When Cassian tossed his jacket aside and rolled his shirt sleeves up to his elbows, the atmosphere in the room shifted instantly. The emotional heaviness from moments ago gave way to a surgical seriousness and professionalism.
Marquis Aldren couldn't hide his astonishment at Cassian's swift and unhesitating preparation.
His eyes had widened slightly, his lips parted. That moment he had waited for years, poured fortunes into, and which had ended in frustration every time, beginning as casually as a lunch conversation felt surreal to him.
"Are you starting immediately?" the Marquis asked, bewildered. "I mean... isn't any preparation, special materials, or a ritual needed? He just made his decision."
Cassian tilted his head slightly to the side. He wore the faintly mocking, faintly amused expression of a genius who viewed a complex puzzle as child's play.
