Page 257 of Mercy Written in Blood

"All of them."

"That answer has justified every secret the Accord has kept."

Renji set his cup down.

"And your answer has justified every revolution that buried civilians beneath its ideals."

Sota turned towards him. The two men regarded one another across the table. Haruki felt something shift in the pavilion — respect, not agreement, recognition of an equal obstacle.

"You believe exposure would lead to war," Sota said.

"I believe it could."

"It could lead to negotiation."

"After panic."

"Perhaps."

"After governments begin detaining people to study them."

"Perhaps."

"After vampires decide extermination is safer than disclosure."

"Perhaps."

Renji's voice sharpened.

"You accept those risks easily."

"No."

Sota's calm did not break.

"I accept that the risks already exist. They are merely hidden from the people who bear them."

He looked towards the pond. A koi broke the surface, mouth opening briefly before disappearing beneath the water.

"How many humans vanish each year because they encounter the wrong vampire?" Sota asked. "How many deaths are altered in police records? How many families are told an attack was an animal, an accident or psychosis?"

"Too many," Renji said.

"How many vampires are executed privately because their existence would be inconvenient to explain?"

Renji did not answer.

"How many half-blood children are moved, concealed or killed because neither society wishes to acknowledge them?"

Haruki looked towards Renji. A subtle tension had appeared in his face. Sota saw it. He did not press. That restraint again — always enough pressure to open the wound, never enough to appear cruel.

"The Accord does not preserve peace," Sota said. "It preserves plausible deniability."

"You speak as though everyone within it is corrupt," Renji said.

"No. Many are frightened. Some are decent. A few genuinely believe secrecy prevents catastrophe."

"And you do not?"