'Lord Hayatobi? I thought he said he would be heading out?' Elizabeth thought in mild confusion, her hand instinctively twitching toward the hilt of her hidden blade before she recognized the silver-haired figure descending from the moonlit sky.
"Master teacher, why are you here so late? Are you also here to admire the flowers?" Mirabella asked. Her voice was flat, devoid of the reverence usually afforded to the strongest man in the empire. She didn't stand up or adjust her posture; she simply sat there on the marble bench, petting Cupcake as if the Dragon Lord were a mere gardener.
Hayatobi's boots touched the stone path with a soft thud. He ignored the barb and moved his gaze toward the garden gate where Carl and Grace had just exited.
"I saw everything that happened... I didn't know you valued your subordinates," he said, his silver eyes turning back to Mirabella:
