Seraphine had always been like this... fearless with her words and unafraid to cross boundaries others wouldn't even approach. But more than that, she was intelligent. Among his three daughters, she stood out as the most perceptive, the most capable of seeing through layers that others would never even notice.
She understood him in ways that very few ever could.
"You guessed correctly," Julian admitted after a moment, his laughter softening into a quiet chuckle. There was no point denying it.
"But you should remember one thing," he continued, his tone shifting slightly, becoming more measured. "Everything I've done… it's all for the sake of gathering information. Nothing more."
The lie came effortlessly, as if he had rehearsed it countless times before. But even as the words left his lips, Julian was fully aware that Seraphine would not believe him... not even for a second. She was far too cunning to go with that.
