Chương 30: Chapter 29 - Dinner With Lord Grivalt

Ava hated Lord Grivalt. She hated this stupid estate, the mean guards that patrolled it, and the unfair work they made everyone do. They worked everyone too hard, without any breaks, and they beat anyone caught slacking off. She wasn't even sure why they had been forced to come here. Her parents hadn't shared much of the details with her, but she had heard them whispering about it at night. Apparently Kiara had offended Lord Grivalt in some way, and he'd had her killed.

Ava wasn't sure how that had anything to do with her or the rest of the family though. She glared at the back of Lord Grivalt's head as these thoughts went through her mind. One of these days, she was going to find a way to get out of here. She would find a way to escape, find a way past the guards, and get her whole family out of here. She was only fourteen, so she wasn't big enough or strong enough to do it yet, but luckily her mom worked in the kitchens.

Her mom had told her that she was able to sneak extra food for her and Gabe so they didn't go hungry like most everyone else. Although Ava wasn't sure why her mom and dad were both looking extra thin lately if her mom had access to extra food. Maybe it was from the long work hours? She glanced over at the new guests, and couldn't help but shoot them a glare as well. The man was admittedly fairly handsome, and he seemed to be a house retainer of some kind, so maybe he wasn't so bad, but the lady guest…

she had to be a snake. Ava assumed she was just as bad as Lord Grivalt. Lady Yountal. The staff had been whispering about it for days. A scion of a wealthy house who had moved here recently, and she'd accepted Lord Grivalt's invitation to dine with him. Ava couldn't think of very many reasons why someone would agree to dine with the utter scum that was Lord Grivalt. Maybe they were going to get married? Ava couldn't imagine that to be the case though.

Lady Yountal was much too young, pretty, and wealthy to be interested in someone like Lord Grivalt. He wasn't even a Baron, and he offered literally nothing that anyone would find valuable in a marriage arrangement. Ava was only a few years away from being of marrying age herself, so she had considered the subject at length. She hoped to find someone she loved, someone she could spend a lifetime with and enjoy every minute of it. Similar to the relationship her mom and dad had with each other.

However, if she had been born to wealth, and her parents were to arrange a marriage with a rich and handsome noble, she would have considered that a viable alternative. There was certainly a sense of adventure and excitement that accompanied that prospect. She hadn't been born to wealth, so that would never happen, of course. Even in that situation though, she would never agree to marry someone like Lord Grivalt. He was so… old for one thing. And ugly.

Plus, he was also such a mean-spirited man, always shouting and yelling. If he was a duke, or maybe even a count, then she could understand how someone like Lady Yountal might be interested, but as it was… there must be some other reason why she was here. The reason for the visit hadn't been shared with the staff, they were only told that the visit was happening, and given instructions on how to prepare for it.

They had moved all of the nicest furniture to the front of the estate, and cooked up almost a week's worth of their food supplies, just for the one night. Or so Ava's mom said. Obviously, Lord Grivalt wouldn't suffer from the excessive food usage tonight, but the staff would go extra hungry for a few days after this. Or so Ava's dad said. And this so-called 'lady' was the sole cause of it. Didn't she know how her actions were affecting the poor servants here at Lord Grivalt's estate?

Even if the servants didn't have to go hungry, just the fact that she was here, interacting with Lord Grivalt in such a friendly manner, told Ava everything she needed to know about Lady Yountal. She was a snake. * Dustin kept a close eye on Shian during dinner. She had claimed she was unable to speak of certain things, which meant she was under some kind of soul oath.

He wasn't sure what to make of that yet, but he knew that if he wanted to learn more about her situation, he would have to watch her very carefully throughout this meeting. Keeping up with the conversation while observing everyone around him was child's play. He had been doing it since he was young, and had learned from the best tutors in Chestara. He also had a natural knack for it, which helped considerably. This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

He noticed a few things. Trevon and Lord Grivalt both kept throwing poorly disguised leering glances at Shian, which Dustin found repulsive. Another thing he noticed was that one of the young maids was quite overt about her emotions, glaring scorching daggers into the back of Lord Grivalt's head through most of the night. She even threw a few toward him and Lady Shian. Shian, interestingly enough, seemed equally interested in that same young maid, although for different reasons.

