At night in the School city a small black carriage drives a second time into the shopping district for this day.
“It is so nice outside. The whole sky is slowly getting red like a colour changing jewel~”
“Yes, it is really a beautiful evening.”
While admiring the Sky slowly changing colour Alice and Drak are on their way to look for Horses of their new Carriage.
“After we are finished, I would love to sit in an open Bistro and dine with you, Master~”
“We can do what you want to do. I will tag along and be by your side tonight.”
“Hearing this is like a dream. When was the last time it was just two of us, Master~?”
“I can’t remember right now, but it must be while you were still adjusting to your new experiences.”
“Sometimes I still question myself if this is real or if I am still testing a new alchemical concoction~”
“This is real. I am here and so is Claire, Raja and Seria. As long as you want, we are here for you and support you.”
“This makes me so happy, I get sometimes scared over it~”
A slightly melancholic but definitely warm feeling radiated inside the Carriage while Korn was driving slow and carefully to their destination.
-
“While I understand you want to make your own decisions about your horses, are you sure you want these four?”
In front of Drak was a Merchant and he was a bit incredulous about the Horses that were chosen. Drak himself did not do much and was more in the background, while Korn and Alice looked at the Horses themselves closely inspecting their demeanours and often just patted their heads before going to the next, without looking at the magnificent features like the Muscles or their immaculate fur.
He rarely saw someone so eccentric choosing the Horses, especially as they chose four different kinds. One was even a workhorse that was strong, but not really appealing, as it was shaggy and had grey fur. The other ones were not quite right either, as one had a small limp and one was the worst of his breed, with low muscle strength destined to become Sausage if it were not sold the next few weeks.
Only one was a black Horse that had a normal build, while having serious training issues. It was rather stubborn and would kick most people who came near it. Unexpected it let those two Servants not only near it without fuss, but had even allowed them to touch it without any issues, while it would even loathe the Merchants own trainers and kick out for no particular reason.
Those Four were a strange combination. A grey worker horse, a black and white limping one, a brown weak one and a black stubborn one. Those four have no real relation and even their sizes are slightly different as they are of different breeds and the weak one even a failed mixed breed.
“Those four are doing fine. With the two we have already, we have six for a rotation or a small convoy of two Carriages. How much would that be?”
Not really understanding why this overweight and stubborn Son of a Duke is wanting those, he could only conclude it is of overly trust in his Servants who might not even know anything about Horses to begin with. While checking the Money, the Horses will be delivered next day. As three were cheap and the fourth had a discount because of the personality it was not even half a Gold in total, even if there is a rather high price hike in being at the Central Domain.
-
Sitting in a small Bistro on the corner of the Merchant District Drak and Alice are watching the sky slowly being coloured in dark while the first stars glimmer in anticipation of the Night.
“...~”
“It sure is beautiful. It makes me feel relaxed by just sitting here with you and seeing the beauty of this World we take for granted.”
Afterwards Drak bites into his small bread he had. It is a small specially made bread dish made in this bistro, a piece of bread soaked on one side in raw scrambled eggs and put on the frying plate. Afterwards, it is garnished with a bit of rock salt, herbs and a few vegetables. It is nothing special in this City, but for Commoners this would already be a specialty dish.
Alice chose this specific Bistro after looking around, as it has no segregation against Commoners, Servants or Nobility. While the Server was a bit intimidated by the Crest, he found Drak to be easy to get along with and was more relaxed after serving him the dishes and iced fruit juice.
Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
On the open space were also to be seen different Students, who were wearing less special Uniforms and had a standard design especially ordered to be worn by Commoners. Seeing the difference at first glance, many had different emotions on their faces. Some held envy for someone like Drak being Nobility and not needing much to do, others aspired to become themselves higher status. Some girls try to weigh the positives and negatives to try to become a plaything with such an overweight Noble, as he has a nice demeanour, even if he was rather ugly.
While those looks and thoughts were prevalent for the first few Minutes, everyone got back to their own work on their Study papers or thought of different things unnaturally fast and nearly at the same time.
“It is so relaxing. No worries and no pressure. I want this for all of us, being free like a bird.”
“...~”
“Ah that dream. She is curious, I was close to ending this farce and just using force, but she was so willing to just bow down. I feel sorry for her, she does not even know how caged she is and thinks of it as a matter of course. But enough about her, this is ‘our’ time. Better not think about someone else while we are here, right?”
