Chương 120: Live in Constant Fear

"I think you should bring the walker, just in case," Sonia said as she stood by the door of the carriage. They were parked in front of Duel. The wooden boards covering the windows were still in place, and workers were going in and out with tools and supplies. Two guards stood on either side of the door, keeping an eye on who entered.

"I can use the cane now," Tori insisted. A wooden railing that retracted against the side of the carriage had been installed to one of the imperial carriages they always used so that Tori could use it to help keep her balance when she was getting on and off.

"The walker is too bulky. It could get in the way."

"What if you get tired? The walker has a little bench to sit on." Sonia frowned. Since Tori and Henrik were going to visit Duel and Ilyana was going sight-seeing with her family, the rest of the little group also decided to return to Horizon, as well. The twins were going to visit their parents, Ewan was taking a break from his training, and Albert was leading Ilyana's family through the city. Constantine remained in Viclya, continuing his hospitality work. He was determined to do so until the end.

It worked out well, as it gave the others a chance to shop for his going-away gifts in secret.

"Leave it in the carriage. If I do get tired, I'll find a place to sit. Sonia, I'll be fine." Tori gave Sonia a helpless look. It was her first time back in Horizon after she began to walk again, but as she was still a little shaky, everyone was cautious. Sonia didn't look completely convinced.

"I'm here and there are knights with us," Henrik told her.

"And I have her brothers' comcrys registered on mine. If she doesn't listen and overexerts herself, I will call one of them." Tori's jaw dropped and she looked at him with indignation.

"You're going to tattle?"

"I won't have to tattle if there isn't anything to tattle about," Henrik replied in a cool voice. Tori tilted her head back and let out a groan. Since Henrik assumed responsibility, Sonia seemed appeased. She got back on Ciel Noir and JP handed her the reins.

"We'll see you two at Lord Sebastian's flat in two days," Sonia said.

"Henrik." She gave him a stern look and he nodded.

"I know. I know. I'll make sure she's safely at Lord Sebastian's flat before going home." Satisfied, Sonia and JP headed off to the tenth district on their horses. Tori gripped a cane carved with a lion's head and two black tourmaline eyes in her right hand and walked ahead.

"I'm touched that all of you care about my health, but I'm not a child. I was patient enough to wait to ground until I could use a walker, which is far later than when the crystal masters recommended I could."

"You also get carried away when you're distracted," Henrik said as he stopped at the base of the steps to Duel and held out his arm on Tori's left side. She reached out with her left hand and held on to his forearm as he helped her up the stairs.

"You're not shaking with each step. You're much steadier than last week."

"I told you," Tori said. They stopped at the top of three steps and Tori looked on either side.

"Add a ramp on either side and some metal railings. The main steps should be in the center, leading up to the doors."

"Countess Guevera!" Guild Master Kivinen caught sight of her and put his tools aside to greet her. He gave her a small, respectful bow of his head.

"Congratulations on your peerage appointment."

"Thank you, Guild Master. I have a lot of responsibility on my hands now. I'm afraid I will need to depend on you and Guild Master Blomgard more." The towering, barrel chested master mason shook his head.

"It is an honor to work with you, my lady."

"Henrik and Ilyana have told me that you've been following our instructions well and even improved upon some ideas," Tori said with a pleased smile.

"You are giving us a degree of flexibility and we're able to use our abilities and creativity," the middle-aged man chuckled.

"I noticed the main doorways have metal ramps."

"Yes, my lady. You requested that we look into making as many of the rooms accessible as possible for those with walking disabilities and that you yourself were in a wheelchair for some time. A cousin of mine is a smith, and we had these ramps that can straddle the doorways made."

"They're removable?"

"Yes, in case they are damaged or need to be cleaned, they are much easier to deal with."

"That's wonderful. Where did you get the idea?"

"We have them in my home." Master Kivinen lowered his eyes and seemed to shift awkwardly.

"My youngest son was born unable to walk." Tori's brows shot up and she blinked. She knew that the masonry guild's master had several sons; the two eldest were working in the delta.

"Then, he's in a wheelchair?"

