Phaedra smiles and gestures to Pavel.

Phaedra: If he makes you feel safer, you can keep him. You need him way more than I do now.

Pavel continues clutching the blue octopus. He still looks uncomfortable.

Pavel: Th... Thank you, Your Highness.

To the side, there is a small grate in the wall underneath a bookcase. Behind it, a red light starts to glow. Suddenly, those familiar red eyes open up, looking into the scene with a mix of concern and intrigue. Neither Pavel nor Phaedra notice, and they keep talking.

Phaedra (offscreen): Oh! You don't need to be so formal. Please — just call me Phaedra.

Pavel (offscreen): ...Okay. Phaedra.

Phaedra looks down wistfully as Katja looks on, similarly sorrowful.

Phaedra: So... I wanted to apologize for scaring you so much, Pavel. I haven't been myself for a while now. I always thought I could adapt well to bad situations, but... I was wrong. Life has been... well, I guess it HASN'T been. I didn't want my last conscious act to be one that caused pain or fear in a child. But... if I went overboard with this apology, I'm sorry for that too.

Pavel looks away, burying his face behind the smiling octopus.

Pavel: It's okay. This is actually really nice... thank you for trying. And you didn't really scare me that much, either.

Phaedra looks up.

Phaedra: I didn't?