I decided, very deliberately, to stop resisting.
It was not surrender. It only looked like it.
After everything i had observed, every adjustment Darius made without ever saying the word no, pushing blindly no longer made sense. The estate did not react the way a normal place would. It did not block me, did not punish me, did not confront me directly. It simply... adapted. Quietly. Efficiently. As if every move i made had already been anticipated and accounted for.
So if that was the case, then forcing another test would only lead me in circles.
This time, i would do the opposite.
I would give Darius exactly what he appeared to want.
When i stepped out that afternoon, my posture was composed, my movements measured and expression carefully neutral. The guards fell into place behind me as expected, their presence steady and unobtrusive. That part had not changed. It never did.
I acknowledged them with a brief glance and nothing more.
