Chương 191: I’m a Petty Woman, Guthry. Don’t ever forget that.

Don't ever forget that.

Montan looked nervous. He glanced from his hands to the shore and back as the small ferry vessel was steered through between the islands to get to the embarkation island.

"You don't have to see her," Kasen said from the wooden seat across from Montan.

"The negation charm needs to be within a certain distance. It won't be affected by walls." He grinned a bit with amusement.

"How will I know behind what wall she'll be?" Montan asked with furrowed brows. He wasn't convinced.

"I've checked with Mr. Farkas. She's held in the corner room on the ground floor, closest to the office. None of the holding rooms have windows facing outside, so if we go behind the building and stand at that corner, you should be close enough to negate the charm on her person," Tori said.

"Is there any chance of her seeing us from inside the building?" Kasen asked. Tori shook her head.

"The holding rooms' doors and windows face the inner courtyard of the holding complex, so unless we go inside the building, they won't see us," Tori replied.

"That should put your mind at ease," Kasen told Montan.

"I was worried that if she sees me, she might ask questions and know I had something to do with her charm failing," Montan said. He shifted awkwardly on the wooden bench.

"What if she asks for another one?"

"Tell her your master prohibits you from creating new charms until you've finished your foundational studies," Kasen said, leaning back against the side of the boat. He crossed his arms over his chest.

"It's the truth." Montan nodded without a word. While he had been working with charms his entire life, he was only now doing so in line with the empire's laws and regulations regarding them. It was a similar, but different system to what Montan was used to, so there was a bit of a learning curve to adjust. As such, not all of Montan's new charms worked or worked as they should. It would be dangerous if he tried to make a similar charm for Alessa now.

It would be best if Alessa didn't know why her charm failed, if she noticed it failed at all. Tori had observed Montan's new method of making charms and from what she recalled of what she saw before, his previous style of making charms wasn't as constrained. Legal charms had to be written in a way that kept the effects to a designated individual and could not spill out towards others.

Montan's previous system appeared similar, but didn't do that, allowing for such open-ended reach that it affected anyone who had a positive or even neutral option of Alessa within a certain radius. Kasen told her that they, as in the empire, were not sure how many unregulated schools of charms still existed, and of them, how many still had practicing individuals. However, when such dangerous cases were found, they were quietly erased, as publicizing the existence would draw attention.

Attention brought curiosity, which brought renewed interest and renewed interest spread the knowledge they were trying to end. Aspects of cultural genocide were not always big, bloody massacres. Sometimes, they were quiet and slow deaths, making them disappear before anyone even noticed. The populace wouldn't be alarmed. They wouldn't even be likely to care. Montan himself was willingly part of destroying the system he learned. He wouldn't be the first.

The Soleil Empire's history was dotted with similar methods used to consolidate the land and people; to make an empire. It wasn't as glorious as war, but it did prevent unnecessary chaos and death. The boat reached the transportation hub dock on the island and Mr. Farkas was waiting to take them to the back of the building. The two-story building lacked windows on three sides and Montan appeared relieved when he saw this.

Once they reached the corner nearest to the room where Alessa was being held, Kasen gave Montan careful instructions.

"This is where it is similar to crystal using. You must ground and then feel for your energy lingering on a charm. I know you've had trouble with this, but the distance is just a few paces, so you should be able to sense it," Kasen told him. Montan was almost leaning against the wall, trying to be as close to Alessa as possible. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. Tori and Piers stood to the side and observed. If Tori concentrated, she could feel a faint energy coming from Montan.

However, if she didn't see him, she wouldn't have known it was his.

"I found it!" Montan gasped in a quiet voice.

"Activate the negation charm. You're in close enough range." Kasen kept his firm eyes on Montan. Tori could feel a slight increase of energy, but instead of fading out, it seemed to suddenly disappear. She furrowed her brows. That was unexpected; she thought it would be like when a crystal suddenly lost energy. After a few moments, Kasen nodded his head in approval.

"It's done?" she asked. Kasen nodded and patted Montan's shoulder.

