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Chapter Text

"Duke Attano" had an odd ring to it, far more so than "Lord Attano" ever did when people first started addressing him as such. Corvo already knew he was never going to get used to being called that.

It was a mystery to him how a lowly commoner child from the Batista District even ended up in this position, first winning the Blade Verbena, then becoming Royal Protector, surviving through the dark times of the Rat Plague, and being father to the Empress of the Isles, but here he was now, at the ripe age of fifty-four, sitting in a lavish office that was once Duke Abele's, and missing his daughter Emily more than anything else.

It still only felt like yesterday that Delilah came into the throne room during the anniversary of Jessamine's death and imprisoned him in stone. Then before he knew it, months had passed, and he was suddenly blinking awake in the real world again, wrapped in Emily's arms, his dear daughter sobbing and repeatedly calling his name.

He had been the only one in Dunwall to survive the ordeal imprisoned in stone. The others weren't as lucky. They either remained in stone, or dropped dead the moment they were released, or even fell to madness, screaming nonsense and constantly trying to gouge their eyes out. Void-sickness, the Overseers called it. There was no cure, and those people were mercy-killed and laid to rest. Corvo didn't know why exactly he was the only one to have survived, but he had a strong suspicion that the Outsider's Mark mysteriously found imprinted back onto his hand as if it never disappeared in the first place had everything to do with that.

Emily told him all that'd happened, about her journey in Karnaca, about Delilah, about her renewed promise to the people to make things right again, and of course, one could not forget about the Mark she now bore on her hand, a mirror to the one Corvo had on his.

Undoing the damage Delilah wrought took time, but just as Dunwall survived the disastrous Rat Plague, Dunwall made it through Delilah's coup as well, slowly rising back up from the ashes. People banded together and rebuilt their lives, and then one day, Emily broke the news to him.

"I would like for you to be the Duke of Serkonos."

It made sense, logically at least, with Serkonos still reeling from the loss of its many prominent figures and with no established key figure to lead the city, but emotionally, Corvo's first instinct was to protest.

"I will not leave you."

"You won't be leaving me," Emily said, a soft smile on her face. She looked so much older now, wiser. "You'll be closer to me more than ever. You'll write endless letters to me, surely, basking in the unbearably hot sun that I know you miss dearly. I owe it to the people there to fix what Duke Abele did to the place and what I was inadvertently aiding as Empress, and there's no one else I trust more so than you."

Corvo stayed quiet. He couldn't deny it. He missed Serkonos more than ever, even more fiercely now in his older years, with the thoughts of peace and retirement ever present at the forefront of his mind. His family was in Dunwall, but his heart, his home, that was all Karnaca.

"I know you will gladly stay by my side if I just say the word, but I have been selfish for so long, and I can no longer bear the thought of forcing you to stay here when I know you'll be happier elsewhere. Today, father, I give you permission to go. Go be happy."

Corvo didn't even know it was something he needed to hear until it was already said, and he couldn't help but reach out and pull Emily into a hug. When had his daughter grown so much?

The announcement was made weeks later, and Corvo officially stepped down as Royal Protector on the first day of the Month of Darkness, and took up office as the new Duke of Serkonos.

Most days, Corvo didn't regret that decision, but some days, he just desperately missed his daughter's company, wishing he could be magically transported back to Dunwall, sitting in his old office, exchanging soft smiles with Emily.

"Are you alright, sir?"

Corvo looked up, dragged out from his thoughts—brooding, Emily would say—and stared at the man in front of him.

Thomas stared back at him, face unfailingly stoic as always. The man used to be a nameless spy employed through the black market in Karnaca, but his work impressed Corvo enough to offer a permanent employment contract, to which Thomas had accepted easily enough. Now he was one of Corvo's best spies, delivering reports to his desk almost daily.

Thomas's eyes were sharp, always watching, reminding Corvo of Rinaldo, another spy he'd left back in Dunwall. Rinaldo had been an ex-assassin who used to work for Daud, before he got captured, and eventually, offered an out by Corvo in the form of employment as a spy.

"Tell me about yourself, Thomas," Corvo said instead.

Thomas blinked, expression not betraying even the slightest hint of surprise. It had been nearly five months since Thomas started formally working for Corvo, but not once did Corvo ever ask him anything about his background. Of course, Corvo had done his own digging before even approaching the man with the job offer—Thomas likely knew that too—but Corvo still wanted to hear it from Thomas himself.

"I thought interviews generally came before the job offer, sir."

Thomas stood at attention, hands clasped behind his back like he was part of the Grand Guard. Corvo wouldn't be surprised to know if Thomas had some degree of military training in the past—the faint scars and calluses on his hands certainly hinted to it.

"Humour me."

Thomas shrugged. "There isn't much to tell, truth be told. You likely already know most of it. I was born in Dunwall, to a low-born family. My parents died working in the mines when I was ten, and I did what I needed to survive, working odd jobs here and there, and shortly after the Rat Plague ended, I boarded a ship and moved to Karnaca."

"Why wait till after?"

"I had other matters to attend to. People I... cared for."

"What happened?"

The barest pause. "The plague happened, sir."

"I see," Corvo said.

Thomas was still staring at Corvo, face carefully blank and not betraying a single shred of emotion, but Corvo had decades of experience reading people and he caught the faintest coil of tension that had developed in Thomas's shoulders and eyebrows. He clearly didn't want to speak any further into the subject.

Then there was a knock on the door. Both men turned.

"Duke Attano, your next appointment has arrived," a voice said from outside. Captain Harrow.

"Understood, I will be there shortly. Thank you Captain," Corvo said, standing up from his chair.

Thomas took that as his sign to leave, and he bowed once to Corvo, ever so polite. "I will take my leave then, sir. I will return in two days for my next report."

Corvo nodded. "Take care, Thomas."

"You, as well, sir." Thomas bowed again, before taking his leave.

Well, there was no hurry, Corvo eventually decided. Thomas could keep his secrets, at least for now.

==========

Being Duke was not all too different than being Royal Protector. Perhaps he had less use for a sword these days—official use, at least—but he still had mountains of paperwork to sieve through and an endless stream of meetings to attend everyday. The only time he had to himself was late into the night, sneaking past his guards and climbing up onto the rooftops where he could finally breathe for once.

Tonight though, he had a different goal in mind. He donned his skull mask, pocketed a few S&J Health elixir vials, then slipped out of his quarters and made for the rooftops.

Delilah's coup had been short lived, but if it taught him anything, it was that he definitely needed to open his eyes to the dark corners of the world. Matters concerning magic. The occult. Heresy. And especially, people like him. He would not let anyone pull the rug out from under him again and threaten Emily's rule. Never again.

He knew of a few Marked—Granny Rags, Daud, and later, Delilah. Granny Rags and Delilah were out of the picture now, so that left one last loose end, one last threat he needed to see dealt with. Someone he should have dealt with years ago.

Daud. Legendary Knife of Dunwall.

He was here in Karnaca somewhere, hidden, withdrawn. Scheming? Corvo prayed not. He better not.

All of Corvo's leads were dead ends so far, and now he was chasing down yet another new lead, though he hesitated to call it even that. It was a mere rumour at best, but still worth investigating.

A clandestine boxing club at the Northern Campo Seta District, at the Albarca Baths. Advertisements about fighting the merciless Black Magic Brute. It was most likely just someone carrying a powerful bone charm rather than the Knife of Dunwall himself. Corvo could barely imagine Daud doing something so trite like fighting for coin and glory, but he supposed he'd been surprised before. Either way, it was still a lead—a rumour—worth investigating.

Making his way there was easy enough, and when he reached the entrance of the baths, he knelt on top of the rafters, observing people go in and out.

Entrance was free to all, it seemed. Masked patrons were welcome too, so he could probably go in without much trouble and—

He twirled around, sword out, blade tip against whoever was trying to sneak up to him.

A woman. Short hair. Familiar. Corvo frowned.

"Fancy meeting you here, your Grace," none other than Meagan Foster said—or was it Billie Lurk these days?

"Don't sneak up to me again," Corvo said.

"Duly noted," she said, hands raised. Corvo lowered his blade, turning his attention back to the Eyeless gang walking below.

Meagan—or Billie, most likely—joined him at his lookout, peering down curiously, and Corvo watched her from the corner of his eyes, contemplating.

Billie Lurk was a bit of a mystery herself, but Corvo mostly left her to her own devices and looked the other way when wanted posters of her started being pasted up along the streets. Emily had liked her well enough during their time spent together, and she still spoke fondly of her sometimes even after knowing her true identity. Corvo trusted his daughter's judgment, and he could, at the very least, trust Billie not to act against the crown after everything she did to help Emily take down Delilah. She wasn't a threat, at least not to Corvo or Emily.

She also had both arms and eyes now, Corvo observed, though that wasn't always the case according to Emily. Billie didn't know that. Didn't have to.

Either way, here at the Albarca Baths, her presence said a lot, and Corvo asked, "Are you looking for Daud?"

Billie nodded easily enough. "Are you planning to kill him?"

Of course that was the only question that mattered to her, Daud's ex-protege, and admittedly, it was a question that Corvo found himself pondering a lot.

Old anger threatened to rise up, anger at what Daud did, who he took from Corvo, and the torturous months in Coldridge, all icy water and searing sticks, but ultimately, even that feeling dissipated away to nothing. Corvo had already spent enough years letting this rage fester in his heart. He knew it was far from a productive emotion to cling onto.

When Corvo didn't answer for a long time, Billie added, "You spared him, before."

He did, but Corvo supposed he was a different man then, weakened by poison, half delirious and in pain, driven only by fierce love for Emily and the desire to see her safe. He had been exhausted, tired of bloodshed and pain. He had no heart in him for revenge. He just wanted Emily safe, and ending one assassin's life would have done absolutely nothing to accomplish that.

Corvo was a different man now decades later, bitten by Delilah and reminded once more of cold vengeance. He would not allow another Marked to hurt Emily. If Daud was planning to hurt Emily. And if he was even here in the Albarca Baths to begin with.

"I just need to know he won't hurt Emily," Corvo finally said.

Billie nodded, seemingly satisfied with that answer, making Corvo raise an eyebrow behind his mask, though Billie couldn't see it. She seemed to sense it though, and shrugged once.

"Emily didn't kill me after finding out who I was. You didn't either, and for whatever reason, you didn't kill Daud all those years ago, even though you had every reason to. I don't know what kind of warped sense of morality runs through your family, but I suppose I should be thankful. I don't believe you'll kill Daud."

Corvo's lips tightened to a line, and he was momentarily unable to think of an appropriate response to that.

"Well, in any case, I suppose our goals are aligned," Billie said, before gesturing towards Corvo once. "We can probably just walk in easily enough, though you'd best tuck that mask away. The Eyeless may not recognise the Masked Felon from Dunwall, but I can assure you—" she turned her eyes towards two bald women patrolling below. "—Delilah's ex-cronies will."

Billie raised a good point, and Corvo took her advice, pulling his mask off and tucking it away inside his coat.

"Here," Billie said, offering out some kind of scarf. "You can take a page from Emily, I suppose."

Corvo took it, wrapping it across the lower half of his face. Billie did the same.

"Ready to go?"

Corvo nodded, and both of them made their way down from the rafters, heading towards the entrance where one of Delilah's ex-cronies stood. She didn't immediately recognise them, at least.

"A hundred coin and I'll let you in. How about it?" she said.

It was clearly a lie. Corvo had already seen many walk through without paying a cent. Still, he wordlessly handed over the coin.

"A hundred each," the ex-witch said, giving Corvo a challenging look.

