The brazier crackled softly in the corner of the room, its faint warmth cocooning Miura and Sabrina in a rare moment of peace. The embroidered coverlet lay tangled at their feet, and Miura’s fingers traced idle patterns along Sabrina’s bare shoulder. The tension of the past days seemed to melt away, leaving only the quiet intimacy of the moment.

Then, a faint creak of wood shattered the stillness.

Miura froze, her dark eyes narrowing as she sat up, her body instantly alert. “Someone’s here,” she whispered, her voice sharp and steady.

Sabrina, no stranger to danger, slipped from the futon with practiced ease, reaching for her cutlass hidden near the wall. “How many?” she murmured, her voice low but tinged with tension.

“Enough,” Miura replied, her hand closing around the hilt of her dagger.

Another creak, louder this time, echoed through the house. Sabrina’s knuckles whitened around her weapon. “Robert.”

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Miura’s gaze darkened. “Then we finish this.”

Before either could move, the shoji screens exploded inward with a deafening crash. Splinters rained down as a blast of telekinetic force ripped through the room, scattering furniture and upending the brazier. Sabrina shielded her face, her heart pounding as the flames flickered dangerously against the tatami floor.

Robert stepped into the room, his aquamarine-glowing eyes gleaming like twin beacons in the dim light. His presence was a force unto itself, the air around him shimmering with raw telekinetic energy. Behind him, two men flanked his sides, their expressions cold and their stances rigid.

“Minato Miura,” Robert said, his voice calm but brimming with menace. “You’ve caused enough trouble. It’s time to end this.”

Sabrina stepped forward, her cutlass gleaming as it caught the firelight. “Robert, don’t do this,” she warned, her voice steady but laced with anger. “This isn’t you.”

Robert’s smirk was cruel as he turned his gaze to her. “You always were naive, Sister. Did you really think I’d let this… farce go unchecked?”

“Farce?” Sabrina’s voice rose, her grip tightening on her weapon. “What you call a farce, I call my life.”

“And what you call life, I call betrayal,” Robert snapped, his telekinetic grip lashing out. Sabrina barely ducked in time as the brazier flew past her, crashing against the wall and scattering embers.

Miura moved swiftly, frost spiralling from her hands as she thrust them forward. A wave of ice surged toward Robert, jagged and fast. But Robert’s eyes flared brighter, and with a flick of his hand, the ice shattered into harmless shards, scattering across the room.

“You’ll have to do better than that, Courtesan,” Robert sneered.

Miura’s lips curled into a dangerous smile. “I was hoping you’d say that.”