She stared at me but didn’t move.
Her gaze seemed softer; I sensed no anger in her expression.
I was free to move, and for the first time, I felt at ease.
But she didn’t say a word.

I tried to break the silence.

"Was the meal good...?"

« Was the meal good… seriously? Don’t you have anything better to say… » I asked myself.

"You're not running away...?" she asked.
"No," I replied calmly.

She approached slowly, with the caution someone uses when approaching a wild animal — as if she feared I would flee at the slightest sudden movement.
I turned toward the stars.

"The view is beautiful from here. You should enjoy it more often, Akame..."

"Hm… You know my name. What’s yours?" She tilted her head slightly, trying to catch my gaze.

“Hisa… My name is Hisa.”
“And how long have you been near me, Hisa…?”
“A very long time…”
“Why?”

I understood why she was asking. But answering those questions was difficult.
I wasn’t going to tell her I came from another world and was here to observe love stories… She would think I was insane.
And honestly… what a twisted reason. Why did I have to be seen like this?

I looked at her without saying a word. I simply didn’t know what to answer.

"Aren’t you going to answer?" she asked, visibly disappointed.
"I… I’m just here to observe," I replied vaguely.

She didn’t seem convinced. And she was right.

"I’m not bad…" I added softly.

I wasn’t saying it to make her believe me. But I needed to say it. I wanted her to know.

She stayed silent. She looked exhausted.

"Akame, are you feeling okay...?"
“I… I think I… the last time…”

She collapsed against me.

Darkness spread back over her body, and the terrace returned to normal.

“Akame? Akame?”

I checked her pulse. She was breathing. She was simply exhausted… again.

« She has to stop doing this… » I thought.

“I’ll take you to your room,” I whispered, even though she couldn’t hear me.

I gently took her in my arms and carried her to her bed, making sure not to run into anyone.

(I would realize much later that I wasn’t as discreet as I thought…)

I carefully laid her on the bed, making sure she was comfortable. Then I sat on the floor beside her and let the night pass, lost in my thoughts.