"MIKAAAAAA—!!"

My voice echoed through the entire estate like a distress signal.

Right on cue—

Knock knock.

Soren sighed softly, like he already knew where this was going. "...Really? You can’t win so you called someone else?"

I turned my head away from him.

You won’t let me go to the capital? I won’t talk to you then.

The door opened.

Mikael stepped in, composed as always—but paused the moment he took in the scene.

He blinked multiple times as he took in the scene.

Me—half sprawled, actively trying to shove Soren away with all the strength I could muster.

Soren—completely unbothered, one arm around me like a steel trap and my tail still very much held hostage in his other hand.

"..."

His brow twitched, almost rising, but years of professionalism kicked in and forced it back down.

"Did I arrive at a bad time?" he asked carefully.

"NO! HELP—!" I nodded furiously, reaching out like a victim in a dramatic rescue scene.

"Yes," Soren said at the exact same time.

Mikael stood there, probably reevaluating his life choices right now.

"...I see," he said finally.

Do you really?

Because I was suffering.

Emotionally.

Physically.

Financially—soon, if this man keeps refusing me.

"Master," Mikael continued calmly, stepping further inside, "your hold appears... excessive."

"It’s necessary," Soren replied without missing a beat.

Necessary?

For what?

Kidnapping?

"MIKA!" I pointed at my tail with deep betrayal in my eyes then wrote on my OmniSync. "HE HAS NO RESPECT FOR BOUNDARIES!!"

"...That is attached to her, Master," Mikael added, ever helpful.

"I’m aware."

"I don’t think you are!" I snapped.

Soren glanced at me, completely calm. "You’re so hyped up this early."

"BECAUSE I’M BEING HELD CAPTIVE!"

"You’re being held," he corrected.

"THAT’S THE SAME THING!"

"It’s not."

"It IS!"

"...It isn’t."

"IT IS!"

"...No."

"YES!"

"...No."

"YES!"

Mikael slowly raised a hand.

"...Perhaps," he said carefully, "we should de-escalate—"

"HE STARTED IT!" I pointed.

"She escalated," Soren countered.

"I WILL ESCALATE MORE!"

"I don’t doubt that."

Mikael closed his eyes for a brief moment. He looked like a man silently asking for strength.

When he opened them again, he looked at Soren. "...Master, if I may—"

"You may not."

"...I haven’t said anything yet."

"You’re about to."

Mikael paused then, very professionally turned to me. "I’m sorry, Miss Blanca," he said, not sorry at all, "but I don’t want to lose my job."

Useless.

Absolutely useless.

I stared at him in betrayal.

Fine. If Mikael was a lost cause then there was only one person left.

I took a deep breath. "AGATHAAAAAA—!!"

Soren raised a brow, clearly entertained. "What makes you think Agatha could help you?"

I didn’t even look at him.

I refused.

This was no longer a conversation.

This was war.

I continued struggling, pushing at his arm, trying to pry his grip off like my life depended on it.

Knock knock.

Right on time.

The door opened, Agatha stepped in and immediately froze.

...

..

.

"My Lady...?" she said carefully as her gaze moved slowly from me who was half trapped, half fighting for my dignity.

To Soren who was calm, composed and committing crimes. "Master...?"

And finally to Mikael, standing there like a spectator in a live drama. "...Even you, Mikael?"

"I was asked for help," Mikael explained smoothly, "but as you can see... Master is still Master."

’Coward.’

"AGATHA HELP!" I shouted, reaching out like I was being dragged into the abyss.

"My Lady—" Agatha stepped forward immediately.

’Finally, someone who can help—’

"Take one more step," Soren said calmly, "and I’ll fire you right away."

Agatha froze mid-step. "I—I’m sorry, My Lady," she said, bowing her head slightly.

"AGATHA!" I wailed like a betrayed child. "N-NOT Y-YOU TOO!"

Mikael finally stepped forward, as if his patience had quietly packed its bags and left five minutes ago.

"Master, please release the lady."

"No."

That’s when Mikael’s smile changed. It changed into, ’ I’m about to win this using words alone’ smile.

"May I remind you," he said smoothly, "that she is still a guest staying here. Temporarily."

He gave Soren a very specific look.

The kind that didn’t need words but somehow said everything.

’She’s not yours... So why are you acting like she is?’

Soren froze just for a second as he stared back at him, something unspoken passing between them.

Then—

"Tsk," he clicked his tongue softly and let go.

’Wait, hold on. What did Mikael’s look mean?’

But those questions were immediately forgotten because—

’FREEDOM.’

My brain shut down all higher thinking functions the moment I was released.

I rolled away instantly like a survivor escaping a disaster scene, clutching my tail protectively like it had just gone through emotional trauma.

Soren looked down at me, unimpressed as ever. "You’re so dramatic."

I glared at him with all the resentment I could physically manifest, then grabbed my OmniSync and typed with aggressive intent:

"I won’t talk to you."

Soren smirked. "Technically, you’re still talking to me."

"..."

Clenching my teeth, I turned my back on him with the dignity of someone who had just lost an argument but refused to admit it, then marched straight to Agatha.

"Breakfast."

"Of course, My Lady," she said, immediately scooping me up. "Where would you like to eat? The workroom or—"

Soren stood up, walked over, and snatched me away. "We’ll be eating at the dining area."

"—Yes, Master," Mikael and Agatha replied while bowing in perfect sync.

I rolled my eyes at Soren. Struggling was clearly pointless at this stage, so I went limp in his arms and focused on my OmniSync instead.

The walk to the dining area was silent.

Well...

It should’ve been silent.

But unfortunately, Soren had absolutely no awareness of atmosphere, tension, or the concept of being ignored.

"...Still not talking to me?"

Silence.

"...That won’t last."

Silence.

"...You always talk."

