After eating chilled watermelon to beat the heat, everyone sat around and chatted briefly. Then Katrina and Mrs. McDougal got up to attend to their respective tasks.
Recently, at Albert and Isobel's suggestion, Mrs. McDougal had begun compiling her Family Therapy Handbook to pass the time in the Safe House. Katrina had been called over to help organize the materials and learn a few things along the way, preparing for the Beauty Shop she hoped to open in the future.
It was never wrong to find something to keep oneself busy.
"Is this... really okay?"
After the two women left, Isobel turned to look at Albert.
"What?" Albert asked in confusion, clearly not having caught on.
"Is it really okay for you to tell them all that?" Isobel knew Albert kept plenty of secrets to himself and rarely shared them with others. Even she only knew a small portion.
"Didn't you say it yourself? It's just to put them at ease, to keep them in the Safe House instead of running around everywhere." Albert's Legilimency was quite advanced. He could roughly guess what Katrina and Mrs. McDougal were thinking, and he could not help sighing softly, feeling that things had become rather complicated.
"It doesn't seem like something you'd do. It could easily affect the image they have of you." Isobel studied Albert's face and said softly, "They might even think you've finally shown your true colors."
"Shown my true colors?" Albert looked startled.
"Yes, shown your true colors." Isobel nodded.
"But... haven't I always been like this?" Albert muttered. "I've never deliberately pretended to be someone else."
"I actually feel like you're not lying."
Isobel was a little surprised. She was a natural Legilimens; even if someone closed off their mind, she could still tell through instinct whether they