"It's done. You did well without a visual target. Good job." Montan's face lit up at the praise.

"Thank you, Master!"

"Then we should get back," Tori said, looking towards the shore. She should've expected such efficiency from her brother, even if Montan was the one doing the work. The four went back to the mainland and Tori noted that they were just in time for dinner. They went straight to the restaurant just across the plaza. Out on the outdoor seating area, Tori was surprised to see Dimitri taking a seat at a table. The would-be host of the table looked up and waved.

"Piers!" Gideon rose from his chair and Piers gave him a nod.

"Do you want to join us?"

"No," Piers said, bypassing him completely to get to his usual table inside.

"The plaza is too loud."

"Save us a seat, Piers. My uncle and his family will dine with us," Tori said as she raised her hand and put it on his arm. He gave her a nod before going deeper into the restaurant. Gideon slumped a bit, but quickly recovered.

"Alvere, do you want to join us?"

"All right. Thank you, Your Highness."

"Did you go somewhere with the Countess?" Dimitri asked. Montan paused for a moment just as he was pulling out a chair. His eyes widened and he looked towards Tori. Her eyes dulled. She should've gone to the foyer instead of standing around. Now, she had to explain.

"Baroness Hart arrived."

"She's here?" Fabian was, surprisingly, the one who spoke up first on the matter. His head snapped up and his eyes were wide as several other pairs of eyes turned towards her. Tori did not expect to one day walk into the restaurant, in her territory, and find that four love interests; the most sought after and favorite ones according to internet polls, would sit around a table together, waiting for dinner to start. However, she could understand why Dimitri would take up the offer to join the second prince.

She wouldn't feel comfortable sitting next to Ilyana's death glare, either.

"She arrived with my aunt, my mom's younger sister, who happens to also be her godmother," Tori said, looking at Dimitri. As he wasn't present at her brother's wedding, he likely didn't know about the headache that was her Auntie Fabiana.

"But they came to a closed settlement without invitation and papers, so until those documents are sorted out, they're in holding on the embarkation island."

"The temporary prison?" Gideon asked.

"It's not a prison," Tori said with a slight frown.

"Prison implies they've been sentenced for and are being punished for a crime with time. They're just being held while an investigation is happening. They'll be released soon."

"Then, Alessa will be coming here?" Dimitri asked. He seemed upset at the implication. Tori shook her head.

"No, they have not been invited or approved to come to Viclya, so we will send them directly to the Cosora-Fekete border. They will be responsible for their own transportation from there, but they cannot re-enter the delta." Tori paused for a moment and frowned.

"At least, they cannot officially enter through the roads in. I can't stop them from sneaking in, but they'd have to walk through the forest, which I doubt they'll do."

"Countess." Dimitri looked at her with a hesitant expression.

"What about the charm?" Tori's gaze drifted to Montan. The young man shifted in his chair and took a deep breath.

"It's been negated." Dimitri and Fabian looked at him with surprise.

"How?" Dimitri asked. Tori looked back at Montan. When the energy of a charm ran out naturally through the course of its use, it felt as if it faded out of existence. It was similar to what it felt like when a crystal lost energy. However, when the charm was broken and negated, the energy seemed to disappear. Tori didn't know how else to describe it; it seemed to gather and then there was an expulsion of energy, then nothing.

That was why she had watched her brother's expression to see if the charm had been negated or not, as she wasn't sure. When crystals exploded, the energy in the crystal didn't disappear into the air at once. The energy remained in the shards and quickly leaked out, as if air was coming from a deflating balloon. The exact details of it were complicated to explain to those who didn't use charms, so Tori didn't bother. What was important was that Alessa's charm no longer worked.

"It's not something you need to worry about," Tori said in a firm voice.

"Montan was able to get guidance on how to negate it. Hart was not harmed in any way and it's likely she won't notice the difference." That was a lie. If Hart had noticed the difference when she got the charm and started to try to actively use it, then she'd notice the difference now that it was negated.

"You're sure the charm was on her person?" Gideon asked.

