By the time the house had settled into the pale brightness of late morning, the quiet that followed the wedding had already begun to change its texture. It was no longer the special silence of a day that had just finished being celebrated. It had become something more ordinary, more useful, almost domestic in the purest sense of the word. Children moved through the corridors with renewed energy. Staff drifted in and out of rooms with trays, reports, and the endless practical calm that kept the household upright. The flowers from yesterday were still everywhere, but now they had the strange, peaceful look of things that had completed their purpose and could afford to remain beautiful without being noticed.
Ren stood in the study doorway for a moment and looked at the scene before entering fully.
