Mark stayed quiet as he listened to her, and little by little the warmth of his smile faded, giving way to a far more serious expression.
"You don't have to worry about that…" he said after a few seconds of silence. "Things will continue exactly as planned."
"I'm glad to hear that."
"The only difference is that you won't be coming with us anymore."
"…What?"
Rose looked at him with her eyes slightly wide, as if she wasn't sure she had heard correctly.
"I'll take Yuki in your place," Mark explained calmly. "She can handle any threat that comes up on the way, and she's discreet enough that we can travel without drawing attention… While you stay in the palace, with the others."
Rose frowned and pulled back from him.
"Wait a moment… Didn't you just say, literally one second ago, that things would continue exactly the same as before?"