How typical. Corvo took out more coins and handed them over without much complaint.

"Very kind of you," she said, grinning once as she pocketed the coin.

She stepped aside and let both of them enter.

When the ex-witch walked out of earshot, Billie shot Corvo a look. "You didn't have to."

"No, I didn't," Corvo agreed, holding out a pouch that he pickpocketed from the ex-witch as he walked past her.

Billie snorted. "I see that's where Emily gets it from."

Corvo shrugged and moved on.

They descended down the stairs, coming towards the main arena where a group of the Eyeless were sparring, preparing for a match and—

A screeching, tearing noise made Corvo bite back a wince, eyes immediately drawn downwards. There was a small cage-like area just beneath him, with some sort of magic-suppressing device inside, similar to one of the Overseers' music boxes. It wasn't even fully directed at Corvo, but he could already feel the effects of it. Bile rose up, his head started to pound, and his fingers went numb.

"It's Daud. They're making him fight?!" Anger was evident in Billie's voice.

Corvo tried to focus, peering downwards again. He tore his eyes off the suppression device, and finally noticed the interrogation chair bolted down to the floor at the very centre. There was a man bound to it, aged, whose features Corvo would recognise anywhere in a single heartbeat. A tell-tale long scar down one side of his face. Daud.

He looked... well, terrible.

Corvo could certainly imagine why, with the suppression device blasting at him constantly without any reprieve whatsoever.

Daud's eyes were mostly closed, and he was covered in sweat, taking intermittent slow, controlled breaths. His head jerked to the side every few seconds, likely involuntarily from pain, and Corvo felt his whole body go cold.

He knew exactly what it was like to be stuck in that chair, with no way out, waiting for the torturer to either drown him, burn him, whip him, or some creative combination of the three. Even if he fell unconscious, he would always wake again to continue the torture, anything to tear that false confession from his lips. He knew what it was like to be rendered helpless, hopeless, for pain to be twisted into something entirely unrecognisable as such, because how in the Void could anything be so potent and breaking and it would just not stop and —

"Corvo," Billie suddenly hissed, squeezing his shoulder once. "Snap out of it."

Corvo blinked, glancing back up at her.

"We need to find a way to turn that thing off. It's hurting him, and from the looks of it—" Billie momentarily glanced down at Corvo's left hand, all wrapped up in leather. "—you as well."

Corvo stepped away out of range of the magic suppression device, and followed Billie as they scoped out the main arena.

"He's never lost a fight," Billie briefly commented, staring up at a large board with all the fighters' wins and losses. More than seventy wins for the Black Magic Brute, and zero losses. How long had Daud been stuck here with that machine, alone, forced to fight for his life or die trying? Corvo frowned. Sympathy was not an emotion he ever thought himself capable of feeling for someone like Daud, but he felt it now, more keenly than ever.

Corvo continued looking around, glancing at the many doors and exits about. The magic suppression device was locked, no doubt, and he supposed whoever owned the place would have the key with them. Probably in an office upstairs. That seemed like a reasonable place to start.

Upstairs was easy enough to sneak into, and Corvo and Billie quickly honed in on one Jeanette Lee, the boss of the place.

Corvo waited until she was alone, before simply appearing behind her in a single blink and knocking her out.

Billie plucked the key from her belt, before looking up to him and asking, "You don't have a tethering skill?"

"I have other talents."

"I certainly don't doubt that."

They left Jeanette unconscious and went back downstairs.

Corvo let Billie do the honours, and when the switch was turned off, Daud's eyes blinked open immediately, pure relief and confusion clear on his face.

He stood up from the chair, restraints now open, and the Eyeless gang members immediately started screeching in terror, quickly making for the door.

It was too late.

The world turned grey as time slowed to a halt. That wasn't Corvo's doing.

Daud climbed out of his cage in a single blink, and immediately honed in on the gang members, now all frozen. He barely cast Corvo and Billie a glance, and proceeded to vehemently choke or slam each gang member into the ground, cleanly knocking all of them out. Surprisingly bloodless. Corvo didn't stop him.

When the last gang member was subdued, the grey faded from the world, and time resumed once more.

The gang members all toppled over in unison, unconscious.

Daud reappeared in front of them in a single blink, and Billie immediately rushed forward, pulling her mask away.

"Daud!" The relief in her voice was a near palpable thing.

"Billie?" Daud said, almost uncertain.

Billie reached out and wrapped an arm around Daud, and Corvo saw him visibly flinch at the sudden contact, before relaxing slightly, though not completely. Corvo had been the same after coming out of Coldridge. It had taken weeks before his body stopped reacting to every touch as if it was primed to hurt him.

"You are a hard man to find," Billie accused.

Daud didn't respond to that, eyes briefly glancing up and meeting Corvo's. "Why are you with..." he trailed off.

"I think I'll let him explain that one himself."

Corvo stared at Daud, eyes of steel grey. He expected to feel different somehow, seeing the person who ruined his life all those years ago again, but oddly enough, he felt no different from the exhausted man he was back then, drenched, panting and in pain, listening to the man who killed Jessamine confess his guilt, and beg for his life. Corvo still had no heart for revenge. He was tired of bloodshed.

Why did Corvo even want to seek him out again? What did he hope to accomplish?

"Well?" Daud pressed.

"Do you have any intention of hurting Emily?" Corvo finally asked.

Daud looked almost incredulous. "No."

The simple one word answer was more than enough to appease that tightly wound knot of anxiety inside him, strangely so.

Daud waited for Corvo to say something more, and when he didn't, that look of incredulity deepened. "What do you—"

"Shh! Someone is coming," Billie suddenly said.

They all fell silent immediately, turning towards the door. Footsteps resounded in the distance, getting closer and closer.

"It's the Grand Guard," Daud murmured.

Corvo confirmed it as so with a quick flare of his magic, the outlines of several guardsmen in their iconic uniforms lighting up through the walls.

"Do not kill them."

"Wasn't planning to," Daud huffed. His Mark lit up, and Daud promptly disappeared with Billie up onto an overhanging pipe.

Corvo took a different approach, focusing his attention on the ground instead. He quickly located his target, one lone rat perched on its hind legs and sniffing around cautiously.

He reached out with his magic, his own Mark flaring up.

It was always slightly disorienting to find himself in another creature's body, but he got used to scampering about on four legs quickly enough, and Corvo guided the rat through a drain tunnel, heading back outside.

When he made it out, he mentally thanked the rat, before releasing his control back over to the creature. It had taken some practice, but he'd learnt to be gentle with his magic, to not crush the animal's spirit altogether and kill it. He was glad he did too, when he watched the rat—still alive—turn back and sniff at him curiously, before skittering away.

Then Corvo spotted some more guardsmen coming his way, and he made for the high ground, clambering up to the rafters with his powers.

Daud and Billie joined him in a matter of seconds on the rafters.

Corvo untied the scarf around his head and returned it back to Billie.

Daud studied him, still with that incredulous expression on his face and a hint of... uncertainty. "Well, out with it then, what do you want from me?"

"I don't want anything from you."

Daud frowned. "Then why seek me out? Why... save me?"

It wasn't as if Corvo could have just left Daud in that horrid chair, especially after Coldridge. He didn't wish that fate on anyone, not even Daud. "How long?" Corvo asked instead.

"Four months."

"Hm."

"Just tell me what you want from me." Daud's voice was starting to rise. "What made you even—" he suddenly let out a hiss of pain, one hand clutching the side of his abdomen.

"Daud, are you alright?"

Daud waved Billie aside. "I'm fin—"

Billie ignored him and tugged at his shirt, pulling it up.

Corvo caught sight of the faintest smear of fresh blood, before Daud pulled his shirt back down, shooting Billie a hard look.

"It's just a stab wound."

"Just a stab wound," Billie echoed, decidedly unimpressed. She reached out again, ignoring Daud's attempts to slap her hand away and firmly pressed down to compress onto Daud's now freshly bleeding wound. Daud hissed again.

"How did this happen?"

"Some bastard paid a hell load of coin to sneak in a weapon into an unarmed brawl."

"What happened to him?"

"I returned the favour," Daud said, pausing for the barest moment. "In the heart."

Corvo didn't even blink at that. Billie simply snorted once.

"Come on, my ship isn't far. It's docked below the Acantilla Repair Station. We can deal with your wound properly there."

It was almost strange, observing the way Billie interacted with Daud. There was old familiarity there, trust as well, and Corvo couldn't quite reconcile that with Daud's infamous reputation. Honestly, he didn't think the man was capable of something like empathy. Didn't want to, most likely.

Regardless, it didn't matter. Corvo came to make sure that Daud wasn't planning anything devious behind his back, and now that he'd confirmed that the man wasn't a threat—not to him or Emily at least—he supposed he could let Billie handle the rest.

Corvo briefly spied the horizon where the faintest light was starting to peek through. He should probably start heading back soon.

He turned his gaze back to Daud and Billie, and on a strange whim, he pulled out a vial of S&J Health elixir solution, tossing it over.

Daud caught it, looking entirely perplexed. "What?"

"It's an S&J Health elixir."

"I know that, but why—"

Corvo ignored him and glanced towards Billie. "I trust you can get him back to your ship?"

Billie inclined her head. "Yes, your Grace. And thank you." She offered him the faintest smile.

Corvo nodded at that, pulling out his skull mask from inside his coat and raising it up to his face.

A growl came from Daud, more agitated now. "Wait for a damned seco—"

Corvo clipped the mask back in place and let his magic flare, vanishing away into the shadows.

Chapter Text

The next week passed slowly.

Corvo did his usual duties as the Duke, reading reports from Thomas and the rest of his spies, as well as attending meetings, which more often than not, included the unfortunate duty of being mediator between a certain Paolo and Liam Byrne.

"—just a heretic. Why should I listen to a word you say?"

"You're just a spineless coward preaching those idiotic strictures of yours without taking any real action!"

They continued arguing, and Corvo briefly glanced over at Hypatia and Stilton at the other end of the table. Both were staring right back at him expectantly, and Corvo sighed internally. He used to be the designated mediator in council meetings back in Dunwall too.

"That's enough, gentlemen," he finally said. His voice was soft, but Emily often said he had a way of making himself heard somehow, and both Paolo and Bryne quietened. "You are free to argue about your beliefs elsewhere, outside this office. But that is not our focus today."

Corvo appreciated the opinions of both men, truly, but they could really act like children at times. He supposed the nobles in Dunwall weren't entirely dissimilar in that sense.

Paolo glared at Byrne. Byrne glared right back, but eventually, both men turned back to Corvo.

"Very well," Paolo said.

"I apologise, your Grace," Byrne said at the same time.

Their meeting resumed without any further interruptions, and when it was finally over and Corvo made it back to his office to take a short break, he immediately frowned at the open window at the back which he certainly didn't recall opening.

Corvo quickly scanned the room, though nothing else was amiss. None of the documents on his desk were moved. Nothing stolen, too.

Thomas knew better than to come in through the window, so more likely...

"Come out, Daud," he said, not bothering to use his powers to locate the intruder.

There was the softest sound of someone dropping to the ground, and Corvo turned around to face none other than Daud himself.

He looked... better, Corvo supposed. His clothes were new, his hair was cut, and his eyes looked more alive, not exhausted and filled with pain like when Corvo last saw him.

"Why are you here?" Corvo asked.

"We didn't finish our conversation last week."

"Didn't we? I assumed I had already made myself perfectly clear."

Daud frowned at that. "I don't understand why you helped me. Have you forgotten what I—"

"I have not forgotten," Corvo said, injecting some sharpness into his voice.

