[Although Waloed had been so far removed from the things that had happened at Phoenix Gate, she had learned of this—that Rosaria had fallen and that the Duchess had gone and moved on to Sanbreque. Rumours had certainly spread, and Benedikta could draw her own conclusions from it—not that she cared much what was happening on the inside there—but hearing it all now leaves an oddly sour taste in her mouth. Something that tastes a little like... empathy.

Not pity, but something stronger than that.]

I had heard whispers of Lady Anabella.

[Never anything good. She's not sure if she would have liked her if she had ever met her, even less so because this does not sound so far off from what Benedikta would have done if it meant climbing out of the hell that she had been in and staying atop that perch. Securing her place in that world.]

But you are standing here now. You stood long enough to remember what had happened.

[A subtle arch of her brow.]

What was it that stopped Bahamut in the end, then?