Bastián summoned me just after sunrise.
The estate had barely woken yet. Most of the lower halls still sat in shadow, quiet except for guards changing positions and the distant sound of staff preparing breakfast downstairs. I found him in the operations room near the eastern wing, standing over a territorial map with one hand braced against the table.
He didn’t look up immediately when I entered; that alone told me something was wrong.
Usually, Bastián tracked every movement in a room the second someone stepped inside it. Today, he kept his eyes on the map for one extra second before finally lifting his gaze toward me.
It was really cold, controlled, and unreadable, making the makeup stain from yesterday flash briefly in my mind.
I forced my expression to be neutral. “You sent for me.
