The response from the household staff was icy. The uniformed butler who answered the chime was tall, thin, and impeccably unforgiving. "We are not accepting visitors, particularly not those without prior appointment," the butler stated, his voice a dry rustle of dismissal. He peered down his nose at Kai, taking in the tweed coat, the round glasses, and the slightly dusty air of Professor Elias Thorne. "I assure you, sir, this is a chaotic time for the family. No one of rank is available to see a... researcher."
Kai stood firm on the polished marble step. He knew giving up was not an option; he needed to deliver his lie to an authority figure, not a servant. He opened his mouth to press the issue, rehearsing the story of his accidental find, when a different figure appeared from the shadows of an inner hallway.
Daphne, Clara's guardian, emerged from the shadows, her eyes narrowing as she took in Kai's disguise. She was older, with a face lined with worry and exhaustion, but her eyes still sparkled with a fierce intensity.
"What is he doing here?" she murmured, her voice almost swallowed by the cavernous hall. She quickly pulled her robes tighter and smoothed her expression into one of serene, absolute authority, her gaze never leaving Kai. "Lead him into the small sitting room."
The butler, visibly stunned by the sudden intervention, snapped to attention. He gestured Kai forward, and Kai followed Daphne's retreating figure down a side corridor, away from the grand entrance and the sight of any passing security detail.
Once they were seated in the small, tastefully appointed room—all polished mahogany and restrained, velvet upholstry—Daphne leaned forward. She dismissed the butler with a sharp gesture of her hand. Her gaze, now unobstructed, was piercing, cutting through the professorial disguise.
"What is your business, boy? Be quick."
Kai had rehearsed this lie until it felt like a memory. He kept his expression earnest and slightly bewildered, playing the role of the well-meaning, overwhelmed civilian perfectly. "I apologize for the intrusion, Madam," he began, maintaining eye contact without challenging her authority. "I work occasionally for a contractor doing minor excavation work for the new city subway line. About a mile from here. We were digging near a very old wall foundation—a boundary wall, I believe—when I found this."
He carefully pulled out the waterproof pouch from his inner jacket seam. He unwrapped the artifact with studied care, placing the Pyrope Salamander on the polished mahogany table between them. The artifact pulsed gently, a faint orange light filling the small room, instantly dwarfing the delicate electric lamps.
Daphne gasped, a sharp, choked sound that betrayed her tightly held composure. Her eyes were fixed on the Salamander. She snatched it up, clutching it to her chest as if protecting a newborn from a sudden threat. Her hand was visibly trembling, not from fear, but from the shock of the artifact's unexpected return.
"You… you found this?" she whispered, staring from the glowing ceramic to the unthreatening face of "Professor Thorne." "A digging job near the subway?"
Before he could offer another rehearsed detail, Daphne stood abruptly. She pulled him roughly by the sleeve and yanked him into a small, adjoining room—a utility closet repurposed as a staff washroom, cold and smelling faintly of disinfectant. She shoved him inside and slammed the door shut, muffling their voices entirely.
"Don't lie to me, boy!" she hissed, her voice low, dangerous, and utterly stripped of aristocratic veneer. "I know a thousand-year-old Pyrope fire relic doesn't just surface in a subway trench! You were involved in the breach! Who hired you? Who is making a play against the legitimate heir?"
Kai maintained his lie with unwavering, disciplined focus. His genuine fear—fear that she would see through the disguise and connect him to the overheard conversation with Cassian—lent his voice a convincing tremor. "Madam, I am just a student trying to pay tuition. I found this. I risked everything to bring it back once I saw the family crest on it. If it's something more, I don't know it. I swear."
Daphne studied his face. She saw the genuine fear in his eyes, but she also saw the deep, unreadable layers beneath—the cold training, the calculated sincerity. She knew he was lying about his origin, but she also realized he wasn't the mastermind. He was just a delivery tool.
The truth of the artifact's original absence was complicated, but the reality of its return was simple. After a tense, silent minute that stretched Kai's self-control to its limit, she sighed, rubbing her temples as if physically trying to erase a headache.
"Go," she commanded, her voice exhausted but final. "Get out of my estate. Now. Don't look back. Don't speak of this to anyone. Not your contractor, not your friends. Not even your own shadow."
Kai did not hesitate. The dismissal was his ultimate goal. He bowed quickly, retreating instantly from the closet. He did not look back at Daphne, who stood clutching the Pyrope Salamander, a look of profound, desperate worry etched on her face.
She knew the return of the artifact would force her hand, shattering the delicate truce and empowering Cassian's arguments for war.
Kai fled the manor, leaving the political bomb in the hands of the only person he believed might act responsibly. His professional mission was complete.
As he walked away from the manor, Kai couldn't shake the feeling that he was being watched. He glanced around, but saw nothing. He shrugged it off and continued walking, his mind already racing with the next step in his plan.
The game was on, and Kai was ready to play. He had delivered the artifact, but he knew that this was just the beginning. The real challenge was yet to come, and he was eager to face it head-on.
With a quiet confidence, Kai disappeared into the shadows, leaving the manor and its inhabitants behind. The fate of the Pyrope family and the city hung in the balance, and Kai was ready to do whatever it took to ensure that the right people came out on top.
The sound of his footsteps echoed through the night, a reminder that in this game of politics and power, there was no room for hesitation. Kai had made his move, and now it was up to the players to respond.