"Yes, when we were able to afford one, we purchased one that was suitable for an adult. When he was a child, he was carried or pushed in a wheelbarrow." Do strollers not exist here? Tori nodded.

"I see...." She remembered what Robert said during his interview and furrowed her brows.

"You should bring him when we open." Master Kivinen smiled kindly and nodded.

"I think he'd be very interested, my lady."

"Good afternoon, Countess." Guild Master Blomgard came out from the back room. He was older, but much more upbeat than Guild Master Kivinen. He walked through the dusty open lobby that was still being renovated to greet them.

"Are you here for a check?"

"Yes!" Tori said.

"Show me the back room first. I want to see the presses."

"The master printer from Presidio has arrived," Guild Master Blomgard said as he led them forward. He slowed his pace so Tori could keep up. They walked through one of the doorways and into a large, sprawling back room that would make many papercraft crafters excited. There were shelves and cabinets all along the walls, large worktables, massive printing presses, and an area for wood carvers.

Woodcuts had been used for printing large quantities of images, such as cards, for some time and part of Duel required artwork. Smaller tools had already arrived, including paper cutters, scissors, and embossing tools.

"Countess Guevera!" A tall, slender man with a limp walked over. He bowed his head and hit his chest with his fist.

"It is an honor."

"A former Guevera knight," Tori said with a greeting nod. On more formal occasions or first meetings, the right fist hitting the chest was a greeting of a knight to their liege in Sur. Most knights greeted her father, mother, and brothers like this. Tori was casual now-a-days and simple bows of their heads sufficed, especially amongst the younger knights.

"Yes, my lady. I ended my service fifteen years ago, after I received a leg injury during the coastal raids," he said, standing up straight.

"I am Joaquin Villalobos and I have been working at your family's Presidio print shop since."

"Wonderful! Thank you for your service and your dedication, sir," Tori said.

"I hope that the workshop here is suitable. We tried to allocate as much space as possible."

"It is more than suitable, my lady. We have more equipment arriving, along with two of my apprentices. I believe we will be enough to get your products prepared before the target opening date," Master Villalobos told her.

"Did you receive the various samples of games I've sent?" Tori asked. He nodded.

"Before I left Presidio, I had begun to review them. My two apprentices are quite interested."

"That's good! It means the games have an appeal," Tori said, pleased.

"Master Villalobos, I will leave you to continue. Henrik and I are on a tour of the building's progress. If there is anything needed, please have one of the guild masters let us know."

"Of course, my lady." The three buildings had been gutted and the old walls separating buildings had been replaced with load bearing columns and new walls to separate sections. As planned, the original three stories, or rather, two and a half or so, became two, which let in more light and opened up the showroom. The showroom made up the center building and the one to its left. The right building was the connected cafe with a separate street entrance.

The back kitchen was connected to another kitchen on the workshop's side of the wall that would be used for workers. Tori wanted to hire as many villagers from the delta as she could, but the commute was too long. Therefore, above the cafe was a small dormitory, similar to the back rooms where the guards for Lions Gate stores lived. Above the other two buildings were private rooms that could be reserved for games. Food and drink from the cafe could be ordered and served thanks to a dumbwaiter.

The open area in front of the private rooms had more gaming tables for first come first serve guests. Game demos were done downstairs in the showroom and guests could rent games to play upstairs or buy games, game guides, cards, and figurines. The special gaming tables were based on the one her friend had at her house, except Tori added tiles that could be mixed and matched at random to create new landscapes. She'd introduced the table on her birthday weekend, and somehow, it ended up in the knights' communal tent.

Ewan and Albert couldn't find it for a few days as they were going to play a round with the kids. Tori told the knights they could borrow it for the summer, but it would eventually move to Horizon. The stairs to the second floor were next to the entrance to the cafe, from the lobby. A ramp was built along the left and back wall, with shelving beneath it to display products. It would be used for both people and things to be rolled to the second floor, such as trays of food and furniture.

The small details and decorations were not yet in place, and of course there were no products yet, but the general outlines of the store were now visible. Some pieces were being fabricated off site to be brought in later. Light fixtures and metal works had not yet arrived. Large furniture was still in the process of being designed and made in the delta by Den craftsmen.

