Redgenald felt his jaw clenching so hard that it was becoming mildly difficult to breathe. The tension radiating through his body made his movements stiff, and it overall dampened his mood. The other two in the room had turned to face him, either inferring the comment about "old friends" was at least partially directed toward him or following the one that had. The hostess of this party and her servant, however, didn't so much as glance back at the chaos she left in her wake.

  Swallowing the emotions and shaking his body to loosen it up, Redgenald turned to Kathren while speaking to the others, "Could I have a moment alone with her?"

  Green and Kaneita looked at each other with curiosity on their faces, but then the elf said, "We will go find Franklin and join him and Joxin." The reaper nodded to them in thanks before returning to face the female scout, who kept scowling up at him as the pair left the room.

  It was hardly a second after a door clicked shut before she asked, "So, now you are paying attention to me? All so I can speak to another man on your behalf to persuade him to deliver a message to the inquisition for you?"

  "I see you understand the matter. If you would wait a moment, I will find some paper to write a message, and we can be on our way." Redgenald said, turning and intending to find a servant and asking them for writing supplies.

  "No." Kathren declared, her voice uncertain but firm, causing him to stop.

  "Kathren," Redgenald said, partially turning around, "This is not the time to be joking around."

  "Oh, I am aware," The woman said, her back straightening as her determination built, "It's also not so time sensitive that we can not stop for a few seconds and… have a long overdue conversation."

  "This is absurd. How is this not time sensitive?" The man scoffed, a prickling of dread running down his spine. "A foreign nation is actively engaged in undermining the sanity of our government. We must act decisively to cut it off as quickly as possible."

  "All true, I suppose. It is also true that Luthren cannot leave immediately after your interaction, because that would be suspicious as fuck. When he does finally leave, he won't rush to deliver the message either because he doesn't want a knife in the back, so it will take time before he can make it to the Drunken Jester. At this point, a few minutes won't make a difference one way or another. So, answer me this. Why the fuck am I here? Fuck! Why am I in this city or even at this party? If you keep insisting on avoiding me, why keep me around?"

  "I do not have any idea what you are talking about. I have interacted with you as much, if not more, than all the other scouts assigned to me. I have relied on you multiple times, and I treat you no differently than I treat them."

  "Really?" Kathren asked, her voice laced with heat as she stared up at Redgenald, then her composure broke as she shouted, "That's the fucking problem!" After her outburst, she quickly reasserted her control and asked in a sweet voice, "Well, if I am just a useful tool, how about I start spending time with Luthran. You know, the same as Green spends time with White? A perfect cover for delivering messages, am I right?"

  “That… would be less than optimal. You are a guard, you can not leave your post for long without questions being raised."

  It was a logical statement, but as Kathren made a show of looking around, it began to hold less weight given their current situation. "What the fuck is your problem!" Kathren shouted, her voice cracking from the scream and the intensity of the emotions surging through her. The woman even stepped toward the man, crowding into Redgenald's personal space as she poked his chest to emphasize her points. "I chose life!"

  A look of bewilderment crossed the half-human's face for a moment as he was uncertain of what she was referring to, which only made Kathren angrier, her face flushing a deep red. "When the ceiling was collapsing in the cavern, I chose life! I chose to live because of you! To save you! I had the perfect death that no one could so much as say a word against, and yet I let it slip through my fingers. And what did I get for all of it, the m—" Her face twisted and distorted as she cut herself off as words that she couldn't speak, even in the depths of her rage, came into her mind. And then all of her emotions seemed to drain out of her as she continued, "nothing. I got nothing, except you ignoring me, acting as if nothing had happened."

  With eyes locked on the woman, Redgenald felt his hands twitch as the impulse to caress her cheek or embrace her to soothe her surged within him. Instead, he clenched his hands into a fist, keeping them at his sides. Recent days have more than reminded him that he could not have a weakness. Releasing a sigh as he reasserted control of himself, the inquisitor responded, "You are correct, and I am sorry that you have misinterpreted my actions in the past and made more out of them than I intended. Though I believe I do owe you something of an explanation, so as to at least keep our professional relationship civil."

  "Civil relationship," Scoffed the woman, a fiery intensity of a volcano sparking to life within her eyes.

  "Yes." The reaper sighed, his voice natural and controlled. "I admit, during the battle of Southtown, my emotions were running rather wild, as I had my own doubts that we were going to survive the events. I may have acted a little inappropriately and given you the impression that I felt something I didn't."

  "Is that so?"

  "Yes, and it was a mistake on my part. To be honest, it had been quite some time since I last relieved my stress, and you were a convenient place to focus those emotions. As for your personal growth, I can only applaud you. However, I must warn you, placing all of your desires to live upon a single person is not healthy and can only lead you to misfortune in the future. With that being said, I am still reluctant to allow you to pursue any personal relationships, as right now is a time when any such thing can only be a weakness. It is the same reason that Green has not made any advances on his old friend, other than what is required for the purposes of the mission." The inquisitor stared down at Kathren, his eyes impassive and partial as he weathered her emotions without the slightest flicker of his feelings appearing on his face. "I hope that clarifies any questions that you might have had about our relationship."

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  "Oh," Hissed the woman, her voice barely audible and under her control, "I understand you entirely."

  "Good," taking a step back, Redgenald kept his posture and tone neutral as he turned, "Now, if we can just find a servant to supply us with some quill and ink, we can get back to business."

