Hartley... didn’t say yes.
In fact, if anything, the old butler seemed even more determined to keep his word. No matter how many times Doctor Vale insisted, Hartley refused to budge. His answer remained the same each time, delivered in that maddeningly calm voice that made Neria want to scream.
"No."
By the fifth refusal, Neria thought she might actually snap.
She had spent an entire week staring at those gardens from her window, watching servants move freely through them while she remained confined to the same four walls. She had played obedient, behaved herself, trying to convince Darian that she was far less dangerous than she actually was.
Yet somehow, she was still exactly where she had started.
Then Doctor Vale suddenly reached for her hand and helped her to her feet.
"It’s just the gardens," he said, giving Hartley an exasperated look as he began pulling Neria toward the door. "The Duke will understand."
Neria barely had time to hide her surprise before she was being led across the room. Her fingers instinctively tightened around the shell necklace resting against her chest as she glanced over her shoulder.
Hartley hadn’t moved.
The old butler stood near the door with his hands clasped behind his back, his expression as unreadable as ever. But there was something in his eyes now that made Neria hesitate.
Suspicion?
No.
She couldn’t afford that.
If anything, Hartley was a far better ally than she had initially realized. He was, in his own way, the second strongest figure in the estate, and from what Neria had observed, the Grand Duke actually trusted him to let him watch her. That alone made him useful.
The Grand Duke listened to Hartley.
Neria couldn’t waste that.
Still, she wasn’t about to let such a clear opportunity slip through her fingers. She had spent another week trapped inside these walls, watching the gardens from a distance until the sight of them had become almost cruel. She wasn’t sure how much longer she could endure being confined to the same rooms without losing what little patience she had left.
But if Hartley was the one standing between her and the garden, then she needed to find a way to make him say yes.
Neria suddenly stopped walking.
Doctor Vale took another step before realizing she was no longer following. He turned around, his brows drawing together in confusion.
"Neria?"
She didn’t answer.
Instead, she lowered her head, allowing her shoulders to tremble slightly. She let her fingers tighten around the shell necklace at her throat as her eyes began to water.
One tear slipped down her cheek.
Then another.
Doctor Vale’s expression changed almost immediately. The confusion vanished, replaced by genuine concern as he stared at her. "Neria?"
Fiona was beside her within seconds.
"Nerry...?" she asked softly, her voice filled with concern.
The girl immediately moved between Neria and the physician, gently taking her by the arm and pulling her a little closer.
Neria lowered her face, letting another tear roll down her cheek.
She had expected Fiona to worry.
Doctor Vale, perhaps...
But judging by the way Hartley had gone completely still behind them, even he hadn’t expected this.
Neria almost smiled.
So fake tears worked on everyone?
She had to choose her words carefully. Too much desperation would make the whole thing seem suspicious, but too little would defeat the purpose. Neria lowered her gaze, allowing her lips to tremble slightly as she spoke.
"I just don’t want to upset anyone..." Her voice came out soft and unsteady, each word carrying just enough hesitation to make her sound as though she were genuinely afraid of causing trouble.
Doctor Vale immediately stepped forward, his expression softening. "You’re not upsetting anyone."
Fiona nodded in agreement, gently rubbing Neria’s arm as though trying to comfort her. "Of course not, Nerry. It’s only the garden."
Both of them eventually looked toward the butler.
Hartley hadn’t said anything.
He stood where he was, watching Neria’s trembling form in Fiona’s arms with the same unreadable expression he’d worn since entering the room. But Neria could feel his gaze lingering on her. She kept her face lowered, refusing to look at him directly.
She needed him to believe it.
For several long seconds, the room remained quiet.
Then Hartley released a slow, reluctant sigh. "Fine," he said at last. "Just for the test."
Neria’s heart nearly leapt out of her chest.
She quickly hid the smile threatening to spread across her lips by pressing her face against Fiona’s shoulder.
.
.
.
Neria quickly learned that the gardens were on the eastern side of the estate. Her eyes roamed over everything as they walked, taking in every corridor, doorway, staircase, and turn they passed, but she made sure not to look too curious.