Silence.

I ignored him with professional dedication, fully locked into my OmniSync like my pride depended on it—

Because it did.

I was in the middle of an intense match of:

"Call of Duty: Emotional Damage Warfare."

A battlefield where skill wasn’t enough, you also had to survive psychological attacks, and I was currently losing both.

My fingers tapped rapidly, eyes narrowed in full concentration but sadly, I couldn’t even trash talk back because all I could say was—

"NYANG."

Useless.

Completely useless.

"...Are you ignoring me for a game?" Soren asked, sounding mildly offended now.

I didn’t even blink when a loud explosion echoed from my device.

My character dropped.

Again.

"..."

I stiffened.

No.

No, no, no—

Not him again.

I leaned forward slightly, eyes narrowing further as I read the name on the screen.

Username: NoScopeNinja

I glared irritably at Soren for absolutely no logical reason, then immediately refocused on the game.

If he hadn’t been talking, If he hadn’t been breathing near me, I could’ve knifed this guy already.

"...You’re losing, aren’t you?"

Right on cue—

Bang!

My character got sniped again.

A message popped up.]

[NoScopeNinja: LOL Noob]

[NoScopeNinja: watch replay]

[NoScopeNinja: u got sniped w/ no scope LOL]

My eye twitched as I gripped my OmniSync tighter.

This was no longer a game.

This was a personal vendetta.

As soon as my character respawned, I charged forward with the determination of someone who had already lost dignity and was now fighting for revenge.

BANG!

Only for me to drop dead again.

[NoScopeNinja: again? Hahaha!]

[NoScopeNinja: uninstall]

[NoScopeNinja: so pathetic]

"NYANG!"

Translation: DAMN IT!

"I can’t believe you’re talking because of a game," Soren scoffed.

Silence.

I refused to acknowledge him. As far as I know, he didn’t exist, he was air, and he was irrelevant.

Unlike this menace on my screen.

Respawn.

This time, I played smart. I crouched, hid in the corner, and waited for an enemy to pass by.

A shadow passed by.

That’s when I lunged, tapping the knife button repeatedly like sheer determination would somehow fix my aim but I missed then—

BANG!

[NoScopeNinja: bro tried]

[NoScopeNinja: this is sad]

Something inside me snapped.

I calmly open the chat box and typed every single curse word I knew in alphabetical letter and hit send.

A notification popped up.

[You have been banned from this match

Reason: Poor performance.]

"..." I stared at the screen dumbfoundedly as the match kicked me back to the home screen like I had just been personally rejected by the system itself.

A small notification blinked.

A message.

From him.

I opened it.

NoScopeNinja: You got kicked out?

NoScopeNinja: damn that just shows how noob you are

NoScopeNinja: practice more before rank hahaha

I didn’t manage to reply because at that exact moment, Soren set me down on a chair.

I looked around me. We were already in the dining area. When did we even get here?

One of the maid placed a plate of steak in front of me.

It was perfectly cooked, beautiful, expensive, and completely wasted on someone whose appetite had just been executed.

Why?

Because of two individuals who shall not be named—one a professional tail-captor and the other, a digital sniper menace—who had successfully ruined my entire morning.

I slowly picked up my utensil and—

STAB!

The knife pierced through the steak with unnecessary force.

STAB!

STAB!

Each strike fueled by irritation, humiliation, and the memory of "LOL noob."

The entire room flinched. The servants paused mid-motion, Agatha subtly stepping back, and Mikael who, smiled wider, as if he’s happy to see me in a bad mood.

"Blanca," Soren tried to catch my attention.

STAB!

"Blanca."

STAB!

"You really won’t talk to me?"

STAB!

"Are you really gonna murder that already dead steak?"

STAB!

STAB!

STAB!

"I guess we’re not going to the capital then," Soren said casually.

My knife froze mid-air.

’Capital?’

’Did I hear that right?’

My ears flicked then I moved so fast, jumping onto the table, and appearing right beside him like a summoned entity of suspiciously restored good mood.

"Nyang?"

Translation: We’re really going?

He glanced at me, unimpressed. "So you’re in the mood to talk right now?"

I nodded aggressively with full emotional recovery.

Soren studied me for a moment, clearly aware something was off. "...That was fast."

I didn’t even hesitate as I quickly typed on my OmniSync: "I forgive you."

"...You were just trying to stab your breakfast."

"Growth."

"...In under five seconds."

"I reflected."

"...On what?"

"My behavior."

"...And?"

"I was right but I choose peace."

"..." He stared at me long and hard. Like he was trying to see through my soul.

Well jokes on him, my soul was currently busy planning ’Operation: Coincidentally Meet Gawain.’

"...Fine," Soren said at last. "We’ll go."

Without warning, he extended his fork toward me like some kind of offering to a very ungrateful deity. A perfectly stabbed piece of steak hovered in front of my face.

I didn’t even hesitate as I quickly leaned forward and bit it off the fork like I hadn’t just committed emotional damage against my steak five minutes ago. 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

He raised a brow. "So you finally got your appetite back, huh?"

I nodded enthusiastically, chewing with full commitment as I opened my mouth again, waiting for him to feed me.

He glanced down at my untouched plate. "Why don’t you eat your steak then?"

I shook my head. ’How could I?’

How could I, after everything we’d been through? After I’d personally attacked that steak—stabbed it repeatedly, betrayed its trust, ruined its structural integrity?

I could not simply eat it like nothing happened. I have standards and certainly, I have guilt.

He stared at me for a long second, probably reconsidering every life choice that led him here.

Then he sighed but he was smiling.

And, because he clearly had more patience than I deserved, he cut another piece, lifted the fork, and fed me again like this was his burden in life now.

I accepted it with zero shame.

As long as he kept feeding me, I was more than willing to forgive him.