"I could sense my energy still in the charm," Montan replied. He kept his eyes down, as if unwilling to meet any judging eyes.

"She usually wears it folded in her locket around her neck." Tori cast one last look at the group and stepped back.

"Don't worry too much about it. Just enjoy dinner." She patted Montan's shoulder and left him with the other love interests as she returned to the foyer. Part of her wanted to stay and listen to what they were talking about, but it would be uncomfortable for all of them, including her. Uncle Dominico and his wife, who had changed into breezy clothing from the delta collection, appeared smiling at the entrance while looking around.

Artemisia was still dressed in her travel clothes, but her wide green eyes were admiring the ceiling decorations made of fabric that moved in waves when the breeze went through. Tori knit her brows a bit. While she was happy that her uncle and aunt seemed to make themselves at home, she also didn't expect them to already be wearing holiday clothes. Especially holiday clothes that matched.

Tori hadn't provided them with any, as she felt that they'd be better off doing their own shopping and picking clothes according to their tastes. Did they already go shopping? They'd only been in Viclya for a few hours.

"Tori!" Uncle Dominico was upbeat and led his family in.

"There is so much to do and see; I almost regret only scheduling two weeks to visit."

"You're always welcomed back, Uncle," Tori said with a warm smile.

"Have you confirmed your schedule with Professor Grey?"

"Yes, he'll be here tomorrow, and we'll go through Rois first," Uncle Dominico said.

"Artemisia will join us. I invited your aunt, but she's not interested."

"I heard there are whales," Auntie Anita said with a determined look on her face.

"Where can I go to see them?"

"At this time of the year, they're just outside the bay, but sometimes they do come in with their calves," Tori replied.

"Are you interested, Auntie?"

"Of course! Didn't your uncle tell you? I study local sea life in Tres Arcos. Due to the amount of shipping traffic, it's important to monitor the health of the local sea life," her aunt said proudly.

"Otherwise, how can we continue to have sufficient harvests?" Tori blinked and jerked her head back.

"You're a marine biologist?" Auntie Anita tilted her head to the side and looked a bit confused.

"A marine bio...? What is that?" Maybe that's not what they're called here. Tori furrowed her brows.

"A person who studies ocean life," she said.

"Mama is the foremost leader in the region on shellfish and shore fish," Artemisia told her with a bright smile.

"She's written many books and recently finished one on regional fish breeding cycles and how this can be used to farm fish."

"If you're interested, I will send you a copy," Auntie Anita said with a glint of excitement in her eyes.

"It is called Natural Shore Farming, by me: Anita de Sophos de Garcia."

"That may actually be very useful here," Tori said with a nod.

"We have a fishing industry that is mainly to support the villagers and our guests, but if we can ensure the health of our resources, it would only be beneficial to the delta."

"Then, if Sia is interested in a position here, I can come with her to help her adjust," Auntie Anita said.

"I can be very useful, you know." Tori nodded.

"There are many benefits to being a... person who studies sea life."

"If you both come here, what about me?" Uncle Dominico furrowed his brows.

"You have your hands full at Tres Arcos." Tori recognized her mother's voice at once and looked over her shoulder.

"Mama, you came to dinner alone today?" Tori asked. The Marquess let out an exasperated sigh.

"I'm tired of watching Monica lose. She's terrible at tiles; I don't know why she keeps trying. There are other games." Tori sat her family together and tried to sell working at Viclya to her cousin. Artemisia appeared interested, but didn't want to make any promises. After dinner, she walked with her relatives up and down the Promenade, but lost her aunt and uncle to the square where villagers often gathered to play instruments, dance, and relax in the evenings.

Her mother went off to call her father, leaving her with Artemisia, who was four years older. Perhaps it was because Artemisia graduated early from Universidad del Sur Tres Arcos, but she carried herself like someone in the midst of a career change rather than someone who was trying to find a project that suited her. At the end of their walk, Tori led her cousin back to the resort tents. On her way back to the encampment, a thin figure was seated by the steps and perked up when he saw her.

