"Tell me what you know about Lady Uriel Ashvane."
Serah looked at him carefully. Like she was deciding how much to say.
"Everything," Adonis added.
She pulled a chair and sat down. Which was already different from an hour ago. An hour ago she wouldn't have moved without permission. The bind seemed to make her more open and loosening whatever Cassin had spent months building.
"Lady Uriel Ashvane," she began. "She is the head of House Ashvane. Aged twenty two and the oldest noble family still standing in the empire. Their money is older than the throne itself." She paused. "Three men moved against her in the last five years."
"What happened to them?"
"One retired to the countryside. One had a scandal that ended his career in a single night. One just..." She thought about it. "Stopped mattering. Nobody could explain it. He just became irrelevant slowly until people forgot he existed."
"And Uriel's connection to any of it?"
"There was none, publicly."
Adonis nodded.
"She's also the emperor's closest financial advisor," Serah continued. "Which means she knows exactly how empty the treasury is. She knows about the border situation. She knows everything." She looked at him. "She knows more about the state of this empire than most of the council combined."
"And she hasn't done anything with that information."
"Not visibly."
Adonis was quiet for a moment.
A woman that smart sitting that still was either waiting for something or protecting something. Either way it was interesting.
"Where is she right now?" he asked.
"The imperial library. She's there every morning."
Adonis stood up and straightened his coat.
"You're coming with me," he said.
Serah stood without question. Then stopped.
"You're going to try to get her too?," she said asked with a raised brow.
"I'm going to go introduce myself," Adonis said innocently.
Serah looked at him with the flat expression, although she had her suspicions she had no proof.
"Those are the same thing aren't they."
Adonis smiled and walked out.
---
The imperial library was the one place in the palace that still felt like it had dignity.
It had high ceilings and long windows that let the morning light fall across rows of shelves that went back further than most people bothered to walk.
Lady Uriel was sitting at a table near the far window.
Three books open in front of her. A cup of tea that had gone cold an hour ago sitting untouched at her elbow. She was reading with the focused expression of someone who found people significantly less interesting than whatever was on the page.
She had dark hair pulled back simply. Sharp eyes that moved across text fast. The kind of posture that said she had never once in her life slouched and never intended to start.
She didn't look up when they walked in.
Adonis walked directly to her table and sat down across from her like he had been invited.
She still didn't look up.
"The library has many other tables Your Highness," she said.
"This one has better light," Adonis said.
"It has the same light as the others."
"I disagree."
She turned a page.
He looked at the book she was reading only to find imperial tax records and they seemed like the old ones. She was cross referencing them with what looked like territorial maps and a ledger of noble house incomes.
She was auditing someone.
Quietly and alone. In a library where nobody would think to look over her shoulder.
*Very interesting.*
[Ding! Lady Uriel Ashvane — Rank: Noble Strategist. Potential: Hidden — Exceeds current rank significantly. Bind available.]
[Warning: Target has above average awareness. Approach carefully.]
The system was giving him warnings now. He appreciated that. Slightly.
"You're auditing House Merren," Adonis said.
She turned another page.
Then stopped.
She looked up at him for the first time. Her eyes were gold. Sharp and completely unreadable.
"What makes you say that," she said.
"The tax records you have open are from the eastern territories. The map beside it shows Merren land specifically. And that ledger has their house seal on the cover." He tilted his head. "Also Lord Merren was at the treasury three times last month which is three more times than a man with his income should need to be."
Uriel looked at him for a long moment.
"And most people think you're the useless prince," she said.
"Most people are convenient," Adonis said pleasantly.
She closed the book in front of her slowly.
"What do you want Your Highness."
"To talk."
"We are talking."
"Properly." He leaned back in his chair. "You know the state of this empire better than anyone in that council chamber. You've been watching it fall apart piece by piece and you're sitting here auditing noble houses by yourself in a library." He looked at her calmly. "You're trying to fix it alone."
Uriel said nothing.
"That's not working," Adonis said. "Is it."
The silence stretched.
Outside the window the palace grounds were busy. Guards. Servants. The noise of a court that had no idea how close everything was to falling apart.
"What are you proposing," Uriel said finally.
Adonis smiled.
"An arrangement."
"What kind of arrangement."
"The kind where you stop doing this alone and I stop pretending to be useless." He held her gaze. "I need someone who knows where every body is buried in this court. You need someone with the authority to actually do something about it."
Uriel studied him with those gold eyes looking for the angle and checking for something he wasn't saying.
She was good. If he had been anyone else she probably would have found it.
"And what do you get out of this arrangement," she said carefully.
Adonis said nothing for a moment.
[Ding! Bind available. Confirm?]
"An ally," he said simply.
Uriel looked at him for a long time.
Then she picked up her cold tea and took a sip like she needed a moment to think that nobody could see her taking.
"I want full access to the third prince's official seal," she said. "For investigative purposes."
"Done."
"And I report to no one but you directly."
"Done."
She set the cup down.
"I'll think about it," she said.
Which from a woman like Uriel Adonis already knew meant yes. It just meant yes on her terms and her timeline.
He stood up.
"Take your time," he said. "But not too much. House Merren moves their funds at the end of the month."
He turned and walked toward the exit.
Serah fell into step beside him silently.
They were almost at the door when Uriel's voice came from behind them. Calm. Measured.
"Your Highness."
He stopped but didn't turn around.
"You said most people think I'm useless," she said. "What do you think?"
Adonis smiled to himself.
"I think you already know the answer to that." He started walking again. "Otherwise you wouldn't have asked."
---
Behind him he heard the faint sound of a book opening.
She was already back to work.
[Ding! Lady Uriel Ashvane — Bind pending. Target considering.]
[Estimated confirmation: Soon.]