"As you know, Your Highness, I am the son of a duke," Lucius began, his voice steady yet carrying an undercurrent of hesitation. He removed his glasses, carefully setting them aside as if they were a shield he no longer needed. "When I was younger, my mother and father often went out, leaving me in the care of a maid—a nanny."
'I already know this story,' Florian thought, though he kept his expression neutral, pretending to hear it for the first time. The memory of what had just almost happened still lingered in his mind, alongside the confusion of seeing a memory from the original Florian that hadn't yet come to pass.
