"Well, look what we have here." Said a condescending voice. Well, he didn't say it so much as shout loud enough that it had to be considered rude to the rest of the partygoers, though given that I recognized the voice, it was to be expected. Turning away from Redgenald and Kathren, crossing the room, I turned to the snot-nose noble scion. "A beast and a… well, I can't say beauty with those elven features, now can I? Ahh, but now I just feel incomplete. Though I suppose, you do possess the idle mind of most beauties.”

  A mocking smile was on the young noble's face, but I made a show of looking around at all the nobles surrounding us. "Are you talking to me?"

  "And there is that robust intellect I am talking about. Can't even tell when someone is talking to him. Then again, what can you expect from someone who hangs around animals?" The words caused a titter to run through those around us, condescending smiles appearing on their faces, though the woman did hide them behind their hands or fans.

  "Oh," I muttered, stepping forward and slipping my arm into Kanieta's to calm her temper and ensure she didn't kill the man. Something I apparently succeeded in as her head twitched up to look at me, surprise and bewilderment on her face. "I thought you were talking about someone else, as no other noble has bothered to speak to me yet… I guess that means your status is low enough that it doesn't matter."

  “Wh—what?" Spluttered Victorak Sathrin, his cheeks flushing as he fumbled to come back with a response.

  "Though that does make sense, because only some low-status imbecile would call all the women around him either stupid or average looking." I gave the man a vacant smile, as if I had no idea what I had just done. From his increasingly flushed face twisted with anger, it appeared that my efforts were wasted on that front… oh well, it wasn't like I was trying that hard to convince him otherwise.

  Finally remembering how to speak, the young man hissed, "How dare you?" as he marched forward, his hand dropping to the sword at his waist. I was honestly surprised by his response and the intensity of his emotions. Did he really think I was going to stand in place and not fight back? That I couldn't think of a way to make an idiot look bad?

  "Vic, not now," one of the stupid noble's slightly smarter friends said, stepping forward and grabbing his arm. Really, if the other man were actually intelligent, he wouldn't be hanging around the Sathrin house. Though maybe there was more to that than I first thought as the noble glanced around, his eyes wary and calculating.

  Glancing down at the hand lightly gripping his forearm, the high noble snorted and pulled his arm away before he sharply adjusted his suit. Whether due to the interruption or to his grooming, Victorack did calm down a little and regain his self-control. "Such a shame that a good party is ruined by those who had no purpose being here."

  A not at all kind smile appeared on Kanieta's face as she commented, "If one of the groups associated with a vote that will decide the future course of the Republic is not someone worthy of attending a soirée, then I can't help but wonder what a man who can't even win a duel is doing here. Shouldn't you be hiding somewhere waiting for people to forget about your failures?"

  The tendons on the man's neck flexed so much that his teeth had a real chance of chipping as those around us snickered again, showing no solidarity to those supposedly on the same side. While his eyes burned with a fire that promised retribution, he did nothing more than take a few shallow breaths before plastering a smile on his face.

  "I am not one to cower from the sight of my peers. Besides, a man's history is not decided by a single event, but by how he deals with setbacks." I could actually get behind such an ideology and respect the noble for living by it, except Victorak didn't believe a word he was saying. He was obviously repeating something someone told him to say, as his voice had a slightly distant note even as he struggled to control his seething emotions.

  "What a commendable worldview." Said a silky voice, sliding into the gap of the conversation, "If more people held such a belief, I believe that all peoples could exist in peace… but there will always be those who seek the downfall of others simply for their own pleasure and benefit." The dark elf ambassador stepped out from the crowd, followed closely by a group of nobles.

  Shaking his head in remorse, the ambassador glided up to the younger noble and clapped his hand on his shoulder. In response, the young man flinched, but he quickly attempted to hide the motion by dipping into a bow, "Thank you for your compliment; however, I feel that it may be a little unwarranted. I am simply repeating the words that you told me. If there is someone who should be thanked, it would be the one in your people's history who originally came up with the concept."

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  His words were stilted and precise, but no one around us seemed to care as they started politely clapping, as if Victorak had accomplished something by knowing facts of another culture. "Oh," The dark elf said, waving off the compliment, "That man is long dead and has long received the acclaim which he deserves, but let's leave the past in the past and look to brighter things. Now, Lady Meridies, I believe that you were going to announce something about your soirée."

