Trafalgar stayed quiet after Darian finished speaking.

The mention of Icarus’s experimental site had not gone unnoticed. Quite the opposite. It hung there between them with enough weight to pull at his thoughts immediately. If Darian had truly found the place, there was a chance something had been left behind there. Notes. Residue. Failed attempts. Something tied to the intelligent void creature, or worse, something tied to what Icarus had managed to learn while carving into things that should never have been touched.

’Hm. There’s definitely something worth seeing there.’

He took another slow sip of the herbal tea before setting the cup down.

’But first, this.’

His gaze returned fully to Darian.

"I see," Trafalgar said. "Thanks for telling me. I am interested in that, especially if there’s a good chance the intelligent void creature survived and escaped after the battle." His tone remained steady, but the next line came with more weight. "You can show it to me later. Before that, I think we deal with the conflict of interest."

Darian inclined his head once. He had expected that answer.

"That’s what I thought you would say."

Trafalgar gave him a short look. "Start from the beginning."

Darian rested both hands on the table, fingers interlocked for a moment before separating again.

"You already know the broad version of it," he said. "Kaedor was used by Icarus against his will. The Sylvanel lost a great deal because of that. Sanctuaries were destroyed. Territory was damaged. People died. I’ve already compensated them for what could be compensated." His jaw tightened slightly. "Or at least, I began to."

Trafalgar said nothing. He simply listened.

Darian continued.

"But the Sylvanel are no longer satisfied with reparations alone. They’re using what happened as a reason to push harder into our internal affairs." He paused, choosing the next words carefully. "House Morgain’s position, on the other hand, is that things should remain more or less as they are now."

Trafalgar leaned back slightly.

"Meaning Morgain wants Thal’zar stable, obedient, and useful."

"Yes."

"And the Sylvanel want more than that."

Darian let out a faint breath through his nose. "Much more."

The room quieted around those words.

He did not rush after them. That, Trafalgar appreciated. Darian had learned to speak like someone carrying a house on his back. He no longer spilled everything simply because silence felt uncomfortable. 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

"What exactly are they asking for?" Trafalgar asked.

"More access," Darian said first. "More say in who gets placed where. More visibility into our resources. More rights to inspect, review, approve, delay." His expression hardened little by little as he went on. "They also want additional concessions beyond the agreed compensation. They frame it as caution. As responsibility. As the natural result of being the house most directly harmed by what happened under Kaedor."

"And Morgain?"

"They’ve been... less invasive." Darian’s voice stayed measured. "Their line is simple. Keep House Thal’zar standing. Keep it manageable and functioning. Do not choke what is already under control."

Trafalgar’s fingers tapped the arm of the chair once, lightly.

"So the real problem is the Sylvanel."

Darian did not answer immediately, but his silence confirmed enough on its own.

Trafalgar gave a short nod. "That’s what I thought."

Darian studied him for a moment and said, "I didn’t call you here to complain."

"I know."

"I called you because this can grow into something uglier if it isn’t handled properly." Darian’s posture remained straight, but there was an unmistakable tension in him now. "And because my loyalty is to you. Not to House Morgain. Not to House Sylvanel. To you."

Caelum remained standing behind Trafalgar without moving a muscle.

Even so, the room seemed to sharpen slightly after Darian said that aloud.

Trafalgar did not react with visible approval. He merely took the statement, weighed it, and kept going.

"You’re not wrong to tell me," he said. "And you’re also not wrong to feel the pressure. The Sylvanel were hit hard. That gives them moral ground. But moral ground and political greed are not the same thing."

Darian’s ears twitched faintly at that.

"That’s exactly it," he said. "If they asked for what was fair, I would not be saying any of this. But they’re starting to treat what happened under Kaedor as a door they can keep opening forever."

Trafalgar lowered his gaze slightly, not to avoid Darian, but because he was thinking more carefully now.

For the moment, House Thal’zar had no real room to resist openly. That much was obvious. Too weakened. Too watched. Too dependent on the current arrangement. But that did not mean the arrangement would stay like this forever. Houses rose and recovered. Relevance changed the tone of every negotiation. Once Thal’zar gained weight again, the chains around its wrists would stop feeling permanent.

’For now, he has to endure it.’

The thought stayed cold and clean.

’Later, when Thal’zar becomes important again, that’s when he starts breaking pieces off.’

He did not say it right away.

He let the room breathe.

Darian waited.

Caelum waited.

Only after another moment did Trafalgar speak.

"For now, you endure."

Darian did not flinch, but the answer clearly landed heavier than he wanted it to.

Trafalgar continued before he could misunderstand.

"I’m not saying you kneel. I’m saying you endure. There’s a difference." His voice stayed calm, almost dry. "Right now, you don’t have the strength to pull free without inviting both houses to tighten their grip. So you don’t try."

Darian listened without interrupting.

"You let the Sylvanel pull. You let them think they’re gaining ground. You keep House Thal’zar functioning, rebuilding, gathering relevance. Quietly and patiently." Trafalgar’s tone hardened a little. "And when Thal’zar has enough weight again, that’s when the conversation changes."

Darian’s gaze narrowed slightly. "You mean when we’re useful enough that they can’t treat us like a wounded beast anymore."

"Yeah."

Trafalgar reached for the cup again, more out of rhythm than thirst.

"When that time comes," he said, "you don’t try to break your chains in private. You make the issue public."

Darian stayed silent.

Trafalgar took another sip and went on.

"You take it to the Council."

That made Darian’s expression shift.

Trafalgar noticed it and kept speaking.

"If the Sylvanel try to overreach openly, and if Morgain lets it happen too far, the other five Great Families won’t like it. Not because they care about you. Don’t be naive." His mouth curved faintly without warmth. "They’ll react because they won’t tolerate two houses getting used to deciding the fate of a third whenever it suits them."

Darian leaned back slightly.

"I understand."

"Good."

He set the cup down.

"For now, you do not force a confrontation you can’t win. You hold the line. You give enough to avoid inviting punishment, but you don’t make their work easy. Let the Sylvanel tire themselves against your patience." His voice remained calm, but there was something colder under it now, something Darian recognized too well. "If they ask for small things, move slowly. If they ask for more access, drown them in procedure. If they ask for something that truly matters, make them drag it into the light themselves."

Darian watched him carefully.

"And if they ask for more than they have a right to?"

"Then they get nothing."

The answer came so plainly that it left no room around it.

A faint silence followed.

It was Caelum who finally broke it, his voice smooth and formal as always.

"I agree with the Young Master."

Darian’s attention shifted briefly toward him.

Caelum continued, "At your current stage, open defiance would be wasteful. Controlled delay is far more effective. Especially against a party that believes moral outrage entitles it to permanent access."

That line earned the faintest shift at the corner of Trafalgar’s mouth.

Darian exhaled slowly through his nose.

"So that is your answer."

"For now," Trafalgar said.

Darian nodded once. Not because he liked it, but because he understood it.

For the moment, that was enough.

And in the silence that followed, Trafalgar did exactly what he had done from the beginning.