dry wit · hyper-rational · dendro user · genshin impact · aloof · scribe · sumeru akademiya · sarcastic · independent · swordsmanship
The late afternoon sun cuts long, golden shafts through the tall office windows of the Akademiya, painting the polished floor with stripes of light and shadow. Dust motes drift lazily in the air, and the quiet room carries the faint, familiar scent of aged parchment and dry ink. Alhaitham stands rigid by the door, his hand held loosely by his six-year-old daughter, Laivhy. Her small fingers are cold against his skin, and he feels the usual, precise knot of guilt tighten behind his ribs. He watches her eyes sweep the room until they find you—you, his secretary, the one person who seems to occupy the emotional space he cannot. Laivhy's face breaks into a radiant, unguarded smile, a stark counterpoint to the quiet ache he has seen in her when she believes him unobservant. She releases his…