"What do you think?" Henrik asked as they stood in front of the main doors and looked at the construction happening within.

"We open in four months."

"Four months is enough," Tori said.

"Everyone knows what they're doing; the process is steady. We are making sure that there are no supply chain issues and that workers are being managed well by their guilds. I believe we can start letting villagers know that there are job openings here."

"What about the cafe? Food and drink preparation is a bit more complicated," Henrik said.

"Mama J's youngest son finished his chef and pastry chef training last year, but Mama J wants him to continue working at Cafe Fortuna," Tori said.

"He brought two friends from school with him when he came to help with the cakes at the delta and wanted to know if we were hiring."

"That's Lukas Jager, right?" Henrik held up his hands.

"If Mama J says no, I'm not going to accept him." Everyone had the utmost respect for Piers' nanny. She was like a warm grandma and took incredibly good care of them. How could they wrong her?

"I'll talk to Mama J," Tori said. She lifted her hand to her chest and looked confident.

"Mama J loves me and I'm sure she'd trust me with her son."

"Are you hiring him or marrying him?"

"Food is an asset to be considered in a relationship," Tori said firmly. Henrik rolled his eyes.

"If you can hire Lukas Jager and his friends, without angering Mama J, then you have our full support," Henrik replied.

"Thank you." Tori began to walk towards the unfinished cafe.

"Besides, I've already spoken to him about themed beverages and snacks for Cafe Duel." Henrik closed his eyes.

"Ugh...."

"Don't make that sound. That's the sound Axton makes when Piers is being unreasonable."

"So I've heard." Tori shot him a glare as they walked into the cafe space. The floor tile was already complete, and Tori looked down and smiled. There were simple gray, rectangular tiles bordered by a lighter gray, thinner sort of subway tile. No fancy mosaics or patterns. Tori wanted it easy to clean and sleek. She felt the gray matched well with the exposed wooden beams and the wooden chairs and tables she'd ordered.

"Do you think we should start advertising now?" Henrik said.

"Four months away isn't much if you think about it."

"Our little endeavor is a bit different and I'm not sure how we'd advertise it outside of word of mouth, as the games take some explanation," Tori said.

"I want to focus on our existing markets we have access to: Lycée, a few local nobles and aristocracy, and the imperial knights."

"The knights?"

"The role-playing games are very popular with the knights." Tori turned around to look at him.

"And like the students in Lycée, knights come from a variety of diverse backgrounds. They also have tension to release and playing games can distract them. When we open in the winter, it'll be just after finals. I'd like to spread the word about Duel around that time."

"Ilyana can advertise for us during her reviews and aren't you two going to help with first year orientation?" Henrik's eyes lit up.

"You can tell the new students about it."

"We can tell them about it, but that doesn't mean they'll understand." Tori shook her head.

"And also, don't make Ilyana take up review time to advertise for us."

"What about during orientation?" The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

"Orientation is to help first year students. They already have a lot going on." She pursed her lips.

"But what if we can display one of the games at the Sword Association during the first week? We always have a lot of room even with the exhibition and the pinecone challenge."

"Can we do that? The Sword Association won't be upset?"

"I can talk to Captain Kowalski." Henrik knit his brows.

"That name sounds familiar."

"Tiff's cousin."

"Oh... That's where the Kowalski comes from in Bucher-Kowalski."

"Yeah, she joined because he got her interested in it," Tori said, distracted. She paced the empty cafe for a moment and paused in the center.

"We do have another option and that is to start a club for tabletop gaming. Then we'd be allotted our own spot for orientation and the Spring Festival. The problem is we may not get the club approved in time for orientation."

"It would still be an effective way to popularize the games, wouldn't it? Even if we don't get it approved for orientation, the Spring Festival also draws in outside crowds."

"Then, you, Ilyana, and Albert can apply for a club. You need at least five people, though. Ilyana is popular, I'm sure she can bring in some people." Henrik nodded.

"All right."

"Okay, we'll go with that plan. I'll call Tiff and ask her to contact her cousin for me." Tori stamped her cane on the ground twice.

"Let's continue on with our reconnaissance."

