The unexpected conversation with Tōru and Ambassador Tetsuo had thrown Yeijiro off balance. Not that he had been feeling much in the way of balance before they had pulled him aside.

The Golden Palace was quiet and serene as ever as Yeijiro continued on his interrupted path. It felt strange and surreal, knowing the tensions that boiled in nearly everyone right now.

Had the attack on Executor been something other than the worst kind of accident? That had been Yeijiro’s first thought when he heard the news. He’d let his suspicions sink down when everyone had seemed to be acting like it was nothing more than the worst sort of demon attack. He hadn’t wanted to be the one person suggesting otherwise.

But why? The conspiracy of the last interval—the attack against the Emperor. Yeijiro had been that voice. And he’d been right.

This past interval had been like something out of a dream. It was everything he’d ever asked for. Both Roderich and Tōru teaching him the lessons he’d always craved. Friends in Corinne and Vin. A profession that challenged him, engaged his mind in the best possible way.

All that together, though, had been so comfortable he’d grown complacent. His work as a marshal, it had been a challenge, yes, but it had also become something of a game. He had forgotten to be vigilant, forgotten the very real stakes that were buried in the fact sheets and numbers and reports. The very real people the marshals were supposed to be protecting.

If he’d been paying closer attention, would he have seen this coming? Would he have caught some hint, some whisper on the wind? Could he have stopped this?

It was impossible to know the answer to that question, especially when he had no idea what had actually happened to Executor. Wasting his time on might-have-been was its own trap.

Yeijiro reached the records library, was happy to find it unoccupied. Most of the palace marshals were busy preparing for shadow court. It was useful, at this moment, that Elena had a tendency to “overlook” Yeijiro when she was handing out assignments. Yeijiro had research to do, and it would be best if that research was unobserved.

A whole interval of training, and it was time ot put that teaching to the test. All of Tōru’s careful lessons, just how well had Yeijiro learned? Because this was truly a Serpent path he was about to start down.

He couldn’t ask Roderich for permission, because if asked the question directly, Roderich would be forced to say no. But Yeijiro had heard the unspoken words in Roderich’s careful answer to Yeijiro’s question about whether the marshals could get involved.

They needed proof. They needed evidence. Something that would hook the marshals in. If Yeijiro could find that—if he could work quickly and quietly enough that no one noticed he was looking…

Vin’s hurt. Roderich’s hurt. If Yeijiro could do anything at all to help them, it would be a job well done.

Time to get back to work.