Tori gave him a slight nod of her head.

"Guthry."

"My lady, I'm sorry for bothering you, but may I have a moment of your time?" Dimitri asked with a respectful bow of his head. Tori raised a brow.

"Again, Guthry? Need I remind you I'm not some all-knowing entity." She gave him a grin, but still waved to him to follow her.

"How can I help you this time?"

"I spoke to His Highness the second prince at dinner. I wasn't the only one affected by the charm." Dimitri wore a wry smile as he walked a half step behind her. Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author's preferred platform and support their work!

"Anyone who had a favorable opinion of her before she got the charm was susceptible. That was the nature of the charm," Tori replied.

"Is that what you four talked about?"

"Alvere-Young Master Alvere apologized for his negligence. After he was called away by Duke Alvere, the second prince told me more about his birth mother's charm abilities." Dimitri seemed to shudder.

"I didn't know there are those who dare to use unorthodox methods."

"It was useful to a select group of people, so it didn't die. However, this matter shouldn't spread," Tori said with a look of warning. Dimitri nodded, appearing to understand completely.

"What matters is that Montan now has proper guidance and will no longer be ignorant of the problems that such rogue charms can create."

"The second prince said that you were the one who noticed the charm at his birthday celebration." He looked towards her with undisguised curiosity.

"You were also the one who told Duke Alvere about Young Master Alvere's familial situation." Tori gave him a sidelong glance.

"What are you getting at, Guthry?"

"Did you save him?"

"It was a coincidence that I noticed."

"But you did not have to get involved. You didn't have to speak about the charm or his parents. The second prince didn't seem to notice, but Mr. von Dorn did." Dimitri quickened his step to catch up with her.

"I'm not so arrogant as to pretend that we never treated you harshly. If we were making fools of ourselves, you had no reason to reveal the problem with the charm."

"What are you talking about? I had a huge reason!" Tori almost scoffed.

"Are you still unable to figure it out? Alessa Hart is my reason. Have you forgotten everything she's said about me? All the misunderstandings? The misplaced blame? I'm a petty woman, Guthry. Don't ever forget that." She looked ahead and marched forward as the encampment tents were in sight. Dimitri continued to follow her.

"You could've done something else."

"You mean to humiliate her or ruin her project? Something so blatantly petty revenge that it's almost embarrassing?" Tori rolled her eyes.

"For the student who entered Lycée with the first rank and has been around politics his whole life, you don't seem to understand. You know that whether she meant to or not, she was using the charm to gain your favor, yes?"

"Yes."

"And if she has your favor, you would be much more likely to believe and assist her."

"Yes."

"That would allow her to use you and others to her benefit without having to give much effort in return outside of things she could afford to give: time and emotional support."

"Countess, l believed her to be a friend. Aren't time and emotional support exchanged in friendship?"

"I'm not saying that she should buy you things or do things for you. It's just that it was obvious that you all were giving her what she gave you in return, and then much, much more. The relationship dynamic is unequal. If it was acknowledged, the party giving too much would become resentful. If it wasn't noticed, the party giving too much would simply be used unknowingly.

If you were willing to reciprocate so much and you felt it was worth it, I'm in no place to stop you no matter what my opinion on the matter was." Dimitri was quiet for a moment and Tori wondered if he was thinking of all the things, he did for Alessa.

"Then, why did you?"

"Once more, because I am a petty person. If she was taking advantage of you, then stopping her from doing so would put her at a disadvantage. I did not do anything directly to her, but severely impacted her... quality of life, let's call it. The gods know how much her mouth has impacted mine for some time...." Tori muttered the last sentence, but it seemed that Dimitri still heard her.

"Then... every time you stepped in to aid one of us, it was because of Alessa?"

"Yes."

"Really?" He didn't sound convinced. Tori could see her tent up the wooden path with two imperial knights on either side of the entrance. That could only mean one thing.

"Is it so difficult to believe that I'm only acting on self-preservation?" she asked with as much arrogance as she could muster. Dimitri didn't seem at all put off. Instead, he smiled a bit.