"Should we wear disguises?"

"What? No, we're just going to look around the Golden Cow and his cafes." Tori looked at Henrik as if he were an idiot.

"Not infiltrate a nation. Just don't mention that we're from Lions Gate."

"What if they know who we are?"

"Then they can suspect something and live in constant fear." Ilyana had a new favorite food, and it was the humble potato. Idunn had brought Tori some potatoes from the potato test farm upriver. Once she estimated that Bluewaters had down time, which was usually between lunch and dinner, Tori had a knight carry the sack of potatoes to the restaurant's kitchen.

Since Ilyana's parents were resting and Riri had rejoined Ava in their quest to do everything they possibly could at the delta, Ilyana arrived to confirm the menu for the next night's birthday dinner. Tori had been frying fries and the scent drifted out to the plaza. Since Ilyana was there, Tori had her taste the various potato dishes on a whim. Ilyana couldn't stop reaching for the fries, even when watching Tori cut and dress a baked potato.

A casserole dish of potatoes au gratin came out and Ilyana nearly burnt her tongue. There were roasted potatoes and potatoes in a beef stew Tori was making for her parents for dinner. Ilyana took one of the spiral cut potatoes on a stick with cheese Tori had made as a snack for the children.

"Is it possible to change the menu for my party?" Ilyana asked as she bit into the spiral cut potato that should've been Aiden's.

"We have some time. As long as it's not too complicated and we can get the ingredients, it shouldn't be a problem," Tori said as she put a small amount of stew into a small bowl to taste it. She blew across the bowl and then took a sip. She nodded to herself, satisfied.

"What do you want to change?"

"Can you make more of these?" Tori looked over her shoulder and saw Ilyana motioning towards the prep table with some of the potato dishes.

"I have almost a whole sack left. It should be enough for the party." Ilyana wasn't local, nor did she have a large family or was in any clubs or associations in Lycée, so she didn't have as many people going to her birthday dinner as the others. Aside from their usual group, her parents, and Tori's family, there were a few people she worked with at the delta and some friends from Lycée.

"In which way do you want me to prepare them? Fried? Baked? Roasted?"

"All of them." Tori looked at Ilyana, who didn't falter.

"All of them?" Ilyana nodded.

"All of them."

"Ilyana, just because you like potatoes doesn't mean everyone else will only want to eat potatoes," Tori said, tired. She put the lid back on the pot.

"There should be other vegetables and meat." Ilyana wrinkled her nose and took another bite of her spiral potato as she thought.

"Potatoes with meat and a salad?" Tori stared at her for a moment longer. Just take care of it, Tori. It's her birthday.

"Okay, fine." The next night, the main course was either lamb chops or roasted chicken with roasted potatoes with mustard greens, cauliflower, and radish. Included with them were three additional tasting dishes: a potato and kale soup, potato wedges with and without cheese, and potatoes au gratin.

"There are three tasting dishes to celebrate Ilyana going on to her third year of Lycée!" Tori said as she presented the dishes. In truth, she was running out of potatoes. The sack Idunn gave her was big, but not a hundred-pound bag of rice big. She had a few spares to make some more spiral cut potatoes for the kids and a very interested Ewan and Albert.

Before the fireworks filled the sky, Ilyana was presented with her coffee mille crepe cake, drizzled with salted caramel that Tori personally made and burnt her finger on while trying to make. Tori tried to make it look as fancy as possible. The candle was shaped like the number for sixteen and as Ilyana blew it out, Tori could see Piers sitting with Albert, narrowing his eyes at the coffee mille crepe cake that was larger and more elaborate than the one she had made him.

Tori casually pretended she didn't see his frown or Ilyana's smug look.

"How are you going to cut it?" Ewan shouted from one of the tables. Ilyana giggled and lifted up the same tool Tori used to cut her mille crepe cake.

"I have a lot of people to give my first slice to!" She gleefully pressed the cake cutter into the cake and then carefully removed it and handed it to one of the servers. She took one piece at random and turned around.

"Tori!"

"Oh...." Tori's eyes grew moist, and she felt a bit of pressure around her nose as she took the plate and put it on her table, then stepped forward to engulf Ilyana in a tight hug.

