accidentally yours | claude de alger obelia

towards the sun

the evening had fallen, and claude sat alone in his study, the flickering candlelight casting shadows on the stone walls. the events of the afternoon still hung in the air, like a cloud he couldn't shake. the girl-the one who had appeared in his lap, interrupting his peaceful tea with athanasia-kept invading his thoughts.

it had been hours since it happened, but the image of her scrambling off him in panic, her wild words, her... strange magic, still lingered in his mind.

his hand rested on the arm of his chair, the grip tight, but his expression was unreadable. the room was silent except for the occasional crackle of the fire, and yet claude found himself unable to focus on anything but the bizarre encounter.

the girl had appeared in his lap as if she had been teleported, and then-that-her shouting something about a "tofu," followed by a flash of light and her disappearance.

he clenched his jaw. everything about that moment had been wrong.

he wasn't angry, no-anger was too... human for him. he wasn't disturbed by the fact that some strange girl had dared to appear in his presence like that, nor was he insulted by her behavior. no, what unsettled him most was the magic. her mana had been raw, uncontrolled. it felt... familiar in a way he couldn't quite place. something about it had unsettled him more than it should have.

athanasia had laughed, of course. she found the entire situation amusing, as children often did, but claude felt nothing but an icy coldness settling in his chest. that magic of hers-it was too dangerous. unpredictable.

he needed to find out who she was. what she was.

he leaned forward, resting his elbows on his desk, and closed his eyes. his thoughts swirled, but his expression remained as cold as ever. there was no room for distraction. no room for weakness.

his mind shifted to the one person who could get him the answers he needed: felix. he would find out who the girl was. he would find out everything.

he stood abruptly, the chair scraping loudly against the stone floor, and turned toward the door. without looking back, he called for one of his servants to summon felix.

the night air outside was cold, but it did little to stir his thoughts. he couldn't help but replay the way the girl had looked-her panic, her messy hair, the strange, unrefined way she carried herself. she had been loud, chaotic... and yet there was something about her that pulled at him.

was it her magic? or was it something else?

he didn't know. but he would find out.

as the minutes passed, claude tried to focus on the work in front of him, but the more he tried to push the memory of the girl from his mind, the more it seemed to consume him. who was she? where had she come from? and why had she seemed so... unlike anyone else he'd met?

he didn't know the answers to those questions yet, but he would.

the door opened softly, and felix stepped inside, his sharp eyes immediately locking onto claude.

"your majesty," felix said, his voice neutral but with an edge of curiosity. "you called for me?"

claude turned, his cold gaze meeting felix's without a flicker of emotion. "find out who the girl is. the one who appeared in my lap this afternoon."

felix raised an eyebrow, but he didn't question the order. "understood. i'll begin immediately."

claude nodded curtly. "do not fail me. i want everything."

"of course," felix replied, bowing slightly before turning to leave.

claude's gaze lingered on the door as it closed behind him, and for a moment, the coldness in his chest deepened. he could feel the weight of the situation, the strange pull that the girl's magic had left on him. something wasn't right about her. and until he knew the truth, it would gnaw at him like a quiet, persistent ache.