Arthur inclined his head politely.

"Arthur. I was told there is a child here in need of a home."

Cynthia remained quiet for a moment.

Then she looked back at Trafalgar, and whatever question had been building in her seemed to take final form.

He had actually done it.

Trafalgar had left for what felt like no time at all, and now he had returned with a man who looked far too serious to be part of some careless decision. Arthur carried himself like someone used to handling orders, men, money, and problems that became worse when spoken about loudly.

Cynthia did not know whether that made her feel better.

"That was fast," she said.

Trafalgar answered as if the matter were simple. "I told you to give me a few hours."

"You barely used one."

"Efficient, then."

Cynthia gave him a look, but before she could answer, Sister Lunea came out from the side hall with a small stack of folded cloth in her arms. She stopped when she saw Arthur standing beside Trafalgar.

A second later, Alena appeared behind her.

Unlike Lunea, she did not look surprised for long. Her eyes moved from Arthur to Trafalgar, then back to Arthur again. That was enough for her to understand the shape of the situation, if not the full contents.

"So," Alena said, "you left and returned with a man."

Trafalgar replied without changing his face. "That is one way to describe it."

"A suspiciously fast one."

"I know many useful people."

Arthur’s mouth tightened slightly, though it did not quite become a smile.

Lunea placed the folded cloth on a nearby table and stepped closer. Her expression was softer than Alena’s, but also more cautious. She had spent too many years around children who had already lost enough to treat this lightly.

"Is this about Silas?"

"Yes," Trafalgar said.

Cynthia glanced at him. She had expected the answer, yet hearing it openly still changed the air.

Lunea looked at Arthur. "And you want to take him in?"

Arthur nodded. "If the child is willing, and if you judge me suitable after speaking with me."

That answer made Lunea pause.

Alena’s brows rose a little.

"Interesting," she said. "Most people who arrive with a great family name behind them start by assuming the door is already open."

"I am not here under my family name," Arthur replied. "Nor under his." He glanced toward Trafalgar with the restraint of someone choosing every word. "I came because Young Master Trafalgar believes the child needs a place where he can be cared for properly. If I accept that responsibility, it will be mine. I would not treat him like a favor being carried from one room to another."

For the first time, Cynthia’s expression eased slightly.

Lunea folded her hands in front of her. "Do you have a home?"

"In Euclid," Arthur said. "A proper residence, stable income, staff, and enough space for a child to grow without being crowded. I oversee matters there under Young Master Trafalgar’s authority."

Alena’s gaze sharpened with interest. "Euclid. That is not a small place to raise a child."

"No," Arthur said. "But it can be a protected one."

"Protected from what?" Lunea asked.

Trafalgar answered before Arthur could.

"From people who would take advantage of him."

That made both sisters turn toward him.

He did not add more.

Alena studied his face for a few breaths, and for once her teasing vanished. "You know something about Silas."

"I know enough to think leaving him here without the right guidance could become dangerous."

Lunea stiffened. "Dangerous how?"

"Not because he wants to hurt anyone," Trafalgar said. "That is not what I mean. But he is different. If that difference starts showing without anyone prepared to handle it, the damage could reach him first and the other children after."

Cynthia’s hands tightened at her sides.

She had suspected Trafalgar knew more than he had said. Now the suspicion had weight.

Alena looked toward the hallway that led to the room where Silas was sleeping. "Is he sick?"

"No."

"Possessed?"

"No."

"Marked?"

Trafalgar did not answer at once.

Arthur noticed the pause. So did Cynthia. Alena, obviously, noticed most of all.

Trafalgar eventually said, "Something like inherited."

That was vague enough to be irritating and serious enough to stop the questions from becoming casual.

Lunea breathed in slowly. "Trafalgar, I am grateful for everything you have done for this place. Truly. But we cannot hand a child over because someone says he needs to leave."

"I know," Trafalgar said.

Arthur stepped forward then, not past Trafalgar, but beside him. That detail mattered more than he probably intended. He did not stand behind the young Morgain like a tool waiting to be used. He stood as the person who would be judged.

"I will answer whatever you need," Arthur said. "My residence, my duties, my income, who lives in the household, what rooms the child would use, who would supervise him, what education he would receive. I can provide documents by evening and witnesses by tomorrow. If more visits are required, I will attend them."

Alena tilted her head. "You came prepared."

"No," Arthur replied. "I am adapting quickly."

That did make Alena smile.

"Honest, at least."

"Mostly," Trafalgar said.

Arthur gave him a side glance. "Young Master."

"What? I said mostly."

Cynthia looked between them and had the strange impression that this was normal for them.

Lunea, however, was still focused on the child. "And what about Silas himself? He has barely adjusted here. He spends most of his time alone. Today was one of the first times he smiled since arriving."

Arthur’s expression softened in a restrained way.

"Then I would not remove the orphanage from his life. If he comes with me, he can still visit. He can write. If he has people here he trusts, I will not sever that."

Cynthia finally spoke again.

"And if he refuses?"

Arthur turned to her.

"Then I do not take him."

That answer struck cleaner than anything else he had said.

Cynthia did not hide her surprise quickly enough. "You mean that?"

"Yes. A child who has already lost control over his life should not be dragged somewhere new because adults decided the room was better."

Alena gave a soft hum.

"Now that," she said, "is the first answer I actually like."

Lunea also seemed to breathe a little easier. She was not convinced yet, but the fear in her had lost some of its edge.

Trafalgar glanced toward Cynthia.

She was watching Arthur differently now.

Still cautious and protective. But no longer looking at him like some stranger Trafalgar had dragged in to solve a problem with money and authority.

Alena folded her arms. "I will speak plainly. We will not complete anything today."

"I expected that," Arthur said.

"But we can begin today," she continued. "Lunea will gather the records we have on Silas. I will speak with him when he wakes. You will provide everything you claimed you can provide. After that, we decide if this continues."

Arthur inclined his head. "That is fair."

Trafalgar looked at her. "Can the process be accelerated?"

"I understand your concern, Trafalgar," she said. "But even if we move quickly, we cannot treat Silas as if he were a package being moved from one house to another."

Trafalgar did not take offense. If anything, that answer made her seem more reliable.

"I know," he replied. "That is why I brought Arthur here instead of simply giving an order."

Lunea lowered her head slightly. "Then we will begin the process today. Not because we doubt your intentions, but because Silas deserves to be protected properly."

Arthur inclined his head. "That is all I ask."

Alena looked at Trafalgar for a moment longer, her expression calmer now, but there was something behind her eyes that said she had not missed the parts he was avoiding.

"You know more about him than you are saying," she said.

Trafalgar met her gaze.

"I do."

Cynthia glanced between them, but said nothing.

Alena did not press him in front of everyone. She simply gave a small nod, as if accepting that some truths had to be handled in the right room, with the right people, and not thrown into the middle of a hallway.

"Then I would like to speak with you later, Trafalgar. Privately."

Trafalgar answered without hesitation.

"That would be better."

For a moment, the conversation settled into something more fragile than agreement, but not refusal either. The process had not been approved. Silas had not been promised away. Even so, the first step had been taken, and for now, that was enough.

Then a small sound came from the hallway.

Cynthia turned first.

The door to the room had opened a little, and Silas stood there with the blanket half wrapped around his shoulders, hair messy from sleep, horns catching the warm light behind him. His eyes moved from Trafalgar to Arthur, then to the sisters.

His voice came out small.

"Am I leaving?"