❝ He stepped down, trying not to look long at her, as if she were the sun, yet he saw her, like the sun, even without looking. ❞ — Leo Tolstoy
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"Kidding," Sayo whispered, moving back with a sheepish laugh. It had been a guess on her part, but his stiffened form was enough confirmation. There weren't many in the kingdom with such unique blue eyes, and Prince Akaashi was one of the few.
'However ... ' she smiled at the guard who eyed her suspiciously, causing him to grow flustered with alarm.
If the prince was here then there must've been a spy amongst their ranks as well. Most likely, someone from Nekoma - a house far more closely aligned to the royal family than to the faction - judging by the emblem on his letter.
Although, the little discovery was nothing more than a past-time. Her role was merely to relay info from within the palace back to the faction, and this finding didn't fall under that umbrella.
She simply didn't care enough to go the extra mile and escalate things further, not when the only thing assuring her loyalty was a flimsy contract.
"Sorry," Sayo frowned, "it seems I was mistaken. There's no way his highness would be here after all." The apology left her lips like a specious hymn, and hooded crystal eyes held hers unwaveringly.
"It would seem that you are."
She could just barely catch the corner of his lips upturn to accompany his mellifluous voice before they exchanged farewells out of formality.
It was almost unnerving how calm the prince was: she knew he wasn't oblivious enough to buy her lie, but she left it at that nevertheless, excusing herself from the trio.
His intentions were unreadable and to stay longer would only waste her efforts. There was nothing she could've gained from it either.
"Your highness?" The guard spoke with uncertainty once she was out of ear shot, eerily studying his prince whose gaze remained trained on her retreating form.
Shaking his head, Akaashi eventually dismissed his guard's apprehension, a low chuckle escaping before tearing his gaze from her and turning away.
"Lady Sayo was it?" He mumbled to himself as if testing how the name felt rolling off his tongue. Sparing one last glance in her direction, he left to find a certain ravenette.
...
A heavy sigh left Sayo's lips as she leaned further into her chair, uncomfortably resting her forehead between two fingers as she flipped through more paperwork.