She had to appear fascinated, not suspicious. Curious enough for a Calypso who had finally been allowed out of the room that had imprisoned her for weeks, but not curious enough to make anyone wonder why she seemed more interested in the estate than the gardens.
Fiona and Doctor Vale walked beside her while Hartley and several guards followed a few steps behind. Neria could still feel the old butler’s eyes on her, following nearly every movement she made.
He didn’t completely trust her, and she couldn’t blame him. After all, she had given him plenty of reasons not to.
But for Neria, this was enough.
She had gotten outside. The rest of his trust could come another day.
Then the gardens finally came into view.
Her steps quickened instinctively, and she had to force herself not to run ahead of everyone.
After weeks of being confined inside, the sight of so much open space nearly overwhelmed her. The morning sun touched her skin for the first time in what felt like forever, warm and inviting as it illuminated the rich brown of her skin. She closed her eyes for a brief moment, allowing the warmth to settle over her face.
It wasn’t the sun she was used to beneath the sea, filtered through layers of blue water, but it was still sunlight.
And she had missed it.
The gardens smelled almost exactly as she remembered from her first visit with Fiona. Neria couldn’t quite describe the scent. It was clean and fresh.
She breathed it in slowly.
For once, she didn’t feel like she was trapped.
As they continued along the stone path, several servants crossed their way. They immediately stepped aside and bowed to Hartley, but their eyes kept drifting toward Neria. Some stared openly, while others whispered quietly to one another when they thought she wasn’t listening.
Neria pretended not to notice. She had become accustomed to being stared at.
"Okay, Neria..." Doctor Vale’s voice pulled her from her thoughts. "Does your eyes hurt?"
Neria blinked.
Oh.
Right.
Her eyes!
They were supposed to be here for that.
She had completely forgotten.
Mostly because that wasn’t the reason she was here at all.
Her gaze wandered toward the estate rising beyond the gardens, its towering walls and endless windows stretching farther than she had been able to see from her room. She had finally gotten the chance to see the place properly, and now she was realizing just how much of it she still hadn’t explored.
Fiona had been right when she’d told her the estate was huge. Neria had thought she was exaggerating.
She wasn’t.
Neria quietly decided she owed Fiona an apology. Not that she was going to admit it anytime soon.
Neria smiled at the doctor, keeping her expression pleasant as she answered.
"No... it doesn’t hurt."
The man smiled back, seemingly satisfied with her answer. "Good. Now take off the spectacles and let’s see if it hurts without them."
Neria did as she was told, carefully removing the spectacles from her face.
The world immediately softened around the edges.
The gardens blurred into patches of green and color, while the figures standing around her became little more than silhouettes. Hartley and the guards were still watching her, their presence obvious even through her impaired vision.
Neria squinted slightly as the familiar blue haze returned, but she could still make out their general shapes.
"It just makes me uncomfortable," she told the doctor.
She couldn’t see his expression clearly, but she heard him hum thoughtfully.
A moment later, his blurred figure moved toward Hartley and the guards. Neria tilted her head slightly, listening as their voices drifted toward her through the morning air.
She caught only a few words.
"...adjusting..."
"...eye drops..."
She didn’t bother trying to follow the rest.
Her mind was already racing with other thoughts.
She had managed to get outside, just as she’d planned, but this wasn’t even the beginning of what she intended to do. Still, it was a step. A small one, perhaps, but a step closer to freedom.
The collar was still around her neck. She still had no idea how to get beyond the estate’s walls, and there were guards watching nearly every movement she made. But she had finally made it out of that room.
That mattered.
She needed time.
Time to learn the estate and everyone in it.
And eventually, she would find a way back to the sea.
She would.
Neria stepped back slightly and reached for her spectacles, preparing to put them on again.
She barely had time to lift them before someone suddenly bumped into her. The spectacles slipped from her fingers and fell onto the stone path.
She froze.
A shadow loomed over her.
"Oh..." a voice said, amusement dripping from every word. "So this is the Calypso."