Gertine Doyle. Upon hearing that name, Velvet paid attention to her.

Blond long hair lazily tied up that falled in disarray upon her back, a thick long skirt with various capes in different dark greens that covered all her body except for a few unbuttoned buttons in the chest zone. In her face there were some thin golden rimmed round glasses, and she wore some red lipstick and eye shadow.

Immediately, Velvet went and sat in front of her. “Hello~ It is a nice day we are having, isn’t it?”

Gertine, who was reading a newspaper, lifted her gaze towards Velvet, not moving her head. “Yes. Can I help you?”

“Yes in fact! I was looking around, and I noticed your fate was changing!” Pulling out the Tarot deck, Velvet played a charlatan, ignoring Baraviodos' long groan in her head. “It seems a great encounter awaits you!”

“Is that so.”

“Yes, yes, let me prove it to you.” She started mixing the cards under Gertine's uninterested gaze.

She put the deck on the table, before pushing a card forward.

“The Hermit.” Velvet flipped it. “Usually refers to a teacher or someone with more knowledge than you. Does someone come to mind? Oh! Don’t tell me, don’t tell me, just think about it.”

“Hm-hm.”

“Next card…” She pushed another. “Death. Oh, kinda dark, isn’t it?”

“Death usually means transformation, not actual death.” She cut Velvet, who curled her lips in response.

Well, Iren went from mage to notebook, so I’m right.

“Yup, transformation. Too bad there’s no card that means notebook, but alas… But oh, reencounters… eh, the Ten of Pentacles works.” She took a card out of the deck, not looking at it, and flipped it.

It was the Ten of Pentacles.

Gertine smiled, “Kind of a cheat, aren’t you?”

“But now I have your attention.”

“I won’t buy anything.”

“Don’t worry about that, it’s not you who will be paying.” Velvet slid her hand upon the cards, making them disappear, then, she flipped it in the same way, making the notebook appear where the Death card was before. “Bars, say hello, no?”

“Gertine.” The demon inside the notebook said. “It’s been a long time.”

Velvet grinned when the girl flinched in surprise, her fingers dropping the page she was reading.

“What…? W-wait, how did it happen?”

“Oh, I can explain.”

…

After she finished recounting the train trip, Gertine kept silent.

It took less time than Niko and Kartal. She didn’t have that many questions, and knew already about mages hunting one another.

Velvet found her reaction emotionless. It seemed that her relation towards Iren was a bit cold, even when they were family.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

“He was a distant cousin of mine, and had a knack for traveling most of the time. I barely knew him.”

“Hm? Weren’t you both going to the Mergifari?” Velvet assumed that most mages going to Wishbell, apart from Siberina and Cornelius, were going to the Mergifari.

“Yes, but not for the same thing.” She tilted her head, it seemed Baraviodos was telling her something. “So you don't know.” Closing the newspaper, she continued. “Before the Mergifari’s official opening date, there’s a… market. No, the market is always open, but the two weeks before the Selection, it becomes a…” She made an expanding motion with her hands, not finding the word.

Both of them kept silent for a few seconds, staring at each other while Gertine kept moving her hands.

“A bigger market.” Velvet said.

“I wanted to use a more specific word… but yes. It’s a way for making the trip worth it, even if one doesn’t manage to enter the Mergifari.”

“Hm, that’s good to know.” Velvet wasn’t sure she could afford anything, but window shopping was free.

Gertine picked up the bloody notebook, which didn’t leave a single blood stain on the table.

“I’m going to send a message.” Gertine got up, dusting off her skirt. “Oh, and…?”

“Velvet.”

“Velvet, give me your Tarot for a moment.”

She did that, watching Gertine mix the cards.

“Let me do a divination for you. A revelation of your true self.” She mixed the cards, before taking one without looking, pushing it towards her without turning it around, before taking Iren’s things and leaving. Velvet smile flinched.

“You do have a sense of humor, don’t you?” Gertine had left already, before Velvet turned the card around, already knowing which one it was.

It was The Fool.

“At least it is not The Chariot, I would have cried if it was that one.”

Velvet kept on drinking and eating. She wasn’t afraid of the Doyles refusing to compensate her, since she had the Devil’s Deal, and Irsen Kartal had seen it.

If we are talking about politics… Refusing to compensate me would make them look bad before the Scales boss, which seems like a bad thing.

…

Velvet went for a moment to her room to leave her luggage, not wanting to carry it around.

The room was great, similar to the one Siberina had in the train.

Still, after having spent the last two days inside a train, Velvet wanted to avoid staying in a closed space.

So, she went to stroll around the airship. There were a lot of mages, so maybe she could see a bit of the true ‘Mage Society’.

After a while going from one place to another, she more or less had seen all that the airship had to offer, including the mages that traveled inside.

Some mages carried familiars around. Not demonic familiars, those ones usually stayed inside their pocket dimension, the risk of becoming a snack present, but elemental, natural and even some enhanced animals could be seen.

Velvet saw a horned, six legged wolf walking behind a mage that looked like a student, who was talking to the big blue rat that was being carried in his arms.

She also saw a flying snake, who looked directly at her.

Can it see that I ate a snake?

The snake tilted her head, as if saluting, before going its own way, following a girl with blue hair and delicate appearance.

Or am I part snake now? Does it think I’m one of them? Velvet tilted her head back, also going her way.

She saw some more mages and familiars, before realizing something.

None of them were talking to each other. Some had ‘groups’, but she could see there was a clear leader on those, the others taking a submissive attitude.

She tried to locate mages that were like her, novices, but they hid too well that fact, no one wanting to appear weak. It made sense, Velvet though, after all, she already had problems for being a mage with no family behind. Most lonely mages were young, around her age. Still, if they could afford the airship ticket, taking them as wanderers might be a mistake.

So it all leads down to become a pretender… Don’t bring attention to you… I failed that step on the train, haha. Better not fail it again.

Gertine probably knew that she was a wanderer, but what is done is done, she will need to have some faith towards the Doyles’ ‘gratitude’.

Velvet looked through the window, towards the starry sky. The orchestra had stopped playing, and now, a pianist was in their place, his music filling the hall.

Being so high up, it was a beautiful sight.

And yet, no one was dancing.