"Then why?"

"I needed to know you weren't planning to hurt Emily."

"I'm not."

Corvo simply nodded at that.

Daud waited, but Corvo didn't say anything more. "That's all?"

"What else do you want me to say?"

Daud huffed. "Something. Anything. Have you learnt nothing from that whole fiasco with Delilah? Sparing me once is one thing, but twice? You have no guarantee that I won't try something. Maybe one day I'll just decide to take a leisurely boat ride to Dunwall and stab that precious daughter of yours."

Corvo recognised a taunt when he heard one, but he couldn't help the instinctual way he tensed up at the mention of Emily. It seemed clear that fifteen years weren't enough to make Daud forget exactly which buttons to push to provoke him, just like he did fifteen years ago.

"You could certainly try," Corvo said, making an effort to keep his voice flat. 

The truth was that Emily was stronger than he was now, Marked and in her prime, and as much as Corvo didn't like admitting it to himself, he knew she could protect herself.

Daud continued to press on. "I could gut her like a fish, choke her with her own blood, or strangle her with her own hai—"

"Her hair's not long enough for that, last I checked," Corvo said lightly.

Daud just stared at him. He opened his mouth once, closed it, then opened it again. "What in the Void is wrong with you?"

Corvo raised an eyebrow. "I should be asking you that."

Daud had the gall to look vaguely abashed. "I..." he trailed off. "I didn't mean that."

Corvo nodded easily enough.

"Why don't you hate me?" Daud then asked.

"Who says I don't?"

Daud gave him a look. "I was an assassin for more than half my life. I know what hatred is, intimately, and whatever it is you feel is far from that."

Corvo raised an eyebrow. "Pray tell, what do I feel then?"

Daud's expression turned thoughtful. "I don't know. You're a mystery. You should just kill me." 

Corvo didn't immediately respond to that, and chose to walk over and sit down at his desk instead, rifling through the newest stack of documents rather pointedly. He did have plenty of work to do after all, and he was already behind schedule due to this... interruption. A break was out of the question at this point.

When Daud still didn't take the hint, much less moved an inch, Corvo sighed outwardly. "I already made the decision to spare your life fifteen years ago, Daud. I will live with that choice, and so will you. So find someone else to be your executioner, because it will not be me."

Daud was silent for the longest moment, but he eventually turned away, walking over to the window and vaulting over with a single leap.

Just before leaving, he briefly turned back to face Corvo. "I know you didn't do it for me, but... I suppose I still owe you thanks for getting me out of there."

He said it so quietly that Corvo almost didn't hear it, and by the time Corvo glanced up, Daud was already gone.

==========

Corvo thought that was the end of it, and he could finally close this chapter of his life again.

Except, of course, not everyone had the same impression as he did.

Exactly two weeks later, Corvo found his office window open yet again, but the intruder himself was nowhere to be found, and there was an audiograph card laid on his desk. Unlabeled. It clearly originated from Dunwall, though this specific brand of cards had ceased production more than ten years ago. Cards these days were more flexible, thinner, and much smoother.

Corvo pulled out his audiograph machine, and gently threaded the card through, clicking down the button to play it.

Daud's voice rang out.

"No one will ever know exactly what it took to save Emily Kaldwin from a living death as Delilah's puppet. No one except the Outsider, who watches everything and thinks his own dark thoughts, and speaks to few in any generation—"

Corvo frowned. Save Emily? A living death? Daud?

The audiograph continued, speaking of Daud's guilt, his acceptance of the consequences of his actions, and—

"—I murdered an Empress, but saved her daughter, who will one day rule the Empire. Those were my choices. I'm ready for what comes."

That was all, and Corvo re-threaded the audiograph card, playing it again, and then a third time.

Yes, save Emily, that was what Daud said. What in the Void did he mean by that? Why would Daud give him this? What was he planning?

Corvo sighed, pacing up and down his office. Emily told him that Daud did something to Delilah and trapped her in the Void fifteen years ago, but he had no idea the circumstances behind it. He'd never considered that Emily would have been involved in that. Of course, he could get answers from the man himself, but that was what Daud wanted, wasn't it? Corvo didn't feel particularly inclined to play whatever game the ex-assassin had cooked up now.

But Corvo couldn't ignore the facts. This was clearly a card that was recorded years ago, decades, perhaps. Something happened in the past, something that led Daud to save Emily, and for whatever reason, Daud wanted him to know it now, decades later.

Corvo frowned. He didn't have a choice, did he? He needed to speak to Daud.

Finding him was easy enough. Corvo already knew where the Dreadful Wale was.

Billie seemed to expect him, sighing once when she saw him suddenly appear on the boat deck. "He gave you that audiograph, didn't he? I told him to not bother you."

"What did he mean when he said he saved Emily?"

"He's never actually told anyone about the specific details, not even to me," Billie said vaguely. "In any case, he's downstairs, if you want to speak to him."

Corvo went downstairs.

Daud was sitting at the table, reading a book. He seemed unsurprised at Corvo's appearance, of course.

"Well?" Corvo asked, seating down at the opposite end of the table. "What do you have to say for yourself?"

Billie joined them, leaning against the doorway to listen in.

Daud closed his book and glanced up.

They stared at each other for a few seconds.

"I'm going to need a smoke for this," Daud finally said, rummaging through his pockets for a cigarette.

Billie immediately stormed over from the doorway and plucked it out of his fingers, taking away the whole pack of cigarettes from Daud as well. "Absolutely not. Those things will kill you. When in the Void did you even manage to sneak this pack in?!"

Daud looked entirely unrepentant, making a half-hearted attempt to get the cigarette back. "It's just one."

"No."

Daud sighed out loud.

"I told you. My boat, my rules," she said.

"You didn't used to be so bossy," Daud grumbled. "You were obedient—" Billie raised an eyebrow at that. "—to a point."

"Things change. Get used to it."

Daud sighed again, about to protest once more, and Corvo cut in, "Enough. Tell me about Delilah."

Daud turned back to him, faltering slightly. He visibly swallowed once, then finally started talking. "She's the leader of the Brigmore Witches. Was. More than fifteen years ago."

Corvo nodded. He knew that already.

"A few weeks after... killing the Empress, the Outsider came to me in a dream, and gave me the name Delilah. I don't know why he did it—hard to question why the black-eyed bastard does anything—but I did as told, and hunted down Delilah. She was planning something big, though I didn't know what at the time. Naturally, she didn't appreciate my sudden interest in her, and turned one of my own against me—"

Corvo saw Billie briefly tense up at that.

"—sent Overseers into my backyard. You must have seen much of the aftermath when you were there, then."

Corvo had, though he never gave it much thought back then. Had no reason to.

"I continued to hunt her down, and eventually made my way to her hideout at Brigmore Manor, to learn whatever it was that she was planning, and to find a way to stop it. She was ambitious, even then, and she already had her eyes set on the Empire, though her methods were... more subtle, simply put. She had painted a picture of Emily Kaldwin, found a way to break into the Void itself, and was intending to—there's no easy way of saying this—possess her and rule in her place, in her young mind and body."

Corvo went completely cold.

"I found a way to stop her, switched that painting for another to disrupt her ritual, and trapped her inside the Void instead."

"When did this happen?"

"Shortly after you broke out from Coldridge."

Corvo swallowed. He had been so focused on bringing down Hiram Burrows then, and he had no idea any of this was going down. If Delilah had succeeded, Emily would have just been gone, lost forever. He wouldn't have known, wouldn't even have known there was a threat to be stopped. He wouldn't even have known.

"Why... are you telling me this now?" Why not before, when Daud was begging for his life and at the mercy of Corvo's blade? Surely he had every reason to, fifteen years ago.

"You wouldn't have believed me. There was no proof to be found—I burnt everything—and nothing would have changed what I did to you. I took your Empress, kidnapped your daughter and let you be tortured in Coldridge for six months because of what I did. The city was already on the brink, and I helped the one man responsible for it all push it over the edge. Nothing can fix that. I can't—" Daud took a ragged breath. "I did all that, I destroyed everything. I can't fix it."

Daud's hands were clenched into tight fists, trembling ever so slightly. His eyes were hollow, empty. It was the same look he had fifteen years ago in the Flooded District, on his knees. The look that made Corvo realise there was no punishment in all the Isles worse than whatever Daud was already doing to himself, and death would only be but a release.

Daud had kept this a secret for fifteen years. Bore this weight for fifteen years.

Daud took a deep controlled breath, then released it.

"You deserved to know, after all that happened. I thought her gone forever when I trapped her in the Void, but turns out I should have just killed her right then and there, permanently. I suppose in that line of reasoning, the coup happened partly because of me. Because of what I did, or I suppose, what I didn't do."

There was a long silence, and Corvo considered his next words carefully. 

"You were used by Burrows too, during the Rat Plague," Corvo said. "If not you, I am most certain he would have found someone else to do the deed. You can't take responsibility for it all. As for Delilah... maybe things would have been different if you simply killed her, but it's always easy to think that in hindsight. I suppose there was no reason for you to know she would find a way to escape the Void. The coup's hardly your fault, that was all Delilah's doing. Still, nothing changes the fact that you saved Emily once, not for coin, or recognition, but simply because you thought it was the right thing to do. I didn't know about Delilah then, wouldn't even have known there was a threat until it was all over, and I suppose... I should thank you for that, even if it's a little late."

Daud actually flinched at that, a full-blown body flinch, as if Corvo just hit him. "Wha—" He swallowed. "How could you—I don't understand you. After everything I did—"

"It's been fifteen years, Daud. I've already come to terms with the past, and I can't spend the rest of my life resenting you for what happened. I don't have the energy to punish myself like that."

Daud was quiet at that. "I can't forgive myself for what I did. I never said, but I'm sorry. I truly am."

"I know," Corvo said, equally quiet.

There was a long silence.

Neither of them moved, and finally, Billie broke the silence with a soft hum. "Well, if that's all, then how about a drink to lighten up the mood?"

"And a smoke?" Daud asked hopefully.

"No."

Daud sighed, but nodded. "Fine. A drink."

"And you, your Grace?" 

Corvo nodded as well. "Thank you, Billie."

Billie went to grab the drinks, and they spent the next hour sipping Old Dunwall whiskey, certainly a nostalgic taste.

Billie and Daud started talking—well, it was mainly Billie doing the talking, with Daud giving occasional grunts of acknowledgement—and it suddenly reminded Corvo of Emily, back in Dunwall. They used to have these similar chats too. Corvo had never been a good conversationalist, but Emily was—thank the Void she got that from Jessamine—and Emily would talk enough for the both of them, while Corvo listened. They used to do it accompanied with cups of hot milk, sometimes mixed with cocoa when the Tower received new shipments for it, and years later, it was whiskey, and wine.

Corvo kept mostly silent, just listening to Billie and Daud talk and letting the better half of the night slowly pass.

==========

One week after that, Corvo was out on the rooftops in the dead of the night, enjoying some much needed fresh air after being cooped up in his office for the entire day.

He jumped from rooftop to rooftop, intermittently using his powers to close the larger gaps.

His heart was racing from the slight exertion, and he smiled to himself privately, simply enjoying the wind in his face.

He didn't know how many more years he could still do this with his aging body, but he hoped to squeeze at least four, maybe five more years before stopping entirely.

He continued his idle exploration, and after a few more minutes, he suddenly noticed he had a tail, accompanied by an unmistakable flicker of shadow.

He stopped on one of the rooftops, and waited. Daud caught up within seconds, appearing behind him in a burst of ash.

"What are you doing here?" Daud asked.

"I could ask you the same."

