“Another one?” Thea asked, as Luin handed her another book. This one was another strange topic as well, at least for her. And it wasn’t as if Luin was handing them to her one after the other so that she could read them to him or hold on to them for him; he was giving them to her for her to read them. If it were his own varied interests producing these books, that would be one thing, but she couldn’t fathom why he would want her to read books like Defense Tactics of Entry-Level Knights, Basic Mana Theory for Magus Initiates, Offensive Tactics for Knight and Magus, and other such books that would have been better off in Darcin or Timetheo’s collection.

And now, this latest book was even more strange: A Detailed Analysis of Skills of Perception. Thea had no skills to speak of, let alone one that was a perception skill like her mother’s or one that assisted the imagination the way her father’s did.

Luin simply nodded as he deposited the book and went back to parusing the shelves in the small estate library that was separate from the books kept in both Thea’s father’s office and her mother’s study. Most of the books here were general topics or ones that had benefited Thea and her brothers when they were younger. Having gone through this pattern six times already, Thea frowned as she watched the boy scan the book titles once again.

Surely, he can’t be looking for more? But she was certain deep down that he was.

Five books lay stacked on the corner of the small desk where she sat while the sixth and first book lay open in front of her. She had started to read it when Luin had first brought it to her, thinking that perhaps doing so would relieve the melancholy that the boy seemed to wake up with. He’d only dismissed her question when she’d asked if he was feeling alright, and she had yet to mention anything about the situation with the apartment since nothing else had been reported back so far that morning, but Luin was somehow in quite a different mood than she would have expected.

Perhaps he picks up the moods of others easily? Thea had tried her best to act nonchalant, but some of her worry might have shown through without her knowing. Not knowing what else to do, she’d decided to go along with whatever Luin wanted to do today, but things had turned out unexpectedly strange. Not that being around books or having a lot to read was odd for Thea–quite the opposite, in fact–but she hadn’t expected to be assigned reading by her charge.

Thea turned back to the book open before her, obediently reading, since that seemed to keep Luin from being as agitated. Maybe I just need to look at it this way–I’m getting the reading time I enjoy at least, and Luin is occupied and enthusiastic about his current task. She was still concerned for Luin and her apartment, but she decided to give into the smell of printed pages, ink, and leather; the need to distract herself from her own worries; and her curiosity that was slowly being piqued in these topics that were normally her brothers’ domains.

Before she knew it, Thea was three quarters of the way through the first book, Defense Tactics of Entry-Level Knights, and had just polished off the section on evasive maneuvers when a knock at the door pulled her from the pages. As if blinders had been lifted off her eyes, she suddenly became aware of the room again, as well as the stiffness in her neck and shoulders and the numb feeling in her rear end. The stack on the corner of the desk had grown to seven books, making eight total. She frowned at the stack before looking around the room for Luin. She found him on the window seat, asleep.

No wonder he was so quiet. His stamina was still pretty low it seemed, so she was glad he was getting some rest. And at least this stack won’t be growing anytime soon if he’s napping either.

The knock came a second time, before the butler’s voice came from the hallway. “Miss, your mother sent me to ask if you’d eaten lunch yet. It’s been prepared in the garden, and she says there is some news she must share with you as soon as you’re able.”

Thea jumped up and opened the door. “Sorry, Hennison. I guess I got a bit focused on what I was reading. I’ll meet Mother for lunch then. But Luin–”

“I’ll come too.” Luin sat up, looking as if he hadn’t just been asleep just moments before, and walked over to Thea.

Thea wondered if it would be alright to hear her mother’s news with Luin present, but then she thought they both would benefit from eating since breakfast had been only a buttered scone for each of them. A glance at the clock revealed it to be a bell past noon already.

“It’s quite alright. You’ve always been quite focused when you read, Miss Thea. I’ll leave you both to head to the garden on your own, then.” But before Hennison could leave, probably to return to assisting Thea’s father, Luin grabbed his sleeve.

“Mr. Hennison, these books need to go to Thea’s room. Can someone take them?”

“Oh, do you mean those on the desk?”

“Yes.”

“Then, I’ll be sure to have one of the maids deliver them,” Hennison promised.

Thea felt conflicted. On one hand, she was both surprised and proud that Luin had been so forward when he was normally so reserved, but on the other hand, she realized the boy was more stubborn about these books than she’d realized. She couldn’t help but wonder what was going on in Luin’s mind. But of course, not a bit of his thoughts were visible on his stoic face, so she had to put that thought away for later.

After receiving Hennison’s assurance, Luin came up and took Thea’s hand. Thea stifled a sigh, wishing she could guess what was going on in the boy’s mind, and led the way to the garden.

The estate was a decent size for being in the Central District, but it butted up against its neighbors on every edge of the property all the same. The garden was located to the back of the main house and was surrounded on the three other sides by tall ironwork fences and hedgerows of dense camellias that had begun to bloom in columns of pink and red now that the warmer weather had cooled off.

Upon entering the garden, Thea noticed that the table in the gazebo had been laid out with food and drink. Her mother sat at the table, exchanging a writing pad with two Royal Knights. One of the knights wore her uniform well, each part pressed and crisp, with nothing but a dagger on her hip, while the other was a shorter young man whose uniform looked as if it had been in a crumpled pile until he’d put it on in a rush.

Though curious, Thea didn’t want to intrude on her mother’s business with the knights. It was most likely palace business that brought them, so she walked around the side of the garden with Luin until Dalliah accepted her writing pad back and set it down as the knights bowed their heads to her and took their leave.

“Everything alright?” Thea asked her mother when they approached and were welcomed by Dalliah with a smile.

“It seems the commander sent them with some information for us and as a precaution.”

Thea nodded as she and Luin took their seats at the table, but then she paused as what her mother had said clicked. “A precaution?”

She knew the commander and Tim would keep them updated as things became known about the situation with her apartment, but it seemed there was a new turn of events.

“Yes, but eat first, both of you.” Dalliah took the initiative in putting a little of everything onto two plates and sitting it in front of them since there were no servants out here currently.

So, they all ate in amiable silence while Thea practiced patience. She knew from experience that if something were immediately pressing, her mother wouldn’t have delayed in telling her, but that her mother was fully capable of using Thea’s curiosity against her to make sure she did not neglect eating if the news was less than pressing. Even Luin wasn’t exempt from this treatment.

It wasn’t until the food on their plates was mostly eaten that Thea’s mother tapped the table to get their attention. “The damage to your apartment is quite severe on the third floor. There won’t be any way you can move back there anytime soon.” She continued before Thea could do more than widen her eyes in concern. “But both of you are welcome to stay here at the estate for however long you like. In fact, the knights who came by have been sent to use their skills to make sure the estate is safe.”

Thea frowned. “Safe? Safe from what?” There was only one possibility for the commander to suspect that what happened at her apartment could somehow make them unsafe here at the estate: the damage was no accident.