"Thank you."

"Thank you, Tori." She heard Ilyana sniffle against her shoulder before pulling away and wiping at her eyes. She then presented the rest of her cake to her little brother and parents, then the rest of her friends, as Tori had.

"Before the fireworks starts, I want to remind everyone that after dessert, we'll be going to the arcade to play games until we're too tired to move!" Tori said as she remained standing.

"Everyone will get a ring of arcade tokens to spend."

"What are the prizes?" JP called out before shoveling another forkful of cake into his mouth.

"Snack vouchers redeemable through... me." Tori gave them a wink.

"What kind of snacks?" Ava asked, looking both interested, but suspicious.

"There are three types of vouchers: fried, chilled, and the big voucher for one entrée dish. If I can make it, you just need to request it and I'll cook it for one of your dinners. For our friends from Lycée, you can request it at a later time. Sounds fair?" She was not surprised that after the fireworks, Ewan and Albert made a mad dash to the arcade, leaving behind the children who only wanted sweets and fried foods.

Ilyana was arranging for some of her gifts to be brought back to her tent as everyone left the restaurant.

"I have one more!" Tori rushed up to her just as Ilyana was going to leave and follow the trail of people walking to the arcade. Ilyana was already red and beamed.

"You already made me a cake and dinner. You don't need to give me another gift."

"It's from Kasey to commemorate your sixteenth birthday and to thank you, because I am apparently a pitiful person who can't make friends," Tori said with a slight snort. She reached into her pocket and took out a small, blue velvet drawstring bag.

"I don't know what it is. It's a surprise." Ilyana's brilliant smile filled her face as she accepted the bag and quietly pulled apart the draw string. It was something heavy and Tori figured it was probably metal. Ilyana shook out the contents of the bag into her palm and she gasped.

"It's a brooch!"

"A brooch?" Tori wrinkled her nose and looked at the silver snowflake almost the size of Ilyana's palm. There were white and pale blue crystals embedded in the snowflake, but it was... big. Isn't this style more for older women? Shouldn't Ilyana get a dainty necklace or something? Is this the current style? Kasey, what is your taste.... Ilyana looked at Tori with large eyes and hugged her.

"I love it!" Okay, as long as Ilyana likes it.

"I'll let my brother know." Ilyana giggled almost madly as she looked at the brooch and seemed to debate if she wanted to wear it or not.

"No... I'll save it for a special occasion. Tori, please tell Lord Kasen thank you." She sighed and cradled the brooch carefully before putting it back into its velvet bag and putting it in her pocket. Tori noticed that while they played at the arcade, Ilyana would often put her hand over her pocket to make sure it was still there. While Ilyana retired after spending all her tokens and then buying additional ones for Riri, Tori stayed until everyone left.

This included several children who had to be carried out and ordering Ewan and Albert to leave because the workers had to go home, too. It was late by the time she got back to her tent, but she was still up the next morning. While the villagers were up and about, her friends and family were still sleeping. Tori didn't blame them. Some of them were up past midnight. Even if she wanted to sleep in, she couldn't. She had plans to go to Anahata Island to sort through her crate of crystals, and she was excited to do so.

While the delta was an energy vein, Anahata Island was the very heart of it and Tori always felt most confident about reading which crystals resonated with her best there. Of course, she was still using a cane and needed assistance with the crate. She walked out of her tent and to the tent across from her, where two other imperial knights were posted. She lifted her hand and knocked on the wooden door frame covered by a heavy flap.

"Piers, are you coming?"

"I brought food for Alexander." A voice spoke up behind her and she saw Piers already dressed and with a small food dish that had her cat's name on it. In his other hand was a picnic basket.

"And for Benedict. The cat."

"Oh! Bring it in!" Tori hopped back into her tent and called for her cat. The fluffy gray mass slipped out of the backroom and trotted to the woven mat where his food was served with the confidence of a little emperor. He was only a few months old, but quite large. Tori wondered if she was overfeeding him, but her mother assured her Alexander was healthy. Perhaps it was genetic.

"Where is Benedict's food?"

"Here." Piers patted his pocket and showed her a small brown package.