"Couldn't sleep," Daud said simply with a grunt.

"So you decided to follow me."

"It's not like I went out specifically looking for you. I just happened to notice you running across the rooftops," Daud defended. "Why are you here?"

"Couldn't sleep," Corvo parroted back.

Daud grunted at that. "Billie told me to get out and cool off before I put a hole through her boat deck with my pacing."

Corvo felt the tip of his lips tilt upwards at that. That did sound like something Billie would say.

Speaking of Billie, Corvo had some time to think about everything that Daud had told him, and—

"It was Billie who Delilah turned against you, wasn't it?"

Daud turned to him, and nodded once.

"But you forgave her."

"Her betrayal was expected, given the lives we led then."

"Hm," Corvo said.

He couldn't quite make out the expression on Daud's face under the dim moonlight, but he recognised the tension in his shoulders and the way his fists were perpetually clenched at his sides. Corvo suffered countless restless nights after Coldridge too when freedom was still a difficult concept for him to accept. 

"How did you get captured by the Eyeless in the first place?"

Daud was silent for a long moment. "Carelessness," he finally admitted. "Delilah's ex-witches found me roaming Karnaca and trapped me under some sort of spell. When I woke up, I was already in that cage. An act of revenge for their fallen mistress, I would think. They couldn't access the Void and trap me there, so they did the next best alternative. Liked to come in there just to mock me."

Campbell and Burrows did that too, in the past. Sometimes they came to Coldridge just to drag him out of his cell, chain him to a chair and laugh at him. It wasn't a feeling he could forget even today, the feeling of being reduced to something less than a human being. 

Corvo didn't say anything, and simply turned back around and focused his gaze on a nearby rooftop, just barely in range of his powers. He broke into a run, jumping cleanly off the ledge and letting his magic flare. Within a split second, he was transported through space, re-appearing out of thin air in a ball of blue light. He landed easily on the next rooftop, and turned back to stare at Daud.

Daud looked right back, and after a short pause, he broke into a running start as well, leaping off and using his version of Corvo's blink power to cross the gap and land on the same rooftop that Corvo was standing on.

Corvo moved on to the next rooftop, and Daud followed silently, keeping up with him without much effort.

Corvo continued on to the next, and the next, until more than two hours had passed and he was panting, with a fresh layer of sweat over him. Daud was the same, though perhaps even more so. Clearly, he had yet to recover fully from his imprisonment at the Albarca Baths.

Corvo offered out an S&J Health elixir, and Daud took it after a second's hesitation, uncapping it and gulping it down in a few mouthfuls. Corvo drank one himself as well, waiting for its restorative effect to slowly settle in.

"Thank you," Daud suddenly said, and Corvo briefly wondered if the man was referring to the elixir, or the nighttime run, or perhaps something else entirely. Corvo supposed it didn't really matter which it was in the end, and nodded once.

"Don't fall off on your way back to the Dreadful Wale."

Daud gave him a look. "I won't."

==========

Five days after that, Corvo walked into his office one afternoon to find his window open, and Daud was seated on top of one of his bookshelves, quietly reading a book.

"You should probably think of beefing up security," Daud said as a greeting.

"Not everyone has magic powers," Corvo said. "What are you doing here?"

Daud simply shrugged.

"Where's Billie?"

"Visiting Stilton. Or sneaking in to visit him, really. She's still wanted by the Grand Guard."

So Daud was bored, then. But that didn't exactly explain why he was here, choosing to bother Corvo, of all people.

"Do you have nothing else to do?"

Another shrug.

"What have you been doing for the last fifteen years then?" Corvo asked. 

"Surviving." 

"Don't you have friends?"

Daud gave him a look.

"Your ex-whalers?"

"They're living their own lives. I've no right to barge back in, especially since I was the one who left them."

It made Corvo briefly wonder what Rinaldo would have thought about that back in Dunwall. He was loyal to Corvo when he started working for him as a spy, but Corvo could tell he had fierce loyalty to Daud as well, refusing to give up any information about him.

Daud resumed reading, seemingly engrossed in his book. He showed absolutely no indication of leaving, and Corvo let out a soundless sigh, walking over to his desk to continue working.

His back was turned towards Daud this way, but he felt no reason to care, and started reading through his latest stack of reports. Daud could do whatever he pleased.

Then it happened again, one week later, with another opened window.

The man in question was seated on the bookshelf again, reading yet another book.

"You have a bigger library," Daud said, as if that was a perfectly reasonable explanation to justify his sudden presence in Corvo's office. 

Corvo just raised an eyebrow at that, then promptly went back to his desk to work some more.

Then a third time. 

Daud was on the bookshelf again, reading. 

"If you're waiting for me to change my mind and kill you, expect to keep waiting," Corvo said bluntly. 

Daud briefly looked up. "I am well aware," he said quietly, then went back to reading. 

A fourth time.

Corvo finally said, "You should find a different hobby than sneaking into a Duke's Palace. I could call the guards on you."

"You could," Daud acknowledged, not even looking up.

And then a fifth time.

"Is that... a bone charm?"

Daud was sitting on his usual bookshelf, knife in one hand, and a half carved up raw whalebone in the other. He didn't reply.

"Are you trying to get me raided by the Abbey?"

"You said to get a hobby."

"Yes, a normal hobby, like painting, or cooking, or taxidermy for all I care."

"Hmph," was all Daud said, then returned his attention back to his half-completed bone charm.

Corvo found the completed artifact lying on his table three days later. It was a surprisingly well-crafted thing, humming an oddly... gentle song. Something for warding off bullets. Corvo appreciated the sentiment, he supposed.

But he wasn't the only one to be aware of Daud's repeated appearances in the Palace, and one day, Thomas asked him,

"Is there someone visiting your office, sir? The window's open."

It was just like Thomas to notice small things like that.

"I'm not in any danger. You need not worry," Corvo offered. Lying to a spy like him would only be counterproductive. 

Thomas's face was impassive as always. He looked like he wanted to say something more, but clearly decided against it, and gave a bow. "As you wish, sir."

It didn't stop Thomas from visiting his office more often than necessary after that, eyes always sharp, alert, taking in every detail of his office to make sure nothing was amiss.

"I can protect myself," Corvo told him once, half-amused.

The spy looked somewhat sheepish, quickly saying, "I don't doubt your capabilities, sir. I apologise."

Corvo didn't miss the way Thomas glanced over at his covered left hand for but a split second before looking away. He did that sometimes, but never outwardly said anything to Corvo before. He definitely knew more than he was letting on.

"Is there something you want to tell me, Thomas?" Corvo did his best to keep his voice even, and as gentle as he could.

Thomas froze for a split second. He seemed to consider his options, but eventually shook his head.

Corvo barely blinked at that. Perhaps next time.

==========

Unfortunately, next time turned out to be the very next day, when Thomas entered Corvo's office at the most inopportune of times.

Daud was sitting on top of Corvo's bookshelf, doing whatever it was he felt like doing these days, while Corvo was working, as always.

"You work too much," Daud commented.

"Hm," Corvo said, barely paying him any attention.

"Have you never—"

The door suddenly opened. "Sir, are you—"

Thomas immediately froze at the doorway, eyes darting to Corvo, then Daud.

"Thomas?" Daud asked.

The spy flinched, his usually placid expression vanishing and replaced with pure shock. "Master Daud?"

That alone confirmed everything Corvo already suspected.

"Why..." Thomas suddenly frowned, expression turning hard, eyes cold. He tore his gaze away from Daud, eyes meeting Corvo's instead. The coldness in his blue eyes quickly morphed into pure alarm. "I..." He didn't finish, and instantly turned tail and bolted back out of the office.

Daud jerked towards Corvo. "Why is Thomas—" he shook his head. "He's working for you? Did you even know who he was?"

"I suspected," Corvo said easily enough.

"I didn't know he was in Karnaca," Daud said, an unrecognisable lilt to his voice. "I thought he would have remained in Dunwall with the rest."

"He didn't seem pleased to see you."

"No, I can't imagine he would," Daud said, expression closing off. "I... should go." He disappeared in a flicker of ash before Corvo could say anything else.

Then Corvo put down his pen and sighed once soundlessly, now alone in his office.

He supposed the truth was bound to come out sooner or later, though this had turned out much... messier than anticipated.

Corvo stood up from his desk, and decided to go look for Thomas.

He wasn't in any of his usual spots, but by using magic, Corvo quickly located the spy hiding up on the rooftops.

Thomas immediately stood up upon seeing him, eyes wide. "Sir," he said, hastily bowing once. "I..." he trailed off, then shook his head. His shoulders were slumped, and he eventually said very quietly, "I like working here."

Corvo blinked at that. "I know."

"Are you going to fire me?" Thomas blurted out.

"I see no reason to."

"I lied to you," Thomas said, sounding genuinely upset with himself. "I'm meant to be a spy and I kept secrets from you. I'm sorry, sir."

"You didn't mean any harm," Corvo said simply.

Thomas peeked up at him, now curious. "You... don't seem very surprised."

"No," Corvo admitted.

"How long have you known?"

"I suspected, after that job in Balmette Prison."

Thomas looked even more bewildered. "That was before you even employed me, sir."

"I suppose so."

"Why?"

"You were good at what you did. Still are. The source of your skills matters little to me. The past is the past."

"Haven't you forgotten what we did to you?"

"Now you're beginning to sound like Daud."

Thomas's expression instantly closed off at the mere mention of Daud's name.

"You are upset at him," Corvo stated.

"How could I not? He left us. He didn't even say a damned word, just cut the bond and fled." There was real hurt in his voice, old wounds from the past still raw and throbbing.

"I don't think I gave him much of a choice then," Corvo said gently.

"That's bullshit. He couldn't take even five minutes to say something? Anything? I didn't even know if he was alive, or dead. He just left."

"I'm sure he had his reasons."

"Stupid reasons, knowing him," Thomas mumbled quietly while shaking his head. Then he took a breath and glanced up at Corvo again. "Are you truly not going to fire me, sir?"

"No, Thomas. I'm not. Besides, it wouldn't be the first time I had an ex-whaler working for me."

Thomas's eyes went wide. "What?"

"Rinaldo works for me, or at least he used to, when I was still in Dunwall. He works for Emily now."

"I... wouldn't have expected him to, out of everyone."

"To be fair, he didn't exactly choose to do it. He got involved in dangerous matters he shouldn't have and got himself captured by my men. It was death by execution or a lifelong contract working for the Crown."

"I'm surprised you would trust him to do that, after everything."

"I didn't, initially, but he's more than earned it now after years working for me."

"I haven't worked years for you," Thomas pointed out.

"You could be. I trust you."

"You shouldn't."

"The fact you're telling me that assures me that I can."

Silence.

"You're... really not going to fire me?"

"No."

Thomas's shoulders finally relaxed a little, and he offered a small smile. "Thank you, sir."

Corvo offered a small smile of his own. "You're welcome."

Chapter Text

Thomas opened up a little more to Corvo after that.

Corvo learnt that the spy was only eleven when he first joined Daud, and he'd spent more than a decade of his life living with and working for the man. Attachment was only inevitable, Corvo supposed, especially so for a young child that Thomas used to be, and Corvo was starting to understand why Thomas had been so upset with Daud when he suddenly left without saying a word. Corvo himself had spent much of his early life resenting his father for abandoning his family when he died in that lumber work accident, something that wasn't even his fault, so he could only imagine what Thomas felt when Daud intentionally left.

A week passed, and one day, Thomas suddenly asked Corvo, "Has Master Daud been around?"

Corvo shook his head. He hadn't made a single appearance since that day when he first saw Thomas in his office.