  "There is some on the desk behind you," Kathren said, her voice dead.

  "Really? Huh, I should have noticed that. Well, I do not believe our good host will mind us helping ourselves to some of the materials, given the situation." While he spoke, Redgenald quickly looked around and moved over to grab the paper. Dipping the quill into ink, the man wrote a few lines, then picked up the parchment and began waving it gently.

  Really, there wasn't much to explain. The situation was looking pretty fucked, and even in a coded script, it didn't take many words to inform his superiors. The inquisitor simply said what he suspected the dark elf was doing and named the suspected victim, along with the fact that anyone else who attended Lady Meridies' recent parties was also a potential target.

  What was actually surprising was that the lady seemed willing to destroy her own reputation to help them. However events turned out, the blowback on her would be substantial, though this way, she would at least come out of it with her life, given her willingness to assist with his investigation. Still, Redgenald wouldn't wish to be in her shoes.

  Folding the paper several times after the ink dried, the inquisitor strode out of the room, Kathren falling into step behind him. There was a new distance to her actions, and her cold attitude toward him was impossible to miss, but Redgenald didn't say anything. It is better this way. He thought, his mind filled with stoic certainty.

  Without saying another word, the pair moved forward, their only sound being the clicking of their shoes against the ground, until the noise of the ballroom gradually filled the hallway. Stopping just before the exit, Redgenald partially turned to Kathren, "If you could create a reason for me to come into contact with the man, I would appreciate it."

  "Understood, domine."

  Grunting at her words, Redgenald nodded then stepped forward, entering the chamber. His eyes swept over the room, and he immediately spotted his charges, but he turned away and walked away from them, walking around the edges of the chamber as he pretended to search.

  Kathren hesitated for a moment, turning toward the food tables, but as Redgenald sharply coughed, her eyes widened in realization, and she rushed back to his side. After walking three-fourths of the way around the chamber, Redgenald made a show of spotting the Kin across the room and made a beeline right for her.

  While the nobles threw sidelong glances at him as he moved to walk through their groups, they did nothing more and even subtly stepped to the sides, getting out of his path. About halfway across the room, Kathren suddenly stepped forward, bumping into Redgenald and causing him to stumble. The inquisitor could almost feel the intake of breath from the nobles at her action.

  But that response was nothing compared to the man Kathren stepped up to and threw her arms around his neck, whose eyes widened so far they almost fell out of his head. "Luthren, I can't believe that you are here! What are the odds!? Come, come, I don't have much time, but walk with me and let's talk. What are you doing here?"

  "Ahh, excuse me— Huh? Kathren? What is this?" The facilitator asked, his eyes darting to the scout and then to the reaper a couple of steps back, who was straightening his posture and clothes from the impact.

  "Oh, I remember you," the reaper said, putting a friendly smile on his face, though it didn't seem to work as the man flinched. Ignoring that, the inquisitor stepped forward, reaching out with his left hand to clap the other male on the shoulder. The moment the reaper's palm came into contact with the street thug, he extended a mental tendril and began pushing it against the other man's mind.

  The probe started off friendly, but he only had a few moments to act here, so the pressure he was exerting was rapidly crossing the line of rude and into an actual attack. Eyes slightly narrowing as they flicked to the reaper's, the enforcer took a half second before he accepted the tendril.

  The moment he did, Redgenald began burning his psy to enhance their perception and speed of thought. "Luthren, first off, I must apologize for our first meeting. I was in a weakened state, and I was not thinking clearly."

  "You do not need to explain that to me, inquisitor. I have seen more than one in your order enter and leave those halls. I am well aware of the gentleness with which you are often treated." The man responded, actual understanding coming through within his words.

  Blinking in surprise, Redgenald did not allow the emotion to stop him from speaking aloud, "At any other time, I would buy you a drink in apology. However, this is not the time nor the place. For now, all I can do is shake your hand." As the words were coming out of his mouth, he continued the mental conversation, "Thank you for your understanding. Now I must ask for your understanding again as I have to ask you a question under inquisition."

  "What's the question?" The man asked, anger flaring up within his mind.

  "Are you loyal to the Republic?"

  At the inquisitor's words, the street tough released a flash of fear, then conviction filled his mind as he responded, "I hate the Republic, but I would never betray her."

  Redgenald felt amusement at the perhaps too honest response, but simply said, "That is good enough. Now, I have a priority message to deliver to my order. If you are willing to deliver it, you will receive fifty silver eagles."

  "The danger?"

  "Should be minimal if you can keep calm and act normal."

  "I accept."

  Redgenald's impression of the man jumped up several notches as he quickly assessed the situation, asked relevant questions, and made his decision. "Palm the note in my hand. When you arrive at the Drunken Jester, place the note under your coin when you buy a dark ale, and tell him you like it because it makes honey taste all the sweeter."

  "I understand," the man responded, stretching out his hand and taking hold of Redgenald's, and said with a broad smile, "Don't back out of that statement when I show up for that mug."

  Nodding to the man, Redgneald turned away and wrapped his arm around Kathren, saying, "Now is not the time for that scout." With gentle firmness, he ushered her away.

  Though Kathren still turned her head and exchanged a few words with the other male. However, Redgenald wasn't paying attention to them, as his mind was entirely focused on everyone watching them, attempting to track everyone as he strained to find someone who noticed the interchange as he strode toward his charge.

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