Hearing Astria's words, the faint amusement playing across Len's lips deepened a fraction more. Withdrawing his fingers from his brow, he parted his lips, about to utter a response, when a sudden, firm strike resonated against the massive, heavy door.
Thud! Thud!
The sharp rap against the dense wood carved a distinct echo through the quietude of the morning. Len's words instantly locked within his throat.
The softness vanished from his features in a flash; his piercing eyes whipped around with lightning velocity, pinning straight onto the sealed panels where the sound had originated. His entire frame tightened, returning to its familiar state of absolute alertness.
From the opposite side of the threshold, a familiar voice cut through the air and drifted inside. It carried no trace of a shout or an elevated pitch; instead, it was a perfectly measured, conversational tone—the exact manner in which one normally addresses a companion.
"Len... are you awake?"
Eric's calm yet weighted voice filtered directly through the wooden planks into the depth of the chamber. Seated upon the mattress, Astria caught the sound and held her breath instantly.
In a single fragment of a second, the light-hearted, warm atmosphere of the room evaporated, leaving behind a stark, heavy silence and a sudden tension.
Hearing Eric's summons, Len closed his eyes for a fleeting second, anchoring his frame back into its familiar, unbothered composure. Stepping back smoothly from the edge of the mattress, he turned around without a single shred of haste.
He directed his measured strides toward the massive entrance. As he walked, he adjusted his pitch into a steady, conversational volume and sent his response filtering through the wood:
"I am coming out now."
His silent boots cleared the ebony table and halted right before the main door. Wrapping his long fingers around the heavy brass handle, Len smoothly disengaged the lock. The panels parted with a low, heavy creak, allowing the chilly air of the corridor to rush in and mingle with the rich fragrance of sandalwood inside.
Eric stood anchored at the threshold, appearing entirely alert. The moment the door opened, he advanced his heavy boots without a single hesitation, stepping a fraction inside the boundary of the chamber. A deep blend of suspense and curiosity rested within his gaze. "What exactly are you doing here?"
Eric inquired, pinning his eyes directly onto Len. Even as the query hung in the quiet air, his crimson pupils shifted with absolute precision, casting a single, piercing look toward the grand royal bed.
That brief, investigative gaze swept over Astria, who remained seated beneath the heavy layers of the blanket. Remarkably, Eric's eyes harbored neither a single tremor of anger nor any trace of hidden hatred; it was merely a calm, cool, and calculating look that he dropped onto her frame.
Altering his angle without shifting a single muscle on his face, he immediately redirected his deep gaze straight back onto Len's features.
Len's sharp instincts did not miss this subtle maneuver in the slightest. He became fully aware that Eric had just taken a fleeting fraction of a second to scan Astria's presence.
Yet, Len brought not a single word regarding it to his tongue, nor did any shadow of disturbance cross his calm visage.
Tilting his head slightly, he offered a quiet, reassuring glance back toward Astria. "Very well, I shall take my leave now," he uttered in a perfectly casual manner.
Immediately following those words, Len extended his left palm, tapping Eric's strong shoulder and arm with immense familiarity.
He secured his fingers around Eric's hand with a calculated pressure, subtly ensuring his companion forged no further steps into the room.
Squaring his tall silhouette, he guided Eric backward toward the vacant corridor, wearing a remarkably warm, innocent, and gentle smile across his lips—a deliberate mask completely detached from his usual stark authority.
"Come, let us go," Len murmured in an incredibly friendly, light-hearted tone, as if not a single tension lingered within the room, guiding him out as the heavy doors began to seal closed behind them.
The moment the heavy resonance of the sealing doors faded into the absolute silence of the room, the deceptive stillness holding Astria's frame dissolved completely.
Exhaling a sharp, withheld breath, she brushed away the heavy folds of the silken blanket in a single swift motion. Wasting not a fraction of a second, she emerged from the mattress with immense grace and stood perfectly upright upon the floor.
At this exact moment, the flustered blush that had scattered across her fair cheeks vanished entirely, as though it were merely a fleeting shadow cast by the dawn. The hesitation within her eyes and the chaotic panic across her features had completely evaporated.
Astria's countenance adapted right back into that familiar, unyielding regal dignity. Her lips held a firm stillness, and her features appeared completely calm and serious once more, anchoring her true presence.
Cutting through the chilly air of the chamber, she appeared entirely as a sovereign queen once more—one whose inner tempests never dared to surface.
Securing the hem of her silken attire, she directed her measured steps toward the corner of the room where the entrance of the royal bathhouse rested. However, while moving toward the bathhouse, Astria's gaze unexpectedly lingered upon the objects within the room.
Her steps faltered for a fleeting second near the ebony table standing by the sofa. Her deep, observant eyes dropped a single look onto the black-coal finished vessels resting there—where Len's empty tea cup remained settled, right beside the neatly arranged sweet delicacies he had left entirely untouched.
Beholding the empty frame and the sweets, a subtle, unreadable expression traced within her eyes before she instantly averted her gaze.
Forging ahead once more, she came to a halt directly before the intricately carved door of the royal bathhouse. Extending her hand, she wrapped her fingers firmly around the heavy brass handle.
With a calculated pressure, she disengaged the lock and nudged the heavy panel inward. The door parted soundlessly, and Astria stepped over the threshold, disappearing into the warm mist and rich aroma of sandalwood waiting inside.