"I see," Thomas said, briefly looking aside.

"Do you want to see him?" Corvo asked.

Thomas didn't immediately answer him. "I don't know," he eventually said. 

"If you ever want to arrange a meeting..."

"I know where he is. Billie reached out to me."

"Hm."

Thomas shook his head once. "No matter. Master Daud knows where I am, too. If he wanted to see me, he would have already." The bitterness Thomas tried to hide leaked through nonetheless, and Corvo couldn't help but feel a little bad for the spy.

Another week passed without a single appearance from Daud, and Corvo could tell that it was starting to weigh down on Thomas. His initial anger at Daud had long faded, morphing into an almost disconcerting, quiet misery that was definitely worse than being simply angry.

It was clear that communication wasn't a strong suit for either ex-assassins, and when a third week threatened to pass without any word from Daud, Corvo finally decided to take action.

He looked for Billie first, finding her in her boat one night, staring thoughtfully at a wanted poster of herself that she'd pinned up onto a board.

"Thinking of turning yourself in?" Corvo asked as he stepped in.

"Maybe if the reward's larger, your Grace."

Corvo huffed once at that, pulling off his mask and shaking his hair free.

"How can I help you?"

"It's about Thomas."

"Ah. I see."

"Where's Daud?"

"He's not here right now. If there's anything he's good at, it's not being found when he doesn't want to be, and avoiding people he doesn't want to talk to."

"Right." Daud's certainly been doing that for the last fifteen years.

"Hm... Though I suppose if it's you, he'd probably be more inclined to listen."

Corvo raised an eyebrow at that. What was that supposed to mean?

Billie shrugged, stating simply, "He feels indebted to you."

"I didn't do anything for him."

"I think it's what you didn't do that made the difference."

Corvo frowned some more, but chose not to question any further. That wasn't important right now. "Where is he?"

Billie shrugged. "He's outside somewhere. Couldn't sleep. And I told him to get out before—"

"He makes a hole in your boat deck with his incessant pacing," Corvo finished.

Billie quirked a smile. "Precisely, your Grace. Though, he may or may not have let slip that he was heading to the Dust District, but... well, let's just say you didn't hear that from me."

"Understood," Corvo said.

"Good luck."

Corvo nodded once, then put his mask back on and made his way back out of the boat.

The Dust District. Corvo hated that it was called as such these days, no thanks to his corrupt predecessor driving it right into the ground. Corvo had received a brutal shock when he visited his old home months ago after he arrived in Karnaca and saw with his own eyes what had happened to the place. He knew the old Batista district was never a place of riches or nobility, but the sheer mountains of silver dust and bloodfly nests were just purely alarming in all the bad ways. How did Duke Abele manage to turn his old home into such a ruin? Corvo had been quick to take action. The first thing he did was to arrange a meeting with Paolo and Byrne, and to get them to sign an official truce in exchange for a seat in the royal council. Both signed without much hesitation. Calling for the eradication of bloodflies and placing a hard limit on the silver mines' production came soon after, but progress was slow, and Corvo knew it would still take much time before whatever Duke Abele did to the district was reversed, if it could even be fully reversed at this point.

These days, silver dust was still covering every surface in the Dust District, but actual mountains of it were fewer and much shorter now, no longer towering over people like they used to.

Corvo took a rail car to the district, then clambered up to the rooftops once he arrived, quietly leaping from ledge to ledge.

It was the middle of the night, but Corvo was somewhat comforted to see a few people strolling about, going about their day. It was definitely a more lively place than what Corvo witnessed a few months ago.

He continued making his way around, periodically using his magic to scan the area, but Daud was still nowhere to be found.

Corvo went deeper into the district, and had to pause at a certain familiar alleyway, and an even more familiar run-down building. He recalled playing here nonstop for hours, chasing other children around and laughing. Times long gone.

Then he caught sight of a glimmer of something shining hung up on the wall. A plaque? There was a plaque in his name?

He used magic to scan the area on a whim, and to his surprise, an orange figure lit up in the distance. Daud.

What was Daud doing in Corvo's old house?

Corvo slipped in through a window—the very same window he used to look out of every night before going to bed—and found Daud sitting on the dusty floor, flipping through a... diary?

His mother's old diary.

"Your mother must have loved you very much," Daud said without turning around.

"She did," Corvo said.

His mother had been so proud of Corvo when he won the Blade Verbena, and even prouder still when Corvo told her the news that he'd been chosen to go to Dunwall by Duke Theodanis. She put on a brave face the day Corvo left, but now that Corvo was a parent himself, he knew that him leaving Karnaca probably broke her heart into a million pieces. She died only months after Corvo arrived in Dunwall, and Corvo often wished he had been there with her at her last moments, to tell her that he loved her just one more time.

"Why are you here, Daud?"

Daud closed the diary. "Curiosity."

"About what?"

Daud didn't reply to that, and instead said, "I used to live at Clemente Landing, when I was a boy."

Corvo's eyes widened slightly at that. He'd known Daud was from Serkonos, but for him to have been living just east of the old Batista district, so close to Corvo, it suddenly made him wonder if he had bumped into Daud at some point, perhaps even played with him.

"My mother and I moved all around Serkonos throughout my childhood, but I remember Karnaca the best."

Well, that explained why Daud eventually came back here, so many decades later. Karnaca was home to him too.

"What made you go to Dunwall?" Corvo couldn't help but ask.

"I didn't make that choice," Daud immediately snapped, voice going hard. "I was abducted. They locked me away, taught me to be a thief, a killer, thought I'd be an asset to their gang, thought I'd be grateful for it. I let them think so, and killed them in return."

Corvo had to wonder why exactly Daud was sharing this with him, but he supposed it gave a little more context as to what turned Daud into the cold-hearted killer that he had been. The world showed him death and violence, so that was all he knew to give back to the world. Would Corvo have done the same, if it were him? It was a difficult thing to imagine.

Daud then sighed. "I wonder what my mother would have thought of me if she knew. She loved me, in her own way, but she wouldn't be proud, certainly not. Not like yours."

"Being abducted wasn't your fault," Corvo offered.

"Killing people was. And I killed so many. I didn't know how to stop until it was too late."

There was a long silence.

Then Daud suddenly stood up, disappearing to the back of the house.

Corvo followed, and saw Daud digging through a hole in the wall—the place where his mother used to keep her more precious items. "I found this. Thought you would want to have this," he said, as he pulled out something from the hole.

It was smaller than Corvo remembered, its shine dulled by a heavy coating of dust, but he would recognise it anywhere.

"My trophy for winning the Blade Verbena."

Daud nodded.

"Didn't think I would see this again."

Corvo took the trophy from Daud.

"The diary should be yours, too."

Corvo took his mother's diary too. Then he finally decided to cut to the chase, and bluntly told Daud, "You should talk to Thomas."

Daud was quiet for a while, then sighed. "I know."

"Do I have to lock you both in a room to get you two to talk?"

Daud shot him a look. "That won't be necessary."

"Then I can expect to see Thomas stop moping around my office by the end of the week?"

Daud frowned at that, but begrudgingly nodded. "I'll do what I can."

"Good."

==========

Two days after that, Thomas came into Corvo's office looking oddly refreshed.

"I punched Master Daud in the face. I thought you would have liked to know that."

Corvo's pen paused over his stack of papers. "How did that feel?"

"A little satisfying," Thomas admitted.

"So..."

"We've talked," Thomas said simply, then bowed once. "Thank you, sir."

"Why are you thanking me?"

Thomas looked at him with one eyebrow raised. "He said you threatened to lock him in a room if that was what it took for him to talk to me."

"Ah."

Thomas nodded.

"So is it safe to say you've settled whatever it is going on between you two?"

Thomas nodded again. "Yes, sir."

"Good. You may get right back to work then."

The tip of Thomas's lips curled up—he was much more expressive with Corvo these days—and he bowed again. "As you wish, sir."

==========

Daud resumed his visits to the Palace once again, sitting on top of Corvo's bookshelf and doing whatever it was he felt like doing that day.

He read most of the time, but recently, he also started to try new things, such as wood carving, a skill which Corvo wasn't entirely sure he had any talent in.

"Is that a... fish?"

It was clearly the wrong answer, and Daud frowned, tossing the half-completed wooden carving right into Corvo's trash bin.

"What was it supposed to be?"

"A wolfhound."

"Hm."

Daud picked up a new block of wood and started carving anew with his dagger.

"Why wood carving?"

"You did tell me to get a hobby that was not... heretical."

Corvo did say that, yes. "I hope you'll at least clean up the mess."

"Hm," Daud said, starting to whittle down the new block of wood, shavings falling all over the floor.

He did in fact, remember to clean up the mess later, much to Corvo's surprise.

Daud continued wood carving over the next few weeks, albeit quite badly, and Corvo eventually bought a set of actual wood carving tools for him, tired of watching him struggle with his single pathetic dagger.

Daud paused when he first saw the brand new set of chisels and blades sitting at his usual place on top of the bookshelf. He looked momentarily speechless.

"If you're going to continue to litter my floor with wood shavings, you might as well get the right tools for it," Corvo said.

"I... thank you, I suppose."

"Mm."

==========

One month after Daud first started wood carving, Corvo found a completed wooden figure sitting innocently on his desk.

"Is this a—" Corvo stopped. He'd learnt his lesson. "It's... an interesting piece," he said instead.

"It's a bird," Daud said helpfully.

"Right," Corvo said agreeably, inspecting the wooden figure in his hand. Was the pointed thing on the top the beak or the wing?

Corvo put it back down onto his desk.

Thomas caught sight of it immediately the next time he came into Corvo's office, and he asked, "Is that a fish?"

"A bird, supposedly."

Thomas looked briefly amused. "Did Master Daud make it?"

"He did."

"I see," he said. "I... suppose his skills can only improve from here?"

"One can hope so."

==========

Corvo's wooden figure collection of barely recognisable animals grew after that.

Then one day, Daud asked, "When was the last time you took a day off?"

Corvo opened his mouth.

"Official visits to different districts do not count."

Corvo closed his mouth.

Daud huffed. "You work too much."

"People need me," Corvo defended.

"You need to rest, too."

Corvo just frowned. He was well rested enough. Then he pointedly went back to his work, scribbling notes onto a piece of paper. Daud simply sighed.

Five days after that, Thomas suddenly came into his office, declaring, "Your schedule's been cleared for today, sir."

Corvo gave him a look. Thomas stared back innocently.

"What happened to the meeting with Stilton?"

"He's kindly agreed to shift the meeting to next week."

"And the meeting with Lord Humphrey?"

"Canceled."

"Thomas..." Corvo said warningly.

"I should have said something earlier, but you need to rest, sir. You almost fell asleep during the council meeting yesterday."

"Nothing a cup of coffee can't fix," Corvo said stubbornly.

"Please, sir. Just one day off. I can handle the work for today. You know I'm capable of it. Go rest. Take some time to yourself."

Corvo stared at Thomas, and Thomas stared back. Then Corvo finally sighed. He had a feeling he wouldn't win this argument anyway. "Fine."

Thomas smiled, and bowed once. "Rest well then, sir."

Corvo got chased out of his own office after that, and he sighed out loud again, wondering what he was supposed to do with all this free time now.

Word spread like wildfire among the rest of the staff about his involuntary day off, and everyone started excitedly and not so subtly directing him away from anything remotely resembling work of any kind.

Reports were quickly tucked away and out of his sight, and the Palace staff were offering polite suggestions on how to spend his time when they saw him wandering around the huge Palace aimlessly.

