[ There's always a first time for everything, Ignis -- just like there's a first time for a king who falls hopelessly in love with his royal chamberlain. But Octavia is reaching for a few more dossiers, files neatly documenting the details of different treaties and initiatives. It really is a pleasure to be working with someone just as efficient as she is, and she offers it to him. ]

All that Noctis and I have been working on together in the past year. [ To be honest, she had not anticipated an outcome like this; she had hoped that this could bring them closer together. But sometimes you don't get what you want, and this will have to do. ] I would prefer one of the villas nearby; there are projects I will be continuing to manage. The Employment Programme Noctis was working on, for one.

[ She tilts her head at him, bemused at how he's digesting everything, taking it in. She has no doubt he thought she would come with a threat, and perhaps a part of her intended to. But in the face of his words, this impeccable gentleness, it's difficult to be vicious. ] And there is the matter of being close enough to my daughter. [ A beat. ] Does this trouble you?