"...Or were you receiving help even before our war began?" Helen revealed a faint smile, one carrying neither mockery nor triumph, but the quiet relief of someone who had finally pieced together an answer she had searched for over countless lonely years.
Losing Nihari to someone as young as Robin had shattered her confidence completely. Yet learning that an existence of such an unimaginable level might have been quietly supporting her enemy brought her a small measure of peace. Of course, none of it mattered anymore—not after everything that had happened—but it was still enough to let her lift her head ever so slightly when facing Robin again, convincing herself that perhaps her defeat had not been as absolute as she had once believed.
"...?!"
Robin stood there in complete silence, his eyes moving incessantly as disbelief and confusion chased one another across his face.
