The night over Hemrallt was clear and quiet, the manor lights glowing warmly below them while the sky stretched dark and wide overhead.

Yoshiro rested his arms against the balcony railing, looking up for a moment before glancing back at Alessia, who stood tucked close at his side, one hand looped around his arm as if she had every right to keep him there.

Well, she did.

“How was today?” she asked at last.

Yoshiro let out a small chuckle. “Full of surprises.”

She looked up at him. “That bad?”

“No,” he said, shaking his head. “Not as nerve-wracking as I thought it’d be.”

That made her smile, small and pleased and terribly soft around the edges.

“I’m glad,” she said. “It was nice seeing you get along with Mother dearest.”

Yoshiro huffed a laugh. “I’m still not sure which part surprised me more. Her taking a liking to me, or how long she kept me.”

Alessia’s fingers tightened just slightly around his sleeve. “Yes, well. She has had your attention since the afternoon.”

He turned his head, amused. “Are you sulking?”

“I am reclaiming what is mine.”

The answer came so smoothly that he had no choice but to laugh again, quieter this time. But the warmth of it stayed with him, settling somewhere low in his chest. Beside him, Alessia only leaned a little closer, resting more of her weight against his arm as though pleased with herself.

For a while, they said nothing.

It was easy, standing there with her. The cool air, the hush of the night, the distant lights below. Yoshiro tilted his face up toward the stars again, and from beside him, Alessia made a faint sound.

“There,” she murmured. “You’re doing it again.”

“Doing what?”

“That look you get whenever the sky distracts you.”

He smiled. “Can you blame me?”