  Following his extended arm, I looked for the hostess, but was unable to hide a slight grimace this time. That word was so weird, though no one else seemed to find it worth commenting on. It must have just been a noble thing. As I found the bright ball of pink, I thought I saw a moment of disappointment before her face brightened.

  "Yes! Yes, I do!" The lady of the house exclaimed, stepping out from the crowd and moving between our two groups, hands clasped together at her chest. "Now, I would like to announce the start of a new tradition at my soirées! I will be handing out little presents to those who have come to this celebration to commemorate the event, and I want the first one to be something special. As such, I have commissioned the twenty best artists within Olimpia and brought them here. They will paint a portrait of those who desire it onto a decorative plate, and in a few days, I will have them delivered to everyone's house. Of course, the first portrait must be of the guest of honor, Ambassador Kanieta, and her escort Scout Green!" declared the woman, darting forward and grabbing Kanieta's free arm to pull us forward.

  With the crowd following the women, excited whispers running rampant, I passed the steeming high noble as he muttered at me, "Just wait, we'll be seeing each other soon enough. And once you lose your protection of the senate, you will understand what it means to cross a Sathrin."

  **********

  A hooded figure huddled against the wall, attempting to seem like she was fiddling with something at her waist in case someone rounded the corner and saw her. She was at the back border of an estate, and while a small road ran along the borders of the mansion's walls, it was more a service road for the estate and the surrounding ones than anything else.

  Something that deliveries could be made on without blocking the front entrance. It was also a place where few had an honest reason to visit at this time of night, but that just meant you had to be more wary of the ones that did appear. With every shout of footfall that echoed out from within the surrounding compounds or from the road, the figure twitched its head, jerking in that direction. Minutes pass, and finally, a portion of the wall within the figure's reach clicked and swung inward, revealing a passage into the earth.

  "Follow," Commanded a high-pitched but stern voice, and the figure cloaked rushed to enter, the door swinging shut at their back. A moment later, the light from a glowstone illuminated the tunnel, and an elven maiden was revealed. Turning on her heel, the woman started walking without another word.

  The elf led the figure down the tunnel, and at what looked like just another spot on the wall, a second secret door opened, and they entered another passage. Traveling through half a dozen hallways and chambers, where just as many of the doors were hidden as not, they went up a flight of stairs and arrived at a closed door.

  After rapping on the wall and waiting a second, the elf opened the door and stepped to the side, motioning for the cloaked figure to enter. Hesitantly stepping forward, the figure hardly moved her foot past the frame of the door before a sweet voice said, "Oh, what a pleasant surprise. I often find that those in your situation are never on time during our first meeting. It puts me in a situation where I have to discipline them in some way, and I find that so tiring. Such an unpleasant experience on both sides."

  The cloaked figure visibly shuddered, and her voice was filled with relief as she said, "Thank you for your kindness, M—

  "Ahem." Coughed the elf, the room growing tense.

  "Uhh," the cloaked figure said, their voice catching as they cleared their throat. "Excuse me. Thank you for your kindness, Lady Meridies."

  "There is no kindness here." The woman sitting on a couch, surrounded by pillows and holding a cup of wine, said, waving the figure off. "I simply state facts, acknowledging your compliance."

  "Still, you honor me with your words."

  "I suppose… Anyway, I believe that you have something for me?"

  "Yes," With their words, the figure pulled a stack of papers from their cloak and stepped forward, laying them out on the table.

  "Passable," the noble said, sounding neither pleased nor annoyed. "It will work, but it isn't anything you should be proud of." The figure shifted, whether happy or fearful, no one could tell from under the cloak. After taking another sip and letting the silence linger, she continued, "Now tell me, what is happening at Ponpti Estate?"

  "From what I could tell, they believe you are attempting to switch sides. Something is going on with the inquisitor, and Ponpti is attempting to gather more troops and provisions without letting anyone know. There are also many messengers being sent out, and some of their extended families have arrived in carriages as I was leaving."

  "Wonderful," The noble in the pink nightgown said, a broad smile spreading over her face, but something darker lingered in the depths of her eyes that caused the cloaked figure to flinch and look down in fear.

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