"Why not take a stroll in the gardens, your Grace? It's a beautiful day out."

Corvo proceeded to take a short walk in the gardens downstairs. He never noticed how well kept the place was until today, and made a mental note to give his thanks to the royal gardener.

"Would you fancy some tea and cakes, your Grace? You favour honey cakes, do you not?"

It was early, but Corvo ate the honey cakes as offered, and made a mental note to give his thanks to the royal patisserie as well.

"Would you like to engage in some light sparring, my lord? You used to do that in Dunwall with the Empress, didn't you?"

Corvo unashamedly beat an entire squad of his own Palace guards and was quickly ushered away by Captain Harrow before he could launch into a full blown teaching session.

Then he had a bath, ate lunch (Corvo didn't miss that they had served his favourite dish, grilled Blood Ox), and then decided to spend some time alone in his own quarters.

His rooms were kept impeccably clean as always. Most of the furnishings were practically brand new, untouched. Corvo couldn't remember when he last sat down on the couch, much less read a book for leisure from his personal bookshelf. There were books brought over from Dunwall that he had yet to even crack open, which was saying a lot. Emily would disapprove of it, certainly.

Corvo picked out a book at random and brought it over to the couch, settling down in it.

He started reading. It was some sort of fantasy storybook that Emily most likely snuck in, a lighthearted story about a young runaway prince who befriended a wild horse and went on many brave adventures together. It was oddly engaging, funny at some parts, and also surprisingly heartfelt.

Before he knew it, he was suddenly blinking awake, tiredness tugging at his eyelids as he let out a long yawn. He was lying on the couch, pillow under his head and feeling surprisingly warm and comfortable. There was a soft blanket draped over him, one he definitely didn't recall pulling over himself. His book was placed on the table nearby, a bookmark sticking out from in between the pages.

Corvo blinked a few more times and sat up, staring at the clock at the end of the room. It was nearly dinner time. He'd been asleep for four hours?

The windows in his room were still open, though perhaps the one at the back was slightly more agape than he remembered leaving it?

No matter.

Corvo stood back up, gathering the blanket in his arms and folding it back up.

The sleep was something he definitely needed it seemed, and he felt more refreshed than he'd ever been in perhaps months. His mind was clear, and the aches in his body had eased somewhat.

He supposed this day off was good for him after all, not that he'd admit it to anyone, not to Thomas, and certainly not to Daud.

==========

"I've decided to make some more changes to your schedule, sir," Thomas said the very next day.

"You're a spy, not a secretary."

Thomas ignored that—he was certainly getting much more impudent these days, a little like Emily—and pointed at the calendar board at the back of the room.

"I've taken the liberty to shuffle some of your many—exceedingly many, might I point out—appointments. Your next full day off will be in two weeks, sir. And I'm also blocking out an hour every evening for you to have some free time to yourself."

Free time to get more work done, Corvo thought to himself.

"Free time to rest," Thomas said, as if able to hear Corvo's thoughts. "For leisure."

Corvo huffed. "Can I even say no?"

"You could, just as I could pen a letter to Rinaldo, who will in turn be instructed to pass it on to your Majesty. I highly doubt she'd be pleased," Thomas said innocently.

Corvo kept silent, then sighed. "You are starting to be a lot more trouble than I initially imagined you to be."

Thomas bowed once. "One of my many charms, sir."

==========

"I heard you have days off now," Daud said the next time he visited.

Corvo scowled internally. Was absolutely everyone going to be rubbing it in constantly? It became a hot topic of discussion between his council members as well at the last council meeting. Stilton had nodded approvingly, as did Paolo and Byrne, surprisingly. Even Hypatia looked proud, saying he should certainly rest more, which was honestly plain insulting because it was just a pot calling the kettle black.

"It is involuntary," Corvo felt the need to say, giving Daud a rather pointed stare because the man was definitely every bit responsible for it.

"You work too much," Daud said. "Rest is important too."

"I don't want to hear that from you, of all people."

"Then learn to delegate your work. Thomas is more than capable. He used to be my second for a reason."

Corvo could definitely imagine the spy as such. He was hardworking, meticulous, and competent. Very competent. Were they traits already present in Thomas as a child? Or were they instilled in him and nurtured by Daud? How odd to think that Daud practically raised him as a child and shaped his mind. It was like Corvo in that respect, with him raising Emily and teaching her everything he knew.

"How did you meet Thomas?" Corvo decided to ask.

"He was some noble's bastard child, tossed onto the streets. He stole something from the wrong person and got into a fight. It was three against one, but he still stood tall and threw the first punch."

"You saved him."

"Well, technically one of the people he fought with was my target who I killed. The others got in the way and so I killed them too. Thomas simply demanded to follow me after, wouldn't let go of my coat. It's not like I could have killed a child."

"Was that how you found the others too?"

"It all just happened that way. I didn't go out of my way to save anyone."

Corvo raised an eyebrow at that. So the man was saying he just so happened to pick up at least thirty or so ruffians from the streets, training them to become assassins and having a majority of them develop some inexplicable bone-deep loyalty to him. Like Rinaldo, Thomas and Billie. Loyalty that deep didn't just develop overnight.

But Corvo decided to humour him anyway, saying, "Of course not."

Daud nodded once agreeably, and went back to carving whatever he was carving with his block of wood.

==========

Weeks passed, and Corvo begrudgingly got used to his new routine of having these... intrusive days off and free time.

"Free time is not meant to be a punishment, sir," Thomas said with an amused glint in his eye.

Corvo gave him a look. Certainly didn't feel like it. The traitorous spy was holding Corvo's confiscated pen in one hand, and a stack of unsigned forms in the other hand ever since the dratted clock hit the start of the hour of his designated free time.

"Why not pick up a new hobby? Like Master Daud with wood carving—" Thomas then stared at Daud's latest creation on the table. Some kind of cat apparently. It was at least recognisable as such, though the poor thing looked like it had been skinned alive and squeezed through a meat grinder. "—on second thought, maybe not."

"I'll tell him you said that."

"Please don't."

Corvo huffed once, eyeing the stack of unsigned forms clutched in Thomas's hands yet again. If he had just five more minutes...

Thomas gave him a look, as if able to guess what he was thinking. "No, sir. You're not getting this back until the hour is over. The full hour."

Corvo frowned.

Thomas then pulled out an envelope from his coat and handed it over. "Here, you can have this in exchange. It's a letter from your Majesty."

Corvo perked up.

The letter was long as always, and Corvo read through every word eagerly. Emily enquired about his health, wrote of her dealings with the pesky nobles in Dunwall, about her lover, Wyman, and then—

A smile broke out on Corvo's face. "She's visiting Karnaca next month."

"It is your birthday month, after all, sir. Certainly cause for celebration."

His smile vanished. Right. That. "I don't want a big celebration," Corvo said, not for the first time.

"I am afraid your citizens do not quite share the same sentiment as you do," Thomas said. "They seem rather resolute in their intentions to throw the biggest, most lavish celebration on the streets."

"Is there truly nothing that can convince them otherwise?"

"Nothing short of a royal decree, I believe, though I doubt you would resort to doing something that frivolous," Thomas said, giving Corvo an almost sympathetic smile. "Just leave them be. The citizens simply love you, their Duke. Is that truly a crime?"

Corvo sighed. How was he supposed to argue with that?

==========

Preparations quickly went underway once Corvo made the official announcement that Emily was visiting, and as a result, his now "big birthday celebration" turned even bigger, much to his dismay.

Then one afternoon, just two days before Emily was due to arrive, Daud suddenly asked,

"Does your daughter know about me?"

"She knows I spared your life."

"What about here? Does she know I'm in Karnaca?" Visiting you. Speaking to you, he didn't say.

"I don't keep secrets from her. Not anymore."

"She didn't have anything to say about it?"

"No. She trusts my judgment. And she'll have the chance to say a great many things to you in person soon."

Daud went silent.

"She won't kill you," Corvo said. "If that makes you feel better."

"It does not."

Corvo huffed once, and left it at that.

Chapter Text

Two days later, Corvo was finally hugging his dear daughter in person, arms wrapping around her slender shoulders.

"Father!" Emily greeted, smiling widely. "It's been too long."

"Emily," Corvo greeted back, also smiling. "How are you?"

"I've been well," Emily reassured, giving him another quick hug again before letting go. "It's so good to see you again. I've missed you terribly."

"As did I."

Emily immediately started telling him all about her latest adventures in Dunwall, and they quickly slipped back into the comfortable rhythm of her talking non-stop and Corvo listening and humming at periodic points. It was as if they were never apart in the first place. Void, Corvo had missed this so.

The next few days were spent taking her all over Karnaca, attending council meetings, and in the night time, having some nice father-daughter bonding time running across rooftops with their powers.

"Race you," Emily said, a cheeky grin on her face.

Corvo scoffed. They all knew who would win. Corvo's body wasn't like it used to be these days.

But he nodded nonetheless, and they took their positions on the edge of the rooftop.

On Emily's count, they took off.

Emily easily got a quick lead ahead with her grappling powers, but Corvo was not to be outdone, effortlessly crossing rooftops with his blink powers.

Emily had superior strength and speed, but Corvo had the advantage of experience and familiarity of the terrain, and he caught up in a few seconds, quickly gaining ground.

Emily shot him a brief backwards glance, and Corvo immediately recognised that twinkle in her eye. She was going to do something reckless again.

"Emi—"

Too late.

Her Mark flared, and his foolhardy daughter used her powers to essentially catapult herself across the sky. Emily landed right on the edge of the rooftop she was aiming for, thankfully.

"You know how I feel about you doing that," Corvo chastised as he dropped into a roll and sprung back up into a sprint in an attempt to catch up to her.

"You worry too much, father. I've been practising. I have this under control."

Corvo could only sigh. He supposed he had only himself to blame for Emily's boldness—recklessness, really.

Emily was quickly nearing their designated finishing line at the clock tower just up ahead, and Corvo suddenly had an idea.

He spied a bird soaring above in the distance close to the finishing line, and he reached out with his powers.

Corvo's consciousness immediately melded together with the bird's, and he playfully swooped down, tip of his wing brushing against Emily's shoulder as he raced in front and touched down on the finishing line ahead of her.

Emily let out a noise of protest, and Corvo squawked back at her triumphantly in his bird body.

"You're a cheater."

Corvo let go of his control over the bird and let his human body materialise back into existence. The bird took off immediately. Emily was pouting at him, and Corvo could only chuckle at her expression. She had always been a bit of a sore loser since she was a young child—Jessamine was to blame for that trait of hers.

"I suppose you still have much to learn, your majesty," Corvo said, giving a quick bow.

"You are infuriating as always, father." Emily gave him a half-hearted shove in the shoulder, and Corvo smiled.

They sat down at the ledge of the clock tower to rest for a while, each drinking a bottle of elixir in silence.

Then a few minutes later, the clock struck once, twice, signaling the arrival of the next hour. Midnight. A new day.

Emily leant in by his side, whispering in his ear, "Happy birthday, father."

As if on cue, fireworks suddenly lit up in the distance, a burst of yellow and orange in the night sky. Corvo's eyes widened.

"I thought I told the citizens to keep things simple," he said, even as his eyes remained transfixed on the bright display. It was undoubtedly still breathtaking to witness. "Fireworks are not simple."

Emily just chuckled, looking fond as she lay her head against Corvo's shoulder. "You never once complained when people set off fireworks for my birthday. Leave them be. It's just their way of showing gratitude to you. They love you, and rightfully so. You've done so much for them."

"Their well wishes would have been enough."

"Not in their eyes."

