María shuffled down the hallway, dragging her feet, with Aria following calmly behind like the workshop chaos had never happened.

  ‘Finally free…’ María thought with relief.

  The air was cool, and María still felt the sticky sweat on her neck from bolting after Hugo’s shout.

  “Let’s hit the kitchen, Aria!” she said, turning to her with a forced smile, though her hands shook a little.

  Obviously, Aria would never say no to grabbing a bite in the kitchen.

  Before they left the hallway, María’s eyes caught the earrings Aria had left on a table.

  And since Esmeria would be back soon…

  “Wait!” María screeched, scrambling to grab them with an awkward leap. “Put them on again, come on!”

  Aria looked at María with those light green eyes, cold as ever, and tilted her head just a bit.

  “I don’t need them,” Aria said, her flat voice slicing through the air.

  María clasped her hands, holding up the earrings with a pout.

  “Please, Aria! Just for today!” she whined, leaning toward her with shiny eyes.

  Aria let out a faint sigh, a dry sound, and held out a hand.

  “Give them to me,” Aria murmured, her expression unchanged.

  María squealed with joy, slipping them on her fast while clapping her hands.

  “There! They look perfect on you!” she shrieked, hopping once before grabbing Aria’s arm. “Come on, let’s go!”

  She dragged her to the kitchen, where the smell of stale bread hung in the air. María let go of Aria and dashed to rummage through a cabinet, pulling out a hunk of hard bread with a grimace.

  “Ugh, this is all we’ve got…” María grumbled.

  Had they run out of food supplies?

  ‘So weird…’ María thought, recalling the early days at the mansion when golems wasted food by the ton.

  Was this really all that was left?

  Aria took the bread, sitting in a chair with her back straight. Her light green eyes seemed duller than usual, and María frowned, biting into her piece with a crunch.

  “Hey, Aria,” María said, swallowing fast and wiping her mouth with her hand. “You ever think about making friends someday?”

  Aria paused mid-chew, turning her head to María with that icy calm.

  Her fingers held the bread loosely, and her eyes studied her for a moment before she spoke.

  “Why should I have them?” Aria asked, her monotone voice echoing in the kitchen like she’d just posed a riddle.

  María blinked, mouth half-open with a crumb dangling at the corner.

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  “Huh?” she blurted, leaning forward with her hands on the table.

  Her mind blanked, flipping somersaults as she tried to process the reply.

  ‘Wait, wait!’ María thought, clenching her fists against the wood. ‘What do I say? I don’t have friends now either!’

  María gulped, feeling cold sweat on her neck.

  ‘Doesn’t that make me a total hypocrite? No, hold on… I’ve been stuck here for years with her and that grumpy old man!’

  María shook her head fast, like she was chasing off panic, and raised a finger with a nervous grin.

  “W-wait, wait! You’re way younger than me!” María said, her voice pitching up as she waved her hands. “When I was your age, I had friends! Sure I did! They’d ask me stuff, like… uh… convincing my dad to give their relatives jobs at my family’s company!”

  María nodded quickly, convincing herself as her eyes sparkled.

  ‘And when I retire from this place with all the cash those vampires are gonna give me, making friends will be a piece of cake!’ she thought happily to herself.

  María got lost in her head, picturing herself surrounded by laughing girls while she waved a sack of coins.

  ‘Yeah, I’ll have tons of friends!’ María thought, her grin widening as she saw herself in a tavern, spinning tales of surviving Hugo.

  But before she could keep daydreaming, Aria’s cold voice snapped her out of it.

  “But what’s a friend good for?” Aria asked, taking another bite of bread with that unshakable calm.

  María flinched, nearly dropping her bread to the floor.

  “Huh! What?” she yelped, spinning to her with her hands on her hips.

  María swallowed hard, scratching her head as she stammered.

  “W-well… a friend… helps you ease your worries!” María said, raising a finger like she’d just invented something brilliant. “You tell them your problems, and you feel better!”

  Aria tilted her head a bit more, her eyes locking onto María like she was dissecting her.

  “Doesn’t that increase the chance my weaknesses get leaked?” Aria asked, her tone so dry María felt a chill.

  Her fingers set the bread on the table, and she crossed her arms with a crisp move.

  María’s mouth opened, then shut, blinking fast.

  “N-no!” she shrieked, flailing her hands wildly. “A real friend keeps secrets! That’s what a good friend does!” Her voice came out louder than she meant, and she stepped toward Aria with a shaky smile.

  Aria didn’t blink.

  “They could kidnap her and force it out,” Aria said, her flat voice cutting the air like a blade.

  Her eyes stayed on María, and she raised an eyebrow just a touch, like she expected a logical answer.

  María stumbled back, her face paling.

  “W-what?!” María shouted, clutching her head. “No, no, no! You fix that by making powerful friends!” she exclaimed, raising her fists with a spark of desperation. “Like princesses or mages! Girls who’re well-protected!”

  María nodded fast, grinning like she’d just solved everything.

  Aria tilted her head to the other side, her eyes narrowing slightly.

  “The risk’s still there. It just drops to a lower percentage,” Aria replied, her tone cold and exact, like she was calculating in her head. She took another bite of bread, chewing slowly while María gaped at her.

  “Hey!” María screeched, pointing at her with a trembling finger. “Why’re you talking all percentages now?” Her voice hit a high pitch, and she crossed her arms, frowning like she’d been insulted.

  Aria swallowed her bread before answering, her face still.

  “Hugo suggested it,” Aria replied flatly. “He said it helps me make decisions with a higher chance of success.”

  María blinked, scratching her cheek with a finger.

  “Uh… well, that makes sense,” María mumbled, shrugging. “They’re into that weird research and all…”

  But then she shot up a finger, leaning toward Aria with a grin.

  “But hey! For normal chats, talk like a kid your age! No percentage stuff! That’s how you make friends easy, see?”

  Aria stared at her for a second, unblinking.

  “Why do you keep pushing that?” Aria asked, her cold voice slicing through as always.

  Her hands rested on the table, and she tilted her head just a bit, waiting.

  María grinned wider, clasping her hands with an odd gleam in her eyes.

  “Trust me, Aria! Friends are a huge help for your future!” María said, her tone rising as she waved a fist. “You just gotta learn to pick the good ones from the bad! It’s easy!”

  Aria stayed silent, watching María with that icy calm.

  Then, without a flicker of expression, she spoke.

  “So where are your friends?” Her voice came out dry, precise, like she’d just set a trap.

  María froze, her smile stuck on her face.

  ‘SHIT!’ she thought, sweat racing down her neck.

  Her hands shook for a second, and she gulped hard as her eyes darted around the kitchen.

  “T-that… that’s confidential!” she squeaked, raising a finger with a nervous laugh. “Don’t worry about me, Aria! You just make friends and call it good!”

  Aria blinked once, staring at her with those light green eyes that seemed to pierce through, but she didn’t say another word.