The Widow, the Warbeast, and the Way Too Fancy Tea Order

Rei had been preparing for a quiet morning.

The "Fluff Compact" had gone surprisingly well—no spirit duels, no divine omens. The imperial falcon was now helping deliver tea samples to three nearby villages, and Fluff had only knocked over two jars that week.

Rei sipped his tea. The garden herbs were thriving. Auron had stopped chanting praise poems (for now). Peace was actually holding.

Then the front door opened with a sound that somehow managed to be both elegant and ominous.

And she walked in.

She wore a deep violet riding cloak, velvet-trimmed gloves, and a foxfur collar that matched her arched eyebrow. Her heels made no noise on the floor, but her presence practically echoed.

Elegant. Mature. Magnetic.

Rei stood behind the counter, trying not to show the internal DEFCON 1 energy building in his chest.

"Good morning," he said cautiously.

She surveyed the shop like someone appraising a vineyard.

"So this," she said slowly, "is where all the beastfolk are whispering about."

"...Whispering what, exactly?"

"That the man who sells tranquility by the cup is secretly training an army of fluffy gods."

Rei blinked.

"Not... not quite," he said.

She stepped closer. "Pity. I was hoping for a recruitment pitch."

She sat at a corner table like she owned the building. Fluff wandered over, sniffed her glove, and—unlike with most strangers—did not bite her.

Instead, he hopped onto the seat beside her and let her scratch behind his ear.

Rei stared. "He doesn't do that for anyone."

"Animals trust me," Lady Seris said, removing one glove. "It's the widowed aura. They sense the emotional damage."

"…Ah."

She glanced at the menu and raised an eyebrow. "What would you recommend for a woman who's survived two political assassinations and one deeply disappointing marriage?"

Rei blinked again. "Chamomile-ashroot blend. With lemon."

She smiled faintly. "You're very quick."

"I've met nobles before."

"Good. Then you'll understand when I ask what your hidden angle is."

"My what?"

"Your long game. Your ambition. What you're building beneath all this simplicity."

Rei poured the tea carefully. "I just wanted a peaceful life."

Her smile widened just slightly. "So did I. Once."

The tea steeped in silence.

Fluff munched quietly on a petal biscuit. Auron, watching from the curtain, ducked out of sight when Lady Seris glanced at him.

"You're drawing attention, you know," she said softly.

"Unintentionally."

"Ah, yes. The 'accidental influence' type. My late husband was like that. Ended up founding a private military company by accident."

"That sounds exhausting."

"It was. That's why he's late."

Rei choked slightly on his tea.

Lady Seris sipped hers elegantly. "That was a joke."

"I... see."

She leaned forward. "I came because I heard beasts kneel in your presence."

"They kneel for Fluff, not me."

"And yet they follow your decisions."

"Technically I just manage inventory and serve tea."

"You also quelled a spirit riot with a rice cracker."

"That was—circumstantial."

She placed a folded parchment on the table. It bore her seal—three crescent moons around a hawk's eye.

"I run a beast trading route along the southern ridge. My caravans are growing. I need a supplier for calming tonics and spirit-bond tea. I want Fluff Co."

Rei opened his mouth. Closed it. Then opened it again. "Are you... offering to buy us?"

"No," she said. "I'm offering a partnership. I handle the politics. You handle the peace. You remain the humble, underestimated front. I remain the calculating widow with excellent cheekbones."

Rei stared. "Is that your pitch?"

"I left out the part where I bring fifteen trade licenses and the loyalty of five rare beast clans."

Fluff thumped his tail once. Approvingly.

Ellyn Interferes Immediately

Ellyn burst through the back door with a stack of invoices. "Hey, Rei, we need to—oh."

She froze.

Lady Seris turned. "You must be the infamous assistant."

"And you must be the reason Rei looks like someone just insulted his tea leaves."

"He's just not used to offers with polish."

"I'd say poison."

Rei raised a hand. "No dueling in the shop."

Fluff knocked over a sugar jar. No one noticed.

Later,Lady Seris strolled through the herb beds with Rei, trailing her gloved fingers along the dreamroot stems.

"You know," she said lightly, "I could have entered with coin and command. I chose tea."

"I'm grateful."

"No, you're cautious. But I admire that."

She knelt beside a pot of whispergrass and whispered something. The plant trembled, then glowed faintly.

Rei frowned. "You're a beast speaker."

"I've dabbled," she said, standing again. "It's rude to reveal all your tricks on the first visit."

He nodded slowly. "You want more than a trade deal."

"I want to align myself with someone who will shape the age to come. Someone like you. Or Fluff. Whichever is in charge."

Rei said nothing.

Fluff sneezed.

At the door, Lady Seris fastened her cloak with a flourish and turned to Rei.

"You don't trust me."

"I don't trust anyone."

"Good. Then we're alike."

She stepped outside—but paused before the gate.

"Beasts don't gather unless something ancient stirs. And when it does... those who walk with them will be pulled into the storm."

Then she was gone.

Rei stood in silence.

Behind him, Ellyn said softly, "She's dangerous."

"She's right," Rei murmured. "Something is coming."

Fluff climbed onto the counter and dropped a single dried honey petal at Rei's feet.

A gift.

A vote.

A warning?

Rei didn't know.

But he picked it up.

And brewed tea anyway.