floor as she took a single step closer.

"Don’t just walk away like that," she said, her voice softer now, almost a whisper, but still laced with that stubborn pride she always carried.

Eran didn’t move, didn’t even blink. His eyes tracked her, calm and unreadable, letting her words hang in the air until she fidgeted under his silence.

Another step forward.

This time, her gaze didn’t waver.

"You... you heard the Dire. Things are shifting. The MIARCH DAY... the new transfer..." Her voice faltered as she bit her lower lip, then forced herself to meet his eyes again. "I just thought you should know what that means."

Eran stayed where he was, shoulder resting against the chamber frame, calm and unreadable. A faint curve tugged at his mouth.

"So," he said slowly, voice quiet but cutting through the space between them, "you stopped me just to tell me that?"

Her face grew hotter, but she didn’t back away. "Maybe..." Her fingers tightened at her sides before she added softly, "maybe I just didn’t want you to go yet."

Eran chuckle again, deeper this time, not mocking, but as though her words amused him far more than he let on.

And then, he finally pushed off the wall, his steps unhurried as he closed the distance between them. The air seemed to still in the hallway, just the faint echo of their breathing filling the space.

"I guess," he murmured, tilting his head as his gaze locked with hers, "I might want to understand more."

Miyu’s heart thudded once, hard enough that she almost forgot to answer. She straightened, trying to hold on to her usual poise. "Then... if you wouldn’t mind," she said carefully, "come to my chamber. I can explain it better there."

A faint smile tugged at his lips, half amusement. "You know," he said, voice dipping low as he stepped past her just enough to brush her shoulder, "I wouldn’t decline the invite of a noble."

Her breath caught... whether at his teasing or the proximity, she wasn’t sure.

They fell into step together, walking through the hall toward the chambers. The sound of their footsteps echoed softly, almost rhythmic, as the tension between them shifted into something quieter, more private.