[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/IvC7ksl.png[/img][/center]
[color=gold][color=#D7CCC8]Location:[/color] Castle Dining Hall
[color=#D7CCC8]Interactions:[/color]  [@Lava Alckon] Farim [@Rodiak] Nahir [@JJ Doe] Hala [@Potter] Kira [@Helo] Rohit[/color]
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Hafiz’s eyes slid to Kira with polite interest, the kind that veiled calculation in courtesy. Her boldness wasn’t unwelcome, but it was useful. She matched his gaze without flinching, returned his tone with warmth, even flirted with the Danrose girl as if it were a game.

Why was she here? Among the Danroses, the Samis, the Grand Vizier himself?

She wasn’t Alidasht nobility. Not Danrose. And yet, she slipped into their company as if she'd been born to it. No announcement nor clear ties.

He didn’t like unaccounted variables. 

He smiled faintly behind his goblet, gaze resting on her just long enough to acknowledge her poise. A woman like that wasn’t idle. And Hafiz would be sure to keep her in view.

Hafiz’s expression did not change as Anastasia loudly announced Farim's arrival like a starstruck maiden from a tale. 

He turned to sip from his goblet.[i][color=gold]He certainly knows how to catch attention. Whether he knows what to do with it once he has it… well, we’ll see.[/color][/i] He did not so much as glance at Farim.

There was no need. Flattery meant nothing without victory and Hafiz didn’t crown fools. 

Let the fool charm her. Let her believe in love and poetry. If he failed? Well… he was easy enough to replace.

The leash would still lead back to him.

Hafiz watched Farim's grand performance with the detached calm of a predator studying a bird puffing its feathers. He didn’t rise to Farim’s jabs—not outwardly, at least. He merely offered a slow blink, as though humoring a child who thought himself clever. His goblet tilted ever so slightly between his fingers, eyes following Farim’s movements with that ever-calculating calm.

[color=gold]“So many words to say nothing of worth,”[/color] he murmured under his breath as Farim kissed the Princess’s hand. The sight of it soured the wine on his tongue. Farim then played diplomat and darling of the court and Hafiz tracked every interaction. The King. The Queen. The Princes. The Princess. Each bow and compliment noted, each attempt at favor logged.

His son was putting on quite the show. And shows, like masks, were meant to be removed.

But when Farim made his final round and returned, Hafiz allowed himself one subtle quip:

[color=gold]“And here I thought the performance was this morning.”[/color]

His gaze slid across the room, past the fluttering gown, past the eager smiles, and landed on nothing.

Not nothing... Her absence. His jaw twitched.

He could still see the way she trembled. The way she looked at that man as if he were her savior. [i]Disgusting[/i].

But beneath the contempt, there was a pulse of something else. 

Hafiz’s gaze darkened the moment Rohit said his name. Of course. [i]Navi Amar’s son[/i]. The spawn of a scholar. Hafiz had little patience for the father and even less for the son.

Where Navi dealt in wisdom, Rohit played in glitter. And now he was pawing at Hala like some treasured pet, clueless to the fire he was stroking.

[color=gold][i]You're not your father. Even he wouldn't be foolish enough to touch what belongs to me.[/i][/color], Hafiz thought coldly. Hafiz’s expression barely shifted as Hala responded. 

[i]Milo St. Claire.[/i] Of course, that peacock had caught Hala’s eye. Flashy, fawned over, and utterly useless to the mechanics of power. Hafiz didn’t need to glance at him to know the type—men like that existed only to be worshipped and discarded. His gaze slid back to Hala, smirking ever so slightly as they ate from Rohit’s plate like it belonged to them.

Hafiz’s gaze then followed Nahir’s entrance with cool observation. Regal, poised, and fashionably late. [b]Of course.[/b]

He inclined his head when she greeted him, a slight smirk on his lips.

[color=gold]“Shehzadi. As punctual as your father’s diplomacy.”[/color]

His eyes cut briefly toward Kira, narrowing ever so slightly when he caught Nahir’s subtle pause.

Hafiz leaned in and whispered to her, [color=gold]“You seem intrigued by her, niece. Should I be?”[/color]
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