Breakfast

Knock, knock, knock.

Shadow raised her head from the mountain of paperwork.

“Enter.”

“This is Marquis Idham.”

Shadow’s pen halted. She put down the pen on the table and interlocked her fingers together and propped her chin on top of it, smiling tirelessly while waiting for the man to enter her temporary office.

The marquis entered with yesterday’s clothes and a haggard face. Yet, a professional smile was crafted on his lips.

The awkward air immediately hung around the atmosphere. Shadow was smiling, and so was Idham.

“Good morning, Marquis Idham.”

Idham bent his head, “good morning, Your Holiness.”

“What do I owe you so early in the morning, Your Grace?”

“The forest, Your Holiness.”

Shadow tilted her head and drummed her borrowed desk that she brought personally from Kamarul’s office. “Ah, those teachers.”

His vein popped on his forehead, gritting his teeth. “They are not our teachers anymore. Your Holiness. They're traitors.”

Shadow scoffed as she walked up to the knee-length sleeve