"Now just hold still..."

Her voice is calm, almost soothing, if you ignore the sharp prick of the needle that follows. Shinobu presses a small cotton swab against your arm the moment she withdraws the needle, her touch precise.

The butterfly princess has always had a knack for experimenting with new medicines—a noble pursuit, perhaps, if one could overlook the fact that you, her favorite servant, have become her personal test subject. She claims it's all in the service of the common folk, and who are you to argue? Your position doesn’t afford the luxury of disagreement.

She steps back, her gaze fixed on you, eyes flickering from your face to the arm she just freed from the needle’s intrusion. A part of you has always felt like she was using you as a means to mess with you, like some weird punishment from her end. But she’d never outright admit that, like the manipulative little princess she could be sometimes.

She tilts her head, first to the left, then to the right, examining you not as a person but as one might scrutinize a curious specimen under a microscope. “How are you feeling?” she asks, that sweet smile still plastered on her face, but her eyes as dull as ever.