Talia paced around the hall, mind going a mile a second. She needed to find a way to persuade Weylin.

“Really?” Ilya’s awe-struck voice reverberated through the hall.

“Indeed,” Aseel said. “It’s highly expensive. It would require a whole month’s salary to order a shipment of such a small quantity.”

Ilya whistled. “So this is your whole month? In this cup?”

“No. This was a gift. Though, if I wanted something, I could just add it to the castle’s expenses. Of course, I would need Talia’s approval first.”

Ilya hummed. “She’s unexpectedly nicer than she seems.”

Talia shot a glare at Aseel’s answering snort.

Aseel stared back at her. “Not really.”

She huffed. Badmouthing her under her own roof?

She stopped her futile pacing and turned an annoyed stare at the freeloaders.

“Don’t you have work to attend to, my dear assistant?”

“Not really. No.” Aseel crossed his arms over his chest. “I would have if you let go of your obsession and started doing your work. Need I remind you that I can’t carry out judgment in your stead?”

Talia huffed. “It’s not an obsession.”

Aseel shook his head. He shot a glance at Ilya—a wordless conversation passing between them.

Since when did they become so friendly with each other?

“It’s not,” Talia insisted. “I am doing my job. And so should you. I don’t pay you to sit around and drink–” she frowned at the drink in his hand. He stirred the bubbles in the tea with the straw. “What is that?”

“That, my dear and—not so obsessive—master, is bubble tea.” he presented her the drink as if it was a hard-earned prize.

She turned to Ilya, who took a large gulp of his drink. “And you, what are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be out there ensuring the success of your mission?”

He smiled sheepishly but said nothing.

“Should I remind you of your fate if you fail?”

He gulped, the sound echoing loudly in the hall.

Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

“Stop scaring the poor man,” Aseel chastised. “There’s nothing wrong with taking a break. God knows that lately you’ve been taking more breaks than all the years combined.”

She threw her hands in the air, exasperated.

Here they were, her own employee and a lost soul, in her own domain, mocking her. Didn’t they know that she had their fate in her palm?

“What should I do with you?” she muttered.

Aseel snorted. She glared at him, but apparently, her anger had long lost its novelty. How long ago…? The first hundred years in her new position? Or maybe less?

“Relax. He’s not going anywhere. You can take your time in trying to trick him into your silly games. Ah, sorry. I meant your indomitable tests.”

They weren’t silly games. They were the most popular and most entertaining events Idir had ever witnessed. Not that it mattered. After all, she didn’t plan to have him pass the tests.

“No tests this time,” she said.

Aseel raised a surprised eyebrow at her words. “Really? How intriguing.”

She heard Ilya’s hushed whispers, asking Aseel what the tests were.

Of course he wouldn’t know. She had never sent the fool to her tests. In fact, the numbers that she had sent to the arena had dwindled the last three hundred years till it amounted to zero. There was no need to send contestants when she knew they would fail. It didn’t make for good entertainment.

Who would want to watch bumbling souls get obliterated? No one. Well, she hoped no one would be that much sadistic.

“The most arduous and formidable tests a soul had to pass to satisfy Idirians’ sense of ennui,” he said, ignoring Talia’s unimpressed look.

“Are those the tests I would have to pass if I fail?” Ilya asked with alarm.

“Well, how about that? It seems we already have a contestant.” Talia grinned at him.

She wouldn’t send him. Both she and Aseel knew that. But instead of comforting the frantic soul, Aseel watched his flailing arms with keen interest.

She never understood his fascination with humans. She always thought they were weak and hard to deal with. Always asking for more, never satisfied with what they already have. She could never comprehend his desire to emulate them, especially when he often complained about the aches that came with keeping a human form.

“I’ll be back in a while,” she aid, already heading for the hall’s giant doors.

“Where are you going?” Aseel asked.

“If you’re not going to help me, then I’ll seek the help of a much more experienced individual.”

Aseel paused. “You don’t mean…”

She nodded. “In the flesh. He was the one who saddled me with this dull desk job. He better have answers, or I’ll invoke the right to strike, and Idir will have to contend itself with a wave of undisciplined souls roaming its streets.”

“You know that’s not how things work. You accepted the position. So unless you find a substitute, you’re stuck with this expensive, fine, top-grade desk.” He tapped the dark wood. “And dare I say, It’s such a fine piece of art.”

“No matter. I’ll get his help, even if I would have to drag him here by force.”

“And where would you find him? Did you forget he disappeared as soon as he retired?”

As soon as he tricked her into filling in for him.

“This is a lost cause,” he called after her.

Ignoring Aseel’s words, she walked out of the hall, heading towards the only person who would know the whereabouts of the old master of scales. The one who had founded the court to help lost souls and guide them back to their worlds.

She was going to see Adyl. And she needed to get back before her tea break. After all, She couldn’t be late for her appointment with Weylin.