"Yes... actually it is. You are a kind person, Countess Guevera." He lifted his hand to the collar of his shirt and Tori could make out something small hanging around his neck. He squeezed it as a thoughtful smile filled his face.

"Thank you." The door flap to her tent seemed to almost fly open. Dimitri jumped and Tori turned her head. The guest she expected to be in her tent stepped out with a cold expression on his face.

"Tori, you're late. I've been waiting." She gave him an apologetic look.

"Sorry, Piers, I walked Cousin Sia back to her tent, so it took a while longer than I thought to return." Piers' eyes weren't on her, but instead narrowed on Dimitri.

"Come inside. It is late." He said it as if he were inviting her into his tent and not her own.

"Guthry, the town is quite safe, but I'm still going to have a knight escort you back to the resort tents just in case. You're still recovering," Tori said. She motioned for one of the knights that usually guarded her tent to step forward.

"My lady, thank you for your concern, but I can manage. I've improved since we last met in Horizon." Tori shook her head.

"Regardless, I don't want to take any chances. Sir Rueben will escort you. Get some rest." Dimitri bowed his head to her and then to Piers before turning around and going back from where they came. Tori slipped past Piers and into her tent.

"He doesn't believe you," she heard him say behind her as she walked to her desk with the neatly piled escape room guides Piers had been working on.

"Why do you think so?"

"Because he was there last summer," Piers said as he followed behind her.

"When you collapsed to find and then save them." Tori slowed and took her seat. She scrunched her face a bit.

"You helped because you could not stand by knowing you could change their fate." Tori took a deep breath and met his eyes.

"Sometimes, it's very frustrating that you know me best."

"They're like stars!" Ava looked impressed as she looked at the strands of light crystals that were strung across Reina's main plaza. They were small and not enough to provide proper lighting, but against the night sky, they twinkled. Riri also seemed mesmerized by the light crystals as he and Ava tilted their heads up.

"They were a surprising amount of work to make," Tori said. First, she had to get them cut to size, then charge them with Old Sulfae to get them to twinkle at different points. She wanted a set that could both twinkle, shine like normal, and do a wave pulse across the entire lighting system, but hadn't been able to figure that out yet. For now, she kept the tiny light crystals twinkling and had larger light crystals mounted on the columns of the various pergolas and against trees to keep the plaza lit at night.

There were several round tables and an open area by the illuminated fountain. Fiona was already doing her one-girl dance to the audience of her father and grandmother.

"Are you going to keep them the whole night?" Ilyana asked at her side.

"Yes. We'll dim the main light crystals for the fireworks," Tori said.

"By the way, I need to talk to you about your birthday." Ilyana drew her head back and knit her brows. There was still some time before her birthday.

"I thought we'd just have dinner at the restaurant."

"We have dinners at the restaurant nearly every night," Tori said.

"I was hoping to use your birthday as a test."

"Test?"

"At the Lunar-""Countess Guevera," a woman's voice cut her off and Tori turned her head towards the sound of the voice. She gave Madam Guthry a warm smile as the woman approached arm-in-arm with her husband. Seeing them close together brought Tori a bit of relief after knowing their relationship had strained during Dimitri's downward spiral.

"Madam Guthry, Mr. Guthry, welcome!" Tori took a step away from Ilyana to greet them.

"Thank you for coming."

"Thank you for inviting us, my lady," Mr. Guthry said with a small bow of his head. He looked around with a bit of awe.

"I heard that only the plaza and the surrounding facade had been built, but compared to last year, this is quite a lot of progress."

"The workers are very driven. They are in teams focused on one area at a time," Tori said.

"Our architects and engineers are also energetic about the buildings. They are hoping that by this time next year, the main pool and the thermal baths will be complete." Mr. Guthry nodded, impressed.

"Ambitious." Beside him, Madam Guthry released his arm and went through one of her pockets. She took out a small wooden box that fit in her palm.

"My lady, please accept this as a gift for your birthday," Madam Guthry said with a hopeful smile as she grasped Tori's hand and placed the wooden box in it.

