But even as she sat there quietly eating and pretending that everything had returned to normal, she could feel it, the shift. It lingered in the silence that filled the kitchen, heavier now and more deliberate. It lingered in the way the servants kept their heads bowed, not daring to look up, as though even witnessing the aftermath would place them too close to something dangerous. It lingered in the way Nicolas remained where he stood, unmoving, his presence no longer just unsettling but watchful in a way that felt far more intentional.
And it lingered most of all in Mateo.
Because the way he looked at her had changed. It was no longer just the quiet observation of someone assigned to protect her. There was something else now, something sharper and more aware. As though he had begun to see her not simply as a responsibility, but as someone who had unknowingly stepped into something far larger than herself.
