"…Fine."
I blinked. "Huh?"
Juliana gave me a look so exasperated like repeating herself was physically painful.
She dragged out each syllable with the grace of a blade being drawn slow. "I said… fine."
Woah.
Just like that?
I honestly thought she'd refuse.
In fact, I'd even prepared a few more bargaining chips in case she did — a generous handful of Essence Stones, maybe even some money to sweeten the deal.
But she simply… accepted?
Huh.
Maybe I was overprepared.
Or maybe she was planning something.
Totally possible.
Not logical, of course. Because I was giving her everything she wanted. But logic rarely mattered to someone unhinged like Juliana.
While I was still caught in that spiral of thought, her voice reached me — raspy, almost fragile, yet full of that same unyielding resolve. "But can I ask why?"
I tilted my head slightly in surprise. "Why what?"
