Chapter 179: Letter and Pressure II
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"You are needed in the breakfast hall," Elena said.
Sekhmet raised one brow. "That serious?"
Elena’s lips tightened. "Young Miss Lily arrived early."
Sekhmet paused for half a breath.
"Alone?"
"With two mansion guards outside the gate," Elena replied. "And a face that says she either wants to smile at you or stab someone."
Sekhmet exhaled slowly. "That sounds normal."
Elena did not laugh. "There is more."
Sekhmet looked at her.
"She brought pastries," Elena said, as if reporting a military movement. "For you."
That made him blink once.
Lily rarely did anything by half. If she came with pastries, then she had a purpose.
Sekhmet nodded. "I’m coming."
He walked through the corridor with Elena behind him. The servants they passed lowered their heads and stepped aside. Dawn House was still waking, but the air inside the mansion carried more energy than usual.
Lily’s presence did that. She moved through places like color thrown over grey cloth.
When Sekhmet entered the breakfast hall, he saw her immediately.
She sat near the window, sunlight touching the side of her face. She wore a simple dress by noble standards, but on Lily even simple looked expensive. A polished box sat on the table in front of her. Her hands rested on top of it like she was guarding treasure.
She looked up the moment he entered. Her face brightened. Then, just for a second, the brightness cracked.
A tiny thing. A shadow behind the smile. It was gone so quickly most people would have missed it.
Sekhmet did not.
"Sekhmet," Lily said, standing.
"You’re early," he replied.
Lily lifted the pastry box slightly as if it explained everything. "I brought food. That means I am allowed to be early."
"That is not how rules work," Sekhmet said.
"It is exactly how my rules work," Lily replied.
Bat Bat, perched in a chair two seats away and pretending to practice lines on a writing board, gasped dramatically.
"Pastries," Bat Bat whispered. Then she looked at Sekhmet with betrayal. "Master, get pastries. Bat Bat get letters."
Elena’s voice arrived like a knife wrapped in silk.
"Bat Bat gets letters because Bat Bat cannot spell pastries."
Bat Bat lowered her head in tragic defeat.
Lily laughed. A real laugh this time. Warm. Easy. It made the room feel less like a house under pressure and more like the memory of something peaceful.
Sekhmet sat across from her. Elena moved to the side, directing servants with tiny glances.
Lily pushed the box toward him.
"Open it," she said.
Sekhmet looked at the box, then at her. "What is it?"
"Open it," Lily repeated.
He opened it.
Inside were neatly arranged pastries brushed with syrup and dusted with crushed sweet nuts. Rich. Fresh. Too expensive to be called casual.
Bat Bat leaned so far over her seat it was a miracle she did not fall.
"Master," Bat Bat whispered urgently, "that is like treasure."
Lily smiled smugly. "See. Even Bat Bat understands."
Sekhmet took one pastry and broke it in half. Steam escaped. He looked at Lily again.
"What do you want?"
Lily pressed one hand to her chest in fake outrage. "How cruel," she said. "What if I simply brought pastries because I care."
Sekhmet held her gaze.
Lily’s smile faded into something more real. Not sad. Not yet. Just less playful.
"I wanted to see you," she said.
The room was quiet for a breath.
Even Bat Bat sensed the shift and stopped pretending to lick sugar from the air.
Sekhmet tore off a small piece of pastry and tasted it. Sweet. Soft. Richer than anything he would have chosen for himself.
"You could have said that without pastries," he replied.
Lily’s eyes lowered briefly. "Maybe."
That same crack passed through her face again.
Sekhmet noticed it more clearly now. Something was wrong. He did not ask in front of the table. Not with servants moving. Not with Elena listening without appearing to listen. Not with Bat Bat existing like a small loud curse.
Instead he ate in silence for a minute. Lily watched him eat with the satisfaction of someone who had completed a mission successfully.
Then Mira entered. She did not rush.
Mira never rushed unless the world was on fire. She moved with controlled speed, notebook in hand, ink stains faint on her fingers. She stopped near Sekhmet, bowed first to him, then slightly to Lily, careful to show respect without pretending equality.
"Young master," Mira said. "The first account review is ready."
Lily’s eyes moved to her immediately.
Sekhmet saw the shift in her posture. Not open jealousy. Not exactly. But awareness. Mira was new. Capable. Close to Sekhmet’s work.
Lily had already seen Auri. The twins and Mira. Bat Bat. The maids. Dawn House had become crowded with women around him, and he knew Lily noticed every single one.
Sekhmet set down the pastry.
"Say it," he told Mira.
Mira opened the notebook.
"The shop is stable for now," she said. "The auction house is not. Sales are down. Supplier delays are increasing. Two payment routes were interrupted deliberately, not by accident."
Sekhmet’s eyes narrowed slightly. "Evidence?"
Mira nodded.
"Patterns," she replied. "The same third-party warehouse appears in three failed deliveries. The same broker name appears in two diverted shipments. Someone is applying pressure without showing their own seal."
Lily frowned. "Iron House."
Mira looked at her. "That is likely."
Lily folded her arms. "Likely means yes in a noble language."
Mira’s mouth moved by a fraction. The closest thing she gave was a smile.
"That is also likely," Mira said.
Bat Bat looked around dramatically.
"Everyone say likely," she whispered. "Nobody say yes."
Elena put a plate in front of Bat Bat.
"Eat your breakfast," Elena said.
Bat Bat stared at the plate. "This is not blood."
"It is bread," Elena replied. "Try surviving."
Sekhmet ignored them and focused on Mira.
"What about internal theft?" he asked.
Mira flipped a page.
"Confirmed," she said. "Small scale. Not enough to cripple the business. Enough to reveal disloyalty. Two clerks are skimming. One porter is likely selling schedule information. I need another day to prove which one."
Sekhmet leaned back slightly.
Good.
Mira was doing exactly what he needed. Quiet work. Sharp eyes. No wasted drama.
Lily watched him with that same strange expression now, half thoughtful, half wounded.
"You really are building an army," she murmured.
Sekhmet looked at her.
"An army would be expensive," he said.
Lily gave him a tired smile. "Then what is this?"
Sekhmet’s voice stayed calm.
"Structure," he replied.
Mira lowered her notebook slightly. "Do you want the full report in the study after breakfast?"
"Yes," Sekhmet said.
Mira bowed once more and withdrew.
Lily watched her go.
Then she looked back at Sekhmet and said, too lightly, "She is good."
Sekhmet nodded. "She is useful."
Lily’s mouth tightened by a fraction. "That sounds romantic."