"Leftover chicken, like you said."

"Perfect. Did you already eat breakfast?" She eyed the picnic basket and he nodded.

"I ordered a breakfast burrito. The deck is already open. I ordered the Karap-style burrito and an iced coffee in a jar for you." He lifted the picnic basket and Tori nodded in approval.

"Let's eat on the island, then. I'll hold the basket. You grab the crate." As soon as they stepped out, two knights came forward to take the crate from Piers, but he refused. They walked across the paved main road and past some housing construction to get to the fishing dock on the river. Aside from fishermen, the dock was also where villagers went to take boats to the islands.

The dozen boatmen who went back and forth between the islands and the mainland learned the craft the previous year and were contracted by Tori. The boatmen who did most of the transport were familiar with them and there was no problem for Tori or Piers or the two knights accompanying them to get on one of the boats.

"Anahata Island, please!" Tori smiled after greeting the boatman.

"My lady, will we wait for you at the island or return at a later time?" the boatman asked as they reached the dock of Anahata Island after passing the crystal columns. It was the most rudimentary dock, as the only people who came to the island were Tori, Instructor Ignatius, and Master Ramos. Occasionally, they would have a guest, like the Bishop of Karap and his two guards or Piers and two knights.

"Please wait. It'll be an hour or two at most," Tori said. She climbed out of the boat and marched directly to the work area in a 'u' shaped courtyard. It was built with the money Tori got from the imperial family when they bought her fireworks.

The kitchen that was built for the winter was at the far end and the two protruding ends on either side were the homes of Instructor Ignatius and Master Ramos respectively There was a porch area on either end that should've been meant for relaxing, but was of course now littered with crystals. The homes mirrored each other with rooms that led into each other. The main entrance was facing the courtyard, which was filled with more worktables and tools, and led into a sort of living room.

That led into a study with a library, then sleeping quarters, and finally a small bathroom about the size of the one at the dorm. The Bishop of Karap stayed in the living room of Master Ramos' home and the guards alternated who would stay with him. They had the choice of sleeping in Instructor Ignatius' home or on a hammock on the porch. The summer weather was hot and humid, and it was comfortable to sleep outside at night. The insect-repelling plants helped, too.

When Tori reached the courtyard and work area, Instructor Ignatius was already up. His hair was tied up and out of his face as he worked on a piece of aquamarine in a bowl of water.

"Good morning, Instructor Ignatius!"

"Good morning, my lady," he said, distracted. Tori was used to it. She walked past him and grabbed a woven mat leaning against the wall and walked back out.

"Piers! Bring the crate here!" She pointed to a nearby tree and spread out the mat. When Piers reached her, he put the crate down. Tori tilted it over and dumped out the crystals. Piers sat down beside her and began to rummage through the basket. As Tori moved her hands over the crystals on the mat, she could feel a tingling energy against her palms and grew excited.

"Eat." A corner of a burrito was next to her head and Tori glanced over and took a bite before returning her focus to the crystals. Tori swallowed her food and spoke before leaning in for another bite.

"I think the Baron put in a lot of effort for these. All of them have energy and are excellent quality. The clarity on some of them is almost like glass." Almost every color of the rainbow and numerous patterns were strewn about before her, and Tori didn't know where to start. There were some rare healing crystals and a good handful that were perfect for protection. She was glad all of them were hers; if she had to pick a few, she'd be extremely disappointed.

"Are these virgin crystals?" Instructor Ignatius wandered over, and following him, a striped, gray tabby. Piers lowered Tori's burrito and took out the packet of leftover chicken.

"Yes, they were mined from the Agafonov mines or traded. The energy in them is naturally absorbed," Tori said. While new crystals were limited in their capacity, they were still able to absorb energy just by being buried in the earth for so long. Using that energy had a slightly different feeling than manmade charges. Manmade charges didn't give off a warm, comforting energy, making them easier to hide and less likely to lose energy when not in use.

"I knew I felt something." Master Ramos, still in a thin robe, walked out and seemed to be automatically drawn to Tori's crystals.

"Are these the crystals the Baron gave you?"