"Hmph." There was no sense arguing any further, and Corvo remained seated with Emily on top of the clock tower, watching the gorgeous fireworks display in the distance together.

==========

Corvo wasn't one that liked attention, but he supposed he had no choice but to make an exception for his birthday.

He received countless well wishes and a mountain of presents from everyone. Emily showered him with books, clothes and his favourite foods from Dunwall. Thomas gave him a new journal set. Billie gave him a silvergraph of Emily. Even Daud left a present on his table, a wooden carving of a crow—surprisingly immediately recognisable as such. A handwritten note was tucked just beneath, saying: "Happy birthday, Corvo."

Emily had stared at the crow carving thoughtfully for a few minutes, before saying, "It's strange to imagine that the hands that killed mother made this for you."

"He's changed," was all Corvo said.

Emily nodded easily enough, then fell silent again.

"Do you want to meet him?" Corvo asked.

A pause. Then Emily eventually nodded. "Yes."

Corvo nodded back. "I'll send a message."

==========

The meeting was officially arranged the next day on the rooftops, at night.

Daud was already there when Corvo and Emily turned up, and he bowed once, greeting, "Your majesty."

"Daud," Emily said, voice flat.

There was silence. Nobody drew their blades.

"I spent years imagining what I would have said to you if I saw you again, but now..." she shook her head. "I don't know what to say."

Daud remained quiet.

"You killed my mother."

"I did."

"Why did you do it?"

"Money," Daud replied.

"Was it worth it?"

Daud looked her in the eye. "I would give back all the coin if I could, your majesty."

An even longer silence.

"But you saved me, too," Emily said very quietly. "Corvo told me about it. You met Delilah, fifteen years ago. Why did you save me, then?"

"It... was the right thing to do," Daud said honestly, making Emily huff once. Daud continued, "It doesn't make up for what I did, what I took from you. Nothing can. Even if I wished for it so, I know I can't take it back. What I did… It's the worst mistake of my life, and I'm sorry."

Emily shook her head at that. "I don't want your apology. It is meaningless to me. I want to despise you, hate you for what you did, but you had to just ruin it all by saving my life fifteen years ago and—" A sigh. "Fight with me," she suddenly said.

"What?"

"I'm ordering you, as Empress of the Isles, to fight with me."

Daud blinked, but eventually nodded. "As you wish." He drew his sword.

Emily did the same.

"Don't you dare go easy on me."

"I won't."

Corvo stepped out of the way, and off they went.

It was a brutal fight, with both going all out with their powers. If Daud was surprised by Emily's magic, he didn't show it. Steel met steel, each blow countered perfectly by the other, and Corvo briefly wondered if this was how his own fight with Daud was like, more than fifteen years ago?

First blood was quickly drawn, and Corvo's heart instinctively jumped when he saw his own daughter start to bleed. Daud was bleeding too, and they continued to trade blow after blow, drawing even more blood. He'd promised Emily he wouldn't interfere no matter what, and though none of the blows traded were laced with lethal intent, each strike was getting harder and harder for him to keep watching. He kept his fists tightly balled up by his side, praying for this to end quickly.

Then finally, with a sharp blow using the hilt of Emily's blade, it did.

Daud collapsed to the ground, panting heavily. Emily pointed her blade to his neck, panting as well.

Silence.

"I was scared of you, you know," Emily said between breaths. "I had nightmares of you for my whole life. You were just this monster in my mind, huge, unbeatable. But now..." she trailed off, and put her sword away.

Daud just stared at her in disbelief.

"You're just a man like any other. You made your choices—as poor as they were—and I don't think I'll ever have it in me to forgive you, but after everything that's happened, I'm just tired of hating you, being afraid of you."

"I'm... sorry, Emily," Daud said.

Emily nodded at that, voice cracking as she said, "I know. I know."

Emily reached out a hand towards Daud to help him up, and after second's hesitation, Daud took it. 

==========

"I'm proud of you," Corvo told Emily later back in the Palace, while dressing her wounds.

"I wanted to do it," Emily said, voice raw.

"I was the same," Corvo said softly. "I'm glad you didn't."

"I used to resent you," Emily suddenly said, and Corvo froze. "I never understood why you could let him go. Was it because you didn't love mother enough? Didn't love me enough?"

Corvo's heart broke a little at that. "Emily, I—"

"I know that's not true, but it's hard not to think that back then," she said. "And now after everything that's happened with Delilah... I think I'm finally starting to understand why you did what you did."

Corvo couldn't stop himself from reaching out to hug her. Emily immediately hugged back, and Corvo pretended not to notice the way his shoulder was slowly growing wet, gently rubbing down Emily's back. It suddenly felt like Emily was ten again, hugging Corvo in the middle of the night after a nightmare, but Corvo supposed no matter how old she got, Emily would always be his little girl, and he would always be there for her, no matter what.

"I'm sorry," he whispered. "I'm so proud of you."

Emily nodded against his shoulder, and didn't say anything else for the remainder of the night.

==========

Emily didn't meet Daud again for the rest of her trip, but it was clear that there was a weight lifted off her shoulders at last, and she was now finally letting go of the past and moving forward with her life.

She spent the last few days in Karnaca with Corvo at the Palace, eating together, chatting, even sparring, and when she eventually left to return back to Dunwall, she gave Corvo a long hug, saying,

"I'll miss you, father. Take care of yourself."

"I'll miss you too," Corvo said, hugging her back equally as tight.

After a long minute, Emily let go. She gave Corvo one last smile before she boarded the ship back to Dunwall, and that was that.

Life as the Duke of Serkonos quickly resumed as usual.

Work continued. Thomas continued to force him to take days off and have his free time, and Daud continued visiting intermittently, carving his wooden figures while sitting on top of Corvo's bookshelf.

"You raised her well," Daud said, a day after Emily left. "She packs one hell of a punch. Like you."

Corvo couldn't help but smile at that. That's his girl. "Now maybe you'll think twice about going after her."

Daud snorted at that. "Only a fool would even think to consider it now." Then a pause. "She should be proud. I may not be at my prime anymore, but not many can best me."

"She knows."

==========

One day, Daud suddenly said, out of the blue, "I have an apartment now."

Corvo could have sworn that Daud's name was still on the wanted list. "What name did you register the property under?" he couldn't help but ask.

"Bundry Rothwild."

Corvo snorted. "Seriously?"

"Didn't think he would mind, considering he's dead."

"Because you basically killed him by sending him all the way to Samara."

"Technically the idiot signed his own death sentence when he threatened the local authorities there and got himself thrown into prison, where he then stupidly harassed a gang leader and got himself shanked."

Well... that wasn't entirely a lie.

"So what does Bundry Rothwild do these days then?" 

"He owns a pharmacy." 

"A pharmacy?" 

"My mother used to dabble in poisons and hallucinogens. She taught me a lot, and medicine isn't all that different from that." 

Huh. Corvo would have never expected that, but he supposed there was much to Daud that he didn't know. 

"With this new identity of yours, I suppose you can finally stop coming in through the window and register as an official visitor instead."

Daud raised an eyebrow at that, then went back to his wood carving.

The very next day, Captain Harrow suddenly knocked on his office door, announcing,

"You have a visitor, sir. A certain... Bundry Rothwild? He's not on the appointments list."

Corvo blinked. Huh. "Let him in. He's a friend." Then Corvo paused, and blinked some more. He only said that on a whim, but now that he'd said it, he realised... it wasn't really a lie.

Daud seemed almost surprised that Corvo let "Bundry Rothwild" in without question, and he raised an eyebrow at him when the guards wordlessly brought him to Corvo's office.

"Did you truly expect me to set the guards on you?" Corvo asked him.

"A little, maybe. Honestly, I just wanted to see what you'd do."

"Well, now you have your answer."

"I suppose," Daud said thoughtfully. "I think I prefer the window though."

Corvo snorted. How typical of an ex-assassin. "Suit yourself."

That was the first and last time "Bundry Rothwild" visited.

==========

"There's a cat intruder in my apartment," Daud said two weeks later.

"A cat. As in..."

"The animal," Daud finished helpfully.

"Right. And it's... alive?"

Daud shot him an unimpressed look. "Yes, it's alive and well. Missing half an ear and an eye, but alive."

Corvo raised an eyebrow.

"It wasn't me. The bastard was like that when I found it."

"And where did you find it?"

"I may have... fed it scraps once, and now the bastard keeps coming back."

"What's its name?"

"Doesn't have one. It's not a welcome visitor."

"Huh."

==========

A week passed.

"Did you know Daud has a cat now? It's one heck of a feisty thing. He calls it Bastard," Thomas told Corvo.

Corvo snorted at that.

==========

Daud continued to visit the Palace frequently, so much so that his absence rather than presence had turned into an unusual occurrence. 

Most of the time, he read books on his usual place on Corvo's bookshelf, or carved his wooden figures, and occasionally, he would also talk to Corvo. 

Long talks between them were rare—both tended to prefer companionable silence over avid chats—but during the times that they did talk, Corvo found Daud to be an unexpectedly engaging conversation partner. 

Daud was an intelligent man, which didn't surprise Corvo one bit, given his past profession. The man understood the intricacies of politics, knew the aristocracy, and he had unexpected insight into Karnaca's many problems. He was always able to offer a different perspective to whatever conundrum that Corvo was pondering over at the time, and Corvo appreciated his opinion, and sometimes even actively sought out Daud's counsel as well. 

But beyond serious conversations, Corvo also learnt that Daud was sharp, witty, with a certain sardonic sense of humour and an uncanny knack at delivering his words in the most blase tone possible that Corvo couldn't help but chuckle out loud at sometimes. 

Corvo learnt about his preferences—the man was partial to the colour red and had a surprising sweet tooth. The man often pilfered pastries and cakes from the kitchens and Corvo started having a tray of fresh snacks delivered to his office instead before his kitchen staff thought of reporting the missing snacks to the guards.

Corvo also learnt about the things Daud didn't appreciate—most kinds of nuts, except chestnuts for whatever reason, and that the man had very strong opinions on river krusts of all things, primarily that he absolutely hated them. 

"River krusts are a vile species with absolutely zero redeeming qualities," Daud declared. 

"Didn't you used to live in the Flooded District? And wasn't that just a breeding ground for river krusts?"

"I merely chose the location for practical reasons. Whatever thoughts I had on river krusts were irrelevant then."

"Well, at least their pearls are valuable. They sell for a hefty amount of coin."

"The pearls are basically river krust excrement. Or vomit. Or bile. Or some sort of unholy mixture of all three."

Corvo raised an eyebrow. That's certainly one way of putting it. "What exactly happened to make you hate river krusts so much?"

"They continue to exist as a species, that's what."

Corvo snorted at that. 

It was perhaps inevitable that Corvo would come to actually look forward to Daud's appearances, and one day, the man suddenly said, 

"I want to show you something. Meet me at the rooftops later tonight."

Corvo raised an eyebrow questioningly, but agreed.

At night, Corvo made for the rooftops. Daud was already waiting for him, and he led the way across the rooftops, before taking a rail car towards the direction of Cyria Gardens.

The journey was quiet, and Corvo quickly noticed that there were more people out and about tonight, even more so than usual. Was there something happening tonight?

Daud brought him even further into Cyria Gardens, coming up to one of the many giant umberwood trees scattered about in the district.

Daud seemed to consider the tree for a moment, before nodding once to himself and climbing it. Corvo stared, but eventually followed, clambering up easily enough.

Reaching the top was easy with the help of his powers. Daud plopped down on one of the thicker branches, and Corvo joined him.

"What's the occasion?"

