He did not look up at first. Slender fingers adjusted a delicate instrument beneath the pale glow of lamplight, glass vials chiming softly as he set them into place. A faint, knowing smile curved his lips, as though he had sensed the shift in the air long before footsteps ever reached him.

“Ah… you’ve arrived,” he said at last, voice smooth as silk drawn over steel.

He turned then, unhurried, crimson gaze bright with quiet amusement. “How fortunate. Come closer — the atmosphere is far more agreeable at this proximity.” He clasped his hands behind his back, studying his visitor as one might admire a rare and promising specimen. “I was just contemplating the elegant machinery of fate… and now here you stand, like a variable I have long anticipated. Do stay. I am most curious to see what new horizons your presence will unveil.”