"Madam Guthry, you didn't have to bring me a gift," Tori said with a helpless smile. The older woman shook her head.

"You have done so much for our son."

"We would be remiss not to show our gratitude, Countess Guevera," Mr. Guthry said.

"We still have a few contacts with merchants that go abroad. This crystal is said to be rare. It was traded through the Northern Federated Tribes on the western coast, north of the Tona Empire." Tori felt her heart quicken. If this world mirrored her original world to an extent, above the Tona empire, which was fantasy Central America in her mind, was fantasy North America, and the west coast was where she was originally from.

Without a word, her trembling hands opened the wooden box to find a cloudy blue crystal wavering between sky blue and royal blue. The pieces were about the size of her pinky's finger nail and were still embedded in an opaque white mineral. She'd seen similar samples before in geology exhibits at local museums. Her heart tightened. If this was what she thought it was, in her original world, it would've been benitoite, the state gem of California.

A wave of homesickness swept through her, and Tori almost wanted to laugh. Of course, it would be a crystal that made her homesick.

"The merchant said that their trading contacts called it water moon crystal. I'm afraid we don't know what the local name of it is," Madam Guthry said with a bit of worry. Tori didn't care. Water moon crystal was a very fitting name.

"It's beautiful...," she said as she touched the cool blue crystal with her finger tip. She looked up at the couple and smiled.

"Thank you very much! I've never used such a crystal before, so I'll take good care of it. It has a high energy vibration. I can't wait to show my master." Relief filled Madam Guthry's face and she looked at her husband with a bright smile, as if silently praising him for his find.

"We're very happy you like it, my lady," Mr. Guthry replied with a pleased nod. Tori motioned for them to take a seat. Servers pushing carts with special heated and cooled trays brought appetizers to guests who were sitting around chatting.

"For a teenager's birthday party, there are a lot of noble and important people," Henrik said as he appeared beside her. Tori hadn't noticed; her eyes had been drawn back to her new crystal.

"Tori isn't an average teenager," Ilyana told him. Tori looked up and swept her eyes across the plaza. Most of the guests to Viclya were wealthy, influential, or high-profile guests. A good handful of them knew Tori personally, so they were invited to her 'small birthday dinner'. In retrospect, how small could it be if all the duchies and the Empress were present? There were also various people who worked for the county, including village leaders, county administrators, guild masters, and professionals.

Most of them saw each other often, so to Tori, it almost seemed like a holiday work party. She snickered to herself at the analogy and clutched her crystal against her.

"Henrik, I want to talk to you and Ilyana about throwing her birthday party at the Lunar Pavilion as a practice run for Piers' Harvest Festival Ball," Tori said as she closed the box. Henrik raised a brow, but nodded.

"I can help, but the Lunar Pavilion is mostly yours."

"The amount of ownership Henrik and I have for it is tiny," Ilyana said as she held up her hand and made a pinching motion.

"Yes, but I think it would be a good experience for us. The Lunar Pavilion was originally an imperial palace, so it's suitable for hosting large events like this. This could be another way to generate much needed income," Tori told them.

"Of course, we can't just start without a theme, so I'll write up some suggestions."

"The Harvest Festival is in two months," Henrik said.

"Will that be enough time?" Tori let out a snort.

"Will it be enough time...." She almost mocked his words and gave him a knowing look.

"I think with the number of parties we've thrown; we can put together something in a decent amount of time."

"The Lunar Pavilion is a new venue," Henrik reminded her.

"And the renovations are not yet completed."

"We only need the central courtyard and the surrounding facilities. Not every part of the pavilion needs to be ready for guests," Tori said.

"Will it be ready by then?" Ilyana asked.

"It should be. If we need to hire more people, we can." Henrik sighed.

"Were you not the one who was lamenting not having enough money to do all the renovations at once?"

