The dining hall slowly emptied.
Crystal clinks faded into distant echoes, the soft shuffle of servants collecting silverware filling the void. Lisa slipped out first, heels clicking against the marble floor like quiet punctuation marks in a sentence she didn't quite understand.
Cassian followed.
Not closely.
Not too far.
Just enough for her to feel his presence like static at her back.
She turned a corner, ran a hand along the velvet-lined wall, and sighed.
"Do you always eat dinner like it's a funeral rehearsal?" she muttered.
Cassian's voice, calm and quiet, followed.
"Not usually. But tonight was… unpredictable."
Lisa glanced at him over her shoulder, smirking. "You're welcome."
They stopped at a long hallway framed with portraits of Montclairs past — all bearing the same stiff expressions, as if joy had been surgically removed from the family line.
Cassian stepped beside her. Not touching. Just there.
"You're not acting like Selène," he said again. Not accusing. Not curious. Almost... searching.
Lisa leaned against the wall, arms crossed.
"Maybe Selène needed a personality update. You ever think of that?"
He tilted his head. "You've changed. Your tone. Your posture. Even your vocabulary."
Lisa raised an eyebrow. "Should I go back to quoting ballrooms and etiquette manuals?"
"No," he said quickly.
Too quickly.
She caught it.
"Interesting," she said, watching him like he was part of a science experiment she didn't remember signing up for. "Is the ice around your heart… cracking?"
Cassian didn't reply immediately. His eyes shifted — just briefly — to the floor.
Then he asked, "Do you remember what you said during dinner?"
Lisa blinked. "Define 'said.' There was a lot of brilliance flying out of my mouth."
He stepped closer. "You called yourself… a Pokémon."
Lisa covered her face with both hands. "Oh my god. You're still thinking about that?"
Cassian nodded. "I researched it."
She dropped her hands slowly. "You… what?"
"NeomSearch," he explained flatly. "It's a digital index."
Lisa stared at him. "You used an elite government-level search engine… to look up Pokémon."
"Yes."
She bit her lip, failing to hold back a laugh. "What did it say?"
He paused.
Then, absolutely serious:
"They evolve through experience and battle. They become stronger. They also… form bonds."
Lisa blinked. That last part?
Was he joking?
His face betrayed nothing.
"So…" she said slowly, "you think I'm evolving into… what, exactly?"
He didn't answer. Just met her eyes with something not quite amusement. Not quite warmth. But close.
Too close.
Then the door at the end of the hallway creaked open. Selène's mother — Lady Montclair — stepped out with that same practiced elegance, eyes sharp.
"Selène, Cassian. Enough lingering. We're expected in the west salon."
Lisa straightened. "Of course. Wouldn't want to miss more stiff conversations and power plays."
As she walked ahead, Cassian followed.
And though he didn't smile…
he walked half a step closer than before.