Her looks of concern throughout the night were apparent. She also glanced quite frequently at one of the kitchen staff that had come out to help serve. One that looked quite possibly the right age to be Shian's mom. If Dustin's hunch was correct, and they usually were, then those two servants in particular were part of Shian's family. It was strange, but also equal parts expected, that neither of them seemed to recognize Shian.

Dustin had assumed that would be the case when they showed up tonight and Shian hadn't donned any kind of illusionary disguise. He wasn't quite sure what to make of that though. For them not to recognize her meant that her current look must be the disguise. If Shian had been constantly running a high quality illusion the entire time he had known her, that would be impressive. He had seen her sleep while they traveled with the traveling caravan, and maintaining an illusion while unconscious was… probably impossible?

He wasn't quite sure. He knew there were artifacts that could alter one's appearance, which could explain how she kept it up while sleeping, but that came with its own unanswered questions. Such as, how come she didn't seem to know anything about enchanted artifacts before meeting him? And how could the illusion be so realistic? He had seen her fight bandits, had seen her take a fireball to the face, and the illusion hadn't wavered in the slightest. When she sparred with Hank and Jeff, sweat would show on her face.

Even the illusion's facial expressions were perfect, there wasn't any hint of it being a fake appearance. Something didn't add up yet, and he was determined to figure it out. * They had finished eating, and the generic small talk had died down as they moved on to the real reason for the dinner tonight. Kiara gave a fake smile as Lord Grivalt complimented her on her new business ventures. He was especially interested in the moves they had been making in the wine industry in Easton.

"And what are your plans for the wine market here in Easton?" Lord Grivalt asked with genuine interest. Kiara turned to Dustin for an answer. He knew the details better than she did. Dustin locked eyes with her and nodded.

"Well," he said, "we have connections in the wine industry in quite a few places, and we already have trade routes established in many parts of Eshela. We have more of an interest in running a trade route than we do in selling wine specifically, but we have found wine to be a good addition to our wares." This was something Dustin had briefed her on beforehand. They didn't want to be seen as a direct competitor to Lord Grivalt's business, but rather someone that he could have as a business partner.

Someone that could help his own business ventures grow. Presenting House Yountal as a family that runs an extensive trade route and also knows about expensive wines fit that bill perfectly. As expected, Lord Grivalt's interest was piqued. He smiled and leaned forward in his chair to respond.

"Well, I mentioned this in my dinner invitation, but I happen to run the finest wine emporium in Easton! If you would rather focus on the acquisition and transport of fine wines from all over, we would be happy to be your distributor here locally." Kiara watched as Dustin stroked his chin and pretended to think about it.

"We've already started the process of opening up a storefront for that purpose, what value would we get from selling in your shop instead?" Kiara didn't have the natural knack for this stuff that Dustin had, but she was plenty smart. Her upgraded Mind stat helped as well, as she could process information twice as fast as most people. While she didn't have the training to intuit the right response in these types of situations, she could see the wisdom in what Dustin was doing.

By playing hard to get, they were forcing Lord Grivalt to chase after them as a business partner. If House Yountal put up the guarded walls and resisted jumping into the business relationship, Grivalt would be so busy trying to break those walls down that he wouldn't build any of his own. He would never suspect them of trying to undermine his operations. True to that assumption, he jumped at the opportunity to sell them on doing business with him.

"Well, we have an established clientele already! When people shop for fine wines, they go to Grivalt's Wine Emporium on Market Street.

"While I'm sure you have an extensive network already set up, my store already stocks the finest wines from all of the merchants that pass through Portish. People already expect the best wines at my shop, it will take them time to learn about yours. That time will cost you money." Dustin nodded, giving subtle encouragement to Lord Grivalt's train of thought. Lord Grivalt continued, "Plus, you said it yourself! You don't want the hassle of running a storefront, trying to sell the wines yourself.

If you focus on the trade route, I'll happily take the finest stock off your hands at a reasonable rate, giving you a guaranteed outlet each time your caravans pass through Easton. It really is a great deal for both of our houses!" Dustin scratched the back of his head and appeared lost in thought. Finally, he turned to Kiara and raised a questioning eyebrow.

"What do you think, milady?" He had prepped her for this moment before they came. She was supposed to think about it for a moment, then nod, sealing the deal. And yet, she wanted to say no, just to spurn Lord Grivalt. Just to see the look of disappointment on his face!