"We won't be using my money. We'll be using Piers' money." Tori motioned her free hand towards the man quietly seated near the head table. Of the tables, it was the quietest one with only one other person with him, and he wasn't speaking. A few chairs from Piers, Istvan was on a booster chair and coloring. As if having noticed Piers sitting there, Istvan pushed an uncolored paper towards him and moved his colored clay sticks between them. Piers stared at the paper for a while before picking up a clay stick.

Henrik looked hesitant.

"Has His Highness agreed to this?"

"As long as it's not an astronomical fee, I'm sure he will," Tori said with confidence.

"If we can afford it, then I don't mind," Ilyana said.

"I don't have many people to invite. Mommy and Riri are here, us, some individuals from Lions Gate, the guards...." She trailed off, trying to remember who else to invite.

"I'd invite a few students, but we'd need to get the invitations out soon."

"Ilyana's birthday is right before the Harvest Festival and many people leave the city to celebrate it as it's a week-long holiday," Henrik added.

"Where's Tiff?" Ilyana craned her neck and looked through the plaza.

"I know she's here. I'll see if she can contact the rest of the club members."

"I should talk with Piers about who he wants to invite, as well," Tori said. Henrik's eyes were fixed at a table next to the main table where Tori would be seated. It was the table for their friends and currently, three of the five food carts had stopped and surrounded it. Henrik's lips pursed.

"I need to stop them before they eat all the appetizers." The trio split up, with Henrik almost running to stop Ewan, Albert, and unexpectedly, Gideon. Tori approached the table with Piers and took a seat next to him. She looked down at the paper he was coloring and tried to restrain the dismay on her face.

"I see you're coloring a dolphin." Piers paused.

"This is not a shark?" Tori stared at the carefully colored dolphin.

"They appear similar... but neither are orange." Perhaps we need to make an aquarium or something.... Piers stopped coloring and frowned. Tori inwardly grimaced and patted his arm.

"But it can be whatever color you want." Piers still pushed the paper away like a frustrated child. Istvan looked up from his picture of a boat. He tilted his head as he looked at Piers' orange dolphin.

"I like it. It's happy." Piers seemed to eye the boy for a moment before nodding.

"You are a smart child." Tori's lips drew into a tight line.

"Putting aside the coloring, we need to prepare the invitations for your ball. Do you have a guest list?"

"Yes," Piers said.

"I have it ready." Tori nodded, satisfied.

"I thought as much. We can go to Horizon in a few days to look over options at Duel's printers. How many people?"

"If everyone comes, a hundred and fifty." Tori paused and jerked her head back. It wasn't that a hundred and fifty people was a lot for a ball, it was just a lot for a ball thrown by Piers. Certainly, in his position, Piers would know hundreds of people; at least as an acquaintance, but she didn't know he knew that many people well enough to invite them to a party. Was he always this popular at work? He cocked his head to the side as he noticed her mixed expression.

"Is that too much?" She shook her head.

"No, we'll have enough room. The pavilion's central courtyard is massive... are these mostly... how do I put this? People who support you?" Piers nodded.

"A few from Université, Axton and the others, Gideon can invite one friend, but mostly, they are political colleagues."

"Nobles?"

"And representatives," Piers said.

"I have worked closely with many of them." Tori smiled.

"Great! And they'll be bringing another person with them? Such as a spouse or other family member? Maybe an aide?" Piers nodded.

"Yes. There are also a few diplomats. You are familiar with some of the ambassadors, already."

"Then, I'll make a point to focus the food on local seasonal dishes," she replied.

"Are there any dietary restrictions we should be aware of and need to accommodate for?" Piers thought for a moment. He named off a few, which were as Tori expected.

"The third prince of Pargath should be coming. He may be an important ally."

"From the city-state Pargath on the border?" Tori asked. She had moved a crystal representing her uncle near it when she was at the crystal table at the palace. Piers nodded and took another sheet that Istvan gave him.

"The king of Pargath's first wife died, so he married another. The second and third prince are the sons of the second wife. The first prince, the son of the first wife, is said to have caused the accident that killed the second prince. There are two factions vying for power. One to the first prince and one to the third prince." Piers picked up a purple clay stick.