"Hm, just wait and see," Daud said vaguely.

They sat in silence for a while, and Corvo stared up into the night sky. He supposed he'd never really taken the time to notice, but the array of stars in the sky was certainly a spectacle to behold.

And then—

A streak of bright white suddenly flashed across the sky, and another. And another.

It was a meteor shower.

Corvo's eyes widened.

He never had the chance to see a real one in Dunwall before. It was almost always far too cloudy for it.

"I thought you might like it," Daud said quietly beside him, also looking up into the sky. "You do like to spend your free time in the gardens looking at the scenery."

It never once occurred to Corvo that Daud would pay any attention to what Corvo did in his free time, much less cared about knowing his likes and preferences, but Corvo supposed now he knew that the man did.

Corvo continued watching the meteor shower, marveling at the way the night sky lit up periodically in white, again and again. It was truly something to behold.

When it was finally over, Corvo turned to face Daud.

"Thank you for taking me here."

"Mm."

==========

A week later, Daud brought him cookies from a famous bakery.

Then another week, he left a bottle of some rare Tyvian wine on his table.

And today, Daud handed over a book—some military tactics book that Corvo had admittedly been searching for himself.

"Why are you giving me things, Daud?" Corvo asked.

Daud shrugged. "Seemed like you wanted them."

Corvo found himself frowning at that, making Daud pause and say, "I can stop."

Corvo shook his head, flipping through the book Daud had just gifted him. "It's fine."

Daud looked at him for a moment, then nodded.

The gifts continued.

Corvo didn't say anything about it.

Then two months in, a report landed on Corvo's desk, telling of the sudden disappearance of one Lady Belladonna—a person who Corvo once referred to as "an obnoxious vixen and serial bird killer".

"Serial bird killer?" Daud had asked curiously. 

Corvo stared at him. "Have you never seen the outrageous feather hats that she assaults everyone in sight with? You'd think she single handedly wiped out Karnaca's entire population of peacocks."

Daud snorted out loud at that.

Then now, three days later, Lady Belladonna was suspiciously missing.

"What happened to Lady Belladonna?" Corvo asked Daud when he came to visit.

"The peacock killer? Hm, I guess she took a prolonged, likely permanent trip to Tyvia."

"What did you do?"

"I didn't do anything to her. She's alive."

"What did you do?"

Daud sighed. "Billie and I convinced her very kindly to leave the country before we exposed her crime of running a slave ring. She won't be returning."

Corvo frowned. He knew that the vixen was up to no good, but not to this degree. If he'd known earlier, if he'd ordered his guards to investigate earlier...

"The children are fine too," Daud added.

"The children?" The disgust in Corvo's voice was evident.

"They're fine," Daud repeated.

"I... didn't know."

"It's hardly your fault."

"If I had kn—"

"But you didn't."

"Well, if I—"

"Enough. This isn't your fault, Corvo. The vixen has been dealt with, and the children are alive and well."

Corvo went silent, then asked, "Where are the children?"

"Returned to their families, except one."

Corvo looked up at Daud curiously at that. "She has no family. I'm still looking for a place for her."

Corvo nodded at that, mind already running through a list of potential foster parents candidates. He knew one or two who would possibly adopt a child like her. "I may have a few ideas. I'd need to get back to you on that."

"That'll be much appreciated."

Corvo nodded again, then asked curiously, "You've never expressed any interest in involving yourself in matters of the state before. Why now?"

Daud shrugged once. "Didn't know if it'd be welcome."

Hm. "Are you planning to continue to involve yourself?"

Daud looked at him, eyes briefly falling to the stack of reports on Corvo's desk, ever tall. "Perhaps."

"I see."

==========

It happened again. And again.

Corrupt Overseers were kicked out of the Abbey. Snotty nobles with—lightly put— perverse pastimes were kicked out of the country, publicly shamed or thrown in prison. One by one, without Corvo even lifting a finger, his enemies were quietly dealt with, disappearing without a trace.

His daily pile of work was decreasing, and Thomas took it as a sign to gleefully enforce more days off and a second hour of free time in his routine, much to Corvo's endless annoyance.

Then one day, Corvo came to his office to find Daud sitting on his usual bookshelf, this time with a second, much smaller companion.

A child.

Corvo's lips quirked upwards slightly at that. He'd given Daud a couple of suggestions for rehoming the little girl he'd picked up from Lady Belladonna's slave ring, but Daud never seemed particularly interested in taking up any of them, and eventually Corvo stopped trying.

"Good morning Daud, and good morning... it was Miss Talia, was it?" Corvo greeted.

The young girl blushed at the honorific, and nodded. "Good morning," she squeaked, then added hastily, "Your Grace."

Corvo nodded.

"She wanted to see the palace," Daud said as an explanation. "And you."

Corvo raised an eyebrow.

"She didn't believe me when I said I knew the Duke of Serkonos."

Ah.

"I didn't say that!" Talia quickly protested, going pale. "I meant—I, well—It's not—You were clearly sneaking in, so—"

Corvo took pity on her. "Daud's welcome through the front door if he so chooses, but I suppose he just prefers the window. You're welcome here too, if you ever want to visit."

"Y—yes, your Grace," she said, voice going meek again as she peered shyly out from behind Daud's back, still looking deathly afraid of Corvo.

No matter. Corvo already knew one surefire way to earn a kid's trust. "Would you like a snack? Some... honey cake, perhaps?"

Talia instantly perked up, and Corvo smiled to himself.

==========

Daud's gifts continued along with his regular visits, as did the mysterious disappearances of Corvo's enemies. 

Then one day, when Daud plopped another one of his misshapen wooden carvings onto his desk, Corvo told him,

"I have something for you." Corvo opened his drawer and pulled an envelope out.

Daud took the envelope, opening it easily.

He barely got through the first line before jerking up.

"What is this?"

"It's what it is."

"You're pardoning me?"

"Billie as well."

"Your daughter approved of this?"

"That is her signature on the paper. As is mine."

"You can't do that."

"Technically I am the Duke of Serkonos and my daughter is the Empress of the Isles, so yes, indeed, I can. We can."

"You are absolutely unbelievable."

"I will take that as a compliment."

Daud opened his mouth to retort, but Corvo was quicker.

"I forgive you Daud, for what you did."

Daud's mouth snapped shut instantly, eyes going wide.

"You may not think yourself deserving of such, maybe you never will, but I forgive you anyway. That's my choice."

Daud visibly swallowed a few times. "I... don't know what to say," he finally said. "I don't understand you at all."

Corvo smiled, just barely, and reached out to give Daud's shoulders a quick squeeze. "I'll take that as a compliment as well."

==========

Surprisingly little changed after that.

The gifts continued, and Corvo's enemies still mysteriously vanished from day to day.

Daud continued to sneak into the Palace through the window as always, despite having Corvo's open approval to come in as his guest. 

He didn't always come alone, and he brought Talia along at times, mostly when the kid bugged him to do so, though it was often enough that Corvo started keeping boxes of crayons and stacks of blank papers around his office for her to draw on.

Sometimes, Daud even came with Billie, who had started officially taking up jobs from Corvo himself now that she was pardoned, working primarily from the shadows as a spy, smuggler and occasional thief.

"It's odd that I'll be working with Billie again after so many years," Thomas said when he found out.

"Don't cause trouble," Corvo said.

Thomas blinked at him.

"Don't cause too much trouble," Corvo corrected.

A glimmer of amusement darted across Thomas's eyes, and he bowed once. "Yes, sir."

==========

Several more peaceful months passed, and one afternoon, Captain Harrow knocked on his door.

"Good afternoon, Duke Attano. Your next appointment has arrived."

"Thank you, Captain. I'll be there shortly."

Corvo finished signing the last of his reports, and headed out of his office to the meeting room.

To his surprise, none other than Daud was there, with little Talia in tow.

Corvo raised an eyebrow. "You made an official appointment to see me? That's a first."

"Thought I'd mix things up a bit," Daud said.

"What's the occasion?"

Daud stared at him. "It's your birthday tomorrow."

"That's tomorrow."

"Well, you'd be busy tomorrow."

"Happy early birthday, your Grace!" Talia chirped up happily. Corvo smiled at her.

"Thank you, Talia," Corvo said to her, then back to Daud, "I'm surprised you even managed to squeeze in an appointment today."

"Thomas helped."

Corvo shot Thomas a look, who glanced away innocently.

He glanced back to Daud. "Well? What do you have planned then?"

"We're going to the gardens."

"I want to go too!" Talia said.

"Not today, you little monkey," Thomas cut in, effortlessly scooping her up into his arms before she could dash towards the door. Talia giggled, squirming in Thomas's grip. "You'll be spending time with me instead."

"Ooh, are you going to teach me sword fighting again?"

"Something even better," Thomas said slyly, making Daud narrow his eyes at him.

"Care to explain, Thomas?"

"Nothing," Thomas said smoothly, and Talia giggled again. "Head on to the gardens, Master Daud. Time's wasting."

Daud sighed soundlessly, but obliged, making his way down to the gardens. Corvo followed.

None of the usual guards were around, no doubt instructed by Thomas to leave them alone.

There was a skiff waiting at the dock of the gardens, and Corvo blinked at that.

"Borrowed it from Billie."

"Ah."

Daud stepped into the skiff, and glanced up at Corvo questioningly. "Waiting for a royal invitation, your Grace?"

Corvo snorted and stepped in.

Daud started up the skiff and off they went out into the sea.

The weather was fair today. The waves were calm, and there was a cool breeze blowing against his face. Corvo could smell the salt in the air, a pleasant, almost welcoming smell after being stuck in his office for the entire day.

After sailing out a fair distance away from the docks, Daud turned off the engine, and sat back down in the skiff.

"Planning to drown me in the sea?" Corvo joked.

"Like I'd spend that much effort securing a kill," Daud deadpanned.

"Then what are we doing here in the middle of the sea?"

"Nothing," Daud said truthfully in a quiet voice. "I just thought you'd appreciate some time away from that dratted office of yours."

"Hm."

Daud then rummaged around in the skiff, pulling out a wooden box. "I brought drinks, and some snacks."

Corvo didn't miss that it was Old Dunwall, his preferred drink, or that the snacks packed in the little box were also a collection of his favourites—orange pound cake, berry scones with apricot jam, fig tartlets and an assortment of sandwiches and pies.

Corvo couldn't help but smile a little at that, taking the drink as offered.

They drank in silence, enjoying bites of food and staring out into the horizon. The sun slowly started to set, turning the sky into a glorious red.

Then for whatever reason—why today of all days, Corvo wasn't entirely certain—he finally decided to ask, "What are your intentions with me, Daud?"

A pause. "Must we discuss this now?"

"Yes."

"Hmph."

"So?"

"I presume you already have your own speculations."

"I do. Maybe I just want to hear it from you."

"Hmph."

"Well?"

"I don't want to see you hurt," Daud said, moving closer.

"Mm."

"Or harmed." And closer.

"Mm."

"Or unhappy." And even closer still, until they were practically face to face.

"Anything else?"

Daud gave him an extremely unimpressed look. "I am fond of you. Happy now?"

Corvo's lips quirked up.

"You're one infuriating bastard," Daud complained.

"You like it."

Daud huffed, but didn't deny it. He leant in even further.

"Stop me," Daud said.

Corvo didn't, and Daud's lips finally touched his.

It was warm, soft, oh so gentle. How strange to think an ex-assassin capable of such tenderness.

Daud pulled back after a moment, and he said softly,

"Happy early birthday, Corvo."

Corvo smiled at him, and Daud leaned in again.

Corvo let him.