Putting his chubby hand on Alice’s white one made her blush a bit. Alone the sentence of it being their own time was an arrow to her heart and the touch was quite the finisher, while Drak did not notice it and just marveled at the sky, now overtaken by stars shimmering like Jewels in the light.
-
“Did you have a fun Night you two?”
“It was heavenly Seria~”
“Like Alice said. Such a tranquil time, just watching the Moon slowly appearing while drinking chilled fruit juice was an event I didn't think would make me so relaxed like it did. How was your evening everyone?”
“Seeing the Horses was at first a small headache, but then we understood with Korn explaining. The turning of them into Familiars will be made at night while Korn tends to them. I hope you will comply, Master.”
“It was boring without you Master! Seria just told us to dust this and polish that, while everything was already clean to begin with. She missed you too and used it to order us around!”
“While I was feeling lonely, I persevered as I know the next day brings personal time with you too Master. Please look forward to it.”
“Sorry for that. You both can sleep with me tonight in the same bed. Seria, I will make the dilution ready for the Horses. Korn said half should work, but they might need time to adjust. For this I will do it tomorrow night for him to be free to be our Driver for the next dates, okay?”
“As you wish, Master. You get more and more dependable with your plans.”
“I am starting to understand that not everything can be forced like I used to. It feels weird to calculate and make decisions like that.”
“That is the feeling of growing up Master!”
“Like Celia said Master, it is a sign of you understanding the finer details and becoming sharper not only in mind but in actions.”
“Raja, our Master is no Knife he is more like a bud starting to bloom into adulthood~”
“Stop it! You make me blush! I know I am still a bit naive but I try my best, not only for me but also for you all!”
Seeing the smiling faces of his Maids, Drak’s face was tinted in a pink blush and hurried into the bathroom to make himself ready for bed.
-
“The horses bought were unconventional. Nothing really made sense and we can not find the true reason for them being chosen. Also the Bistro was a rather niche establishment with no background. The original Owner was the Grandfather of the current owner and is a family run Establishment having slight troubles to make profits. Without having a Patreon, still being in the business is not easy, but is known for not looking down on anyone and therefore mostly being visited by Commoners to dine while working on their studies.”
Running down the List of findings or better said ‘non findings’ the Spymaster looks at Eleonora to know what to do next. In his head he already knows there is nothing to find, as even the Jeweller they interrogated had not even an iota of worthwhile Information.
“… Keep an eye on the Bistro, but only sparsely. It should not be a connection point to the Merchant, but there is never a thing as being too cautious. The horses have nothing to do with us, as he is somewhat eccentric in his own way, so just let him be.”
Nodding the Spymaster understood the thoughts and could somewhat agree with her reasoning. Teaching her the ropes is somewhat strained since the surveillance crystal incident, but starts to become more smooth with more days passed.
Still Eleonora uses unneeded manpower to scurry her personal bath and bedroom at least once a day for being sure to not being watched. While the Spymaster does not really approve of this unneeded work on their resources, he also can not complain, as a maidens heart is one thing he never can understand and most likely never will in his whole life.
“Are there any more movements I should be informed of?”
“Yes, your Uncle has called out to the Syndicate. He will likely move the next time there will be a meeting between the Target and the Syndicate.”
“Uncle, huh? Did he tell you to tell me?”
“Perceptive of you, Princess. Yes, he wanted to let you know he is not trying to work against you, but help out in his own ways. Directly connecting with the Merchant might be a better way to at least have him work with the Gracia Branch, than trying to endear the scapegoat. His message to you is:’If it works, you will have a fun and relaxing School time. If it fails I take the blame, be assured’.”
“Stupid Uncle, how can I be assured, if he is being punished for his digression? Our Gracia Family branch is already low, how can I let someone like that happen to him? … I can only hope he succeeds.”
‘Better ask him for help. If this is going on I am more and more indebted to him, what should I do?’
Thinking about what to do, Eleonora dismisses the Spymaster and starts to ponder her Options. While trying to find ways, the only choice she can reliably think of is asking for help from Drak. As she is already doomed of being executed for her crimes hiding valuable Informations she might as well take the plunge and scheme for a better outcome of her Gracia Family branch.
It can not be worse than what she already has to shoulder in her mind. What will the Emperor do, behead her twice?