"Yes, Master! What do you think?" He chuckled with crinkled eyes and smiled.

"I think you are very loved." Tori broke out into a wide smile.

"Yes, I think so, too."

"What do you plan to do with them?" Instructor Ignatius asked.

"I'm going to make crystal protection talismans for my friends and the children," Tori said.

"I wanted to get started on them so I can at least have the ones for my cousins, Riri, and Constantine ready before they leave." Master Ramos' eyes softened and there was a glint of approval.

"I can't think of a better use of such high-quality crystals." Tori continued to smile and held her hands over the pile.

"I need to find a jeweler to mount them. I'm doing the carving, but I want them to look nice." She also wanted them to be more durable, since she was sure Ava would easily break it.

"Of course, they are gifts. I know just the person: Jean-François du Monde. He has a private workshop in Horizon's Central District. I will contact him for you."

"Thank you, Master!" It's definitely who you know....

"Master Monde is the imperial jeweler," Piers said as he held out Tori's burrito. Tori leaned over and took another bite.

"I can contact him." Master Ramos snorted and gave Piers a small sneer.

"Do you think he isn't allowed to work on anything outside the imperial family?" He looked back at Tori and his expression softened.

"You go to him as the pupil of Jorge Andronikos de Ramos, and he will drop everything to work on your jewelry." Tori looked at Piers.

"I'm going to go with my Master." Some of her talismans were needed in less than a month. She'd take the personal introduction. Piers looked a bit disappointed.

"What do you plan to make?" Instructor Ignatius asked. Tori's face lit up. She had a good idea she'd been thinking of for a while.

"Talismans that can be hung on one's bag, belt, or around the neck, and a few men's thumb rings." Piers glanced over.

"I think it'll look good on Constantine and my brothers. If they come out well, I'll make some for Papa and my uncles." Tori giggled to herself, already imagining how tasteful the pieces would look as she picked out suitable pieces for talismans. She looked at size, quality, and the energy she got from the pieces. Selecting them on the island was a good idea; it was as if she knew which crystal should go to whom as soon as she touched it.

When she separated about a dozen, she put them in a canvas bag and shoved the crystals back into the crate. She chatted with Instructor Ignatius and Master Ramos as she and Piers finished their breakfasts, then greeted the Bishop, who was disappointed he missed the selection. Tori let him look through the crate and her selected pieces. She then had Piers carry the crate back to the boat, where the knights were waiting with the boatmen. As they walked over, Piers' eyes flickered towards her.

"I want a thumb ring."

"You already have a talisman."

"Thumb ring will look better."

"You don't wear rings."

"I'd wear a thumb ring."

"I'll keep that in mind." On the boat ride over, Piers dug through the crate, occasionally lifting up a crystal to show her. Tori shook her head each time and his look grew increasingly gloomy. Her work on the crystal that could detect poisonous elements was not yet complete. It was complex work, and she needed a vast library of poisons and chemicals that could be mixed to make poison for reference. She needed to go back to the Fortress to access the family's collection.

If she could get to the reference collection at Université, it would be more convenient, but she wasn't an alumnus. Instructor Ignatius could do it for her, but she wanted to ensure it was registering properly herself.

"Do you want to be dropped off at the arrival dock?" the boatman asked, taking her out of her silent lament.

"Sure," Tori said. She craned her head as she saw one of the mid-sized vessels that picked up and dropped off guests from the loading island. The watch tower at the entrance of the delta only called the mainland and her when an unidentified ship arrived, meaning whoever arrived had visited before. Did Cousin Eili escape again? Cousin Bridget's going to be pissed. She got off the boat and walked up the stairs to the promenade. She didn't have to look far to see who had come.

Her eyes widened as she saw the tall man speaking to Sebastian.

"Axton!" Tori nearly dropped her cane. She tried to walk as quickly as possible, without falling, to reach him. He turned around and his handsome face brightened.

"Tori!" His face had a shadow of worry as he noticed her cane and the slight tremble of her legs, but didn't say anything as he rushed forward and picked her up.

"Axton, welcome back!" She laughed as he lifted her off her feet and did his customary spin. He laughed and put her down.

"You've gotten heavier!"