The archive wing doors shut behind them with a low sound that faded too quickly to feel final, but still left something unsettled in the air.
Lucian kept walking without looking back.
Alistair matched his pace immediately, not speaking yet, just close enough that their steps naturally fell into rhythm. Rei followed a little behind them, quiet as usual, positioned like he was part of the space rather than part of the conversation.
Lucian adjusted the folded record extracts in his hand, careful with them without needing to think about it. The paper was already soft at the edges from being handled too often, like the information itself was trying to wear down.
Alistair glanced at it once.
"So it was not just missing paperwork."
Lucian answered without slowing.
"No."
A short pause passed between them as they kept moving through the corridor, the palace around them gradually shifting from administrative order into older, quieter stonework.
"It was edited fact," Lucian added.
