Once Miaomiao had excitedly followed Damian upstairs to learn about going to school, Alfred quietly brought Bruce a pot of tea.
"Master Bruce, your sudden decision to send Miss Miaomiao to school wasn't solely because of her tail, was it?"
It was a statement.
As the old butler who had watched Bruce grow up, Alfred knew that everything Bruce did had a reason behind it.
"Alfred..."
Bruce remained silent for a long time. Alfred waited quietly, without urging him.
"Alfred, Miaomiao killed Pandora."
With no one else around, Bruce finally voiced his concerns.
"I hadn't actually planned to send Miaomiao to school this soon. She's far too innocent and straightforward, while in Gotham, even schoolchildren already understand so much. But..."
Bruce leaned back against the sofa, his long fingers gently pressing between his brows. All his exhaustion surfaced in that moment, and his low voice carried a rare note of worry.
"I know she's a good child. She only did it to save Dick, in the heat of the moment. But vampires look no different from humans, and when Miaomiao killed her, she didn't hesitate at all."
Bruce looked up toward the window. Though it was daytime, Gotham's sky remained dark and overcast, much like the worry buried deep in his eyes.
"She's a merfolk. By nature, her measure of right and wrong is completely different from a human's. The laws of the deep sea are simple and brutal: the strong devour the weak, and killing to protect yourself is neither right nor wrong. Before this, she only controlled the wind and waves under our supervision to protect Gotham. She had never personally ended a 'humanlike' life. But this time, she did."
Wisps of steam rose from the tea on the table, then quickly faded into the air.
"Alfred, I'm