"The first prince is close to the Duraga Federation. Under his insistence, trade with them became more open and previous restrictions were lifted."

"How does the king feel about this?"

"He is ill."

"Of course, he is." Tori slumped down and let out a heavy sigh. Pargath's royal family seemed to be in the midst of some comic-like inheritance drama.

"So, you want to try to win over the third prince?"

"The third prince needs a powerful ally," Piers said as he colored a starfish.

"Your Uncle was able to contact him. He will come to us."

"I understand." Tori furrowed her brows.

"Does this mean moving Uncle Rom there on the table worked?"

"Grandfather says the table reflects one's intuition," Piers said. He stopped coloring.

"Can I color the eyes orange?"

"Those aren't the starfish's eyes. That's just a pattern on them." Istvan and Piers both looked towards her.

"This is a fish?" Tori pursed her lips. She quietly pushed her chair back and stood up.

"I'm going to my table. You can sit here as long as you want, but Fiona will come to eat soon. Istvan, don't spend all your time coloring. Eat when your parents or Nanny Rey tells you."

"Okay, Auntie."

"Piers, that goes for you, too."

"I am not a child." She took a deep breath and patted his arm. She walked towards the dance floor, stopping to hug a flushed and sweaty Fiona as she rushed past after her dance. Nanny Rey was watching the Istvan and waiting for Fiona so they could start eating. Kasen helped put her on a booster chair and then took a seat at the table next to his sister once Fiona was ready to eat.

"Tell me why the first prince of the empire is coloring a starfish."

"Coloring is relaxing," Tori replied. She glanced at her brother and smirked.

"It's harmless. Do you expect him to sneak out and go start fights somewhere?" Kasen chuckled and then froze. His eyes dimmed.

"Who told you that?"

"No one-""Was it Benedict?" Kasen nearly shot up from his seat.

"No, it wasn't Instructor!" Tori grabbed his arm and pulled him back down. Instructor Ignatius was on the island, innocently minding his own business. She didn't want to ruin his night because she wanted to annoy her brother.

"Sit down. I just heard some things about your unruly time in Horizon."

"I was not unruly."

"You sneaked out of the dorms. Got into fights." Kasen stared at her, his face paling a bit with each word. He was exposed to his precious sister. His eyes narrowed.

"It was Benedict, wasn't it?" Tori rolled her eyes.

"Kasey, you were immensely popular. It doesn't take much to find out what you did while in Horizon." Kasen didn't seem to be listening to her.

"If it wasn't Benedict, it was Axton."

"It wasn't Axton!" Tori sighed.

"Kasey, everyone was young and reckless at one point. At that age, who doesn't make questionable life choices? I'm not angry at or disappointed in you." Her brother's face paled even more.

"Is everything all right?" Tori made a face. What did her brother thing was wrong?

"Never mind. Everything is fine. I was just surprised to hear you were so... rebellious while in Lycée."

"I wasn't rebellious. Others sought trouble with me. How can I let it stand?"

"I know." She was less violent, but the same way.

"I just hope your children will take less risks when they're that age."

"Fiona is excitable, but a good girl. She won't be reckless."

"... why Fiona and not Robert?"

"Robert is everything good about Senior Kasen with none of his vices." Piers took a seat next to Tori.

"Fiona arrived and the table became loud."

"I know that was also meant to insult me, but you're right about my son," Kasen said with a proud look. Piers patted Tori's arm in the same way she often did to him to offer support.

"Do not worry. The children will be well-behaved and good. They will not mirror Senior's actions." Kasen nodded once and paused. His face darkened and he glared at Piers.

"It was you."

"If you touch him about this, I will tell Robi about how you sneaked out of the dorms to fight." It was a low-level threat, but it worked. Kasen glared at Piers before getting up and going back to the children's table to check on his daughter. Tori looked over at Piers, who had grabbed on to her hand when her brother figured out who had exposed him. Piers was smiling.

"I knew you would protect me."

"It's what heroes do." Tori reached out and picked up her wine glass, pausing before she took a sip. She smirked.

"We have to protect our sidekicks."