The counter was higher than she could comfortably reach, even with the stool. She had to strain to crack the egg into the glass.


    “Oh come on, you got eggshells in there, you dumb bitch!” her father had shouted. “Can’t you do anything right! Get a new glass and start over.”


    Eva, her hand covered in egg, carefully got down and moved the stool back over to the other cabinet. With her father still grumbling at her from his seat at the kitchen table, Eva climbed back up again, and she reached up and up, trying to get another drinking glass. Her finger just brushed against the glass when she felt the stool shift out from under her and she fell and—


    where!?”


    <hr>


    <div>


    I shouldn’t have paid her anything, he thought to himself. Corvina, towards the Saintess… how ridiculous. Besides, Corvina and Sebastian have habitually avoided each other for years. Everything about this supposed conversation the Baroness claims to have overheard is implausible at best.


    I don’t want to see it,” said Marshal. “It’s disgusting.”


    care what you think! If you don’t want to see it, don’t look then!” said Sebastian, turning to go. “Now if you’ll excuse me—”


    should care what I think,” he hissed. “I could tell your father that you—”


    try telling the Emperor what his precious only son and heir gets up to in his bedroom. Let’s see what he does to you for trying to make up that kind of slander, shall we?”


    shares his blood,” said Sebastian. “I’m now confident that I know how that would play out. After all, Corvina told me…” Sebastian trailed off, staring into the distance, his expression a little haunted.


    you can’t blackmail me anymore. Now go back to your running around the dirt with your friends or whatever it is you do. I don’t want to look at your face right now.”


    both of these unfortunate situations.