After the Royal Family adjourned their meeting, I also departed from Lonid. The country, I mean. It was a perfect opportunity to commit some larceny. Someone owed me money, and before he was officially disavowed and disinherited from his human-supremacist family, I would get my due. Using the {Ether Lanes}, I could boost my already ridiculous movement speed by a factor of ten, on top of going across the almost empty Ethereal world.
Leondirac was at the mouth of River Lamhein, which connected the Uroko Gulf to Lake Lonid. Due to the extensive use of earth-shaping magic over centuries, the whole river was navigable. Ships sailed upriver with the help of natural winds, wind magic, oars, or a combination of the three. Both margins of the river hosted plenty of communities but piracy was a real problem. Neither nation wanted to patrol the river and any military navy was viewed as a challenge by Sadian. Since nobody wanted an embargo blocking access to the goods traded through the maritime routes, they let the merchants fend for themselves and the pirates were happy enough with this arrangement to leave the landlubbers alone.
My money was on Sadian corsairs milking extra tax revenue from the shipping trade but that made most shipping companies abandon the river route to go overland through Windemere. They still visited Leondirac, then crossed the ruins of Saegalla (Vanagon's old country), Windemere, then Lonid before going further north to visit other kingdoms.
Despite the amount of literal shit the river brought from Lonid, it was the main source of water for Leondirac. I hadn't surveyed the region properly but I think the river was overfished and that lowered the water quality further. Leondirac's main imports were alchemical reagents to make potions for their sick population and to export too.
Once over the capital, that was oh so creatively named Leondirac after the damn country ( at least over here they added an extra "-ni" to "Auvani" to make the continent name), I shifted back to the real world and dove toward the Royal castle. Not a palace, this seaside castle was heavily fortified, with sixty-foot-tall walls and a lot of ballistae to keep the corsairs from Sadian away and establish Leondirac sovereignty over a portion of the oceans.
I dove into the castle and followed my {Detect Treasure} Perk to find their underground vault. Phasing and sliding past the wards, I found Leondirac's lackluster treasury. The country wasn't doing so well and I bet they were counting on the bribes offered by their allies to bait Sadian into overextending themselves or the sack of Windemere to replenish their national funds.
I almost felt guilty for taking what I was owed but I remembered Isengar calling the kin "filthy beasts". Adding a collection surcharge, I took the equivalent of six hundred and fifty platinum coins from their treasury, almost half of what they had, summoned a whirlwind to mess everything up, and went to town.
As I usually tried to bolster the local economy whenever I raided a kingdom, I quickly went around disguised as a human, spending fifty platinum coins to buy a ton of stuff, mostly alchemical reagents, live seedlings of various herbs, and seeds of all kinds. Potions were really cheap but not cheaper than what I could make, not to mention mine were almost twice as potent for the same raw materials.
Before the day was over, I flew back to Lonid.
----------------------------------------
Upon my arrival, I found that Mirina was already losing her shit. "Where were you?"
My shadow version was gone, the bedding all removed and tossed around by the nervous [Princess].
I grinned, "Shopping. You don't want to know where, trust me."
Walking in circles in our room Mirina rambled.
"You have no idea what happened after the meeting with my father ended! My mother, my brothers wanted to meet you to see if you can pass as the dwarven [Princess]."
I laughed. "They want to get me to pretend I am myself?"
"Yes. You were invited, more like summoned, to have dinner with my fiancée and his father. The servants are all my father's trusted people and they'll report your every action back to him. This is very important. Since he's going to Sadian to get them to move north to attack Windemere, you need to convince him."
Unless I did something later, Lonid would never learn how Mirina's sacrifice saved thousands of lives from dying in a useless war. I vowed to make sure the bards learned the tale of the two princesses.
"Well, dammit. Let's do it then."
She looked at me, still carrying dust from Leondirac's streets on my clothes, and shook her head. "You need to dress up, do your hair and makeup. Did you bring the dress from the tea party? I think it can work."
I shrugged and shook my head, "Why would I repeat the same dress? I have others, so you know."
"You do?"
With a smile, I revealed my Shadow tail. "Wanna see some of them? {Shadow Workshop}!"
The {Shadow Workshop}'s base cost was 4 million MP per hour. That was reduced by 50% because I had {Shadow Magic Affinity}, then by 44% because my tail was working as a focus. Its final cost was 1,120,000 Energy, which I regenerated in about 10 minutes. Unfortunately, my [Spellcaster] cost-reduction Abilities didn't work with non-spell Perks.
The room was flooded with shadowy mannequins, and I summoned a dress on each one of them. They also had proper lighting over each one of them. The {Shadow Workshop} had whatever I considered necessary for my crafts, and lighting was essential for the proper creation of couture.
"Point at the ones you don't like and I'll replace them with others," I told Mirina.
"Where did you get all those?" The marveled young woman walked among the dresses, staring at each one of them. "They look very outdated."
"I raided whole countries. Sometimes I took only the furniture, sometimes their castles, palaces, and mansions. I have tens of thousands of dresses and other articles of clothes. And for your information, fashion is all about repeating old trends once everyone forgets about them. You're looking at the person that invented the [Silkweaver] profession. I can make repairs and changes to the dresses. Just tell me what I should do. You know what works in Lonid's court better than me."
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The [Princess] giggled as she danced among the dresses. "Too bad they don't fit you," she commented.
"Says who? I have a Perk that makes any armor, shoes, and clothing have a perfect fit on me."
She stopped and stared at me. "How many Perks do you have?"
"Too many. Sometimes I get quests from the Gods, they usually pay for my services in Perks. Then there are times like now that the System updates and refunds me some Perks. I get twelve Perks every twenty species levels, plus the normal Class progression."
She raised a hand, "Wait, why do you get twelve Perks every twenty levels? Even if your species was classified as ultra-rare, you should get only ten. No chance a half-dwarf-kitsune is an ultra-rare."
"It's because I have the {Human Royalty} Perk," I replied absentmindedly. "Oh, right. You guys don't get it anymore now that I killed Bundeus."
Mirina almost choked. "Is that the reason?"
"Yes. All species need a divine sponsor to get a specific Royalty Perk. And don't you go hating me. Humans were too strong back in the day. Seriously, they were dominating the world and would make the other species extinct. Not to mention that Bundeus deserved to die."
Skeptical, she frowned, "I find that hard to believe."
"Sit down, let me tell you a story," I ordered her. Then I told her about Rosalinda. She'd heard the legend of the Witch of Tambrillia and about the [Saintess of Motherhood] as every church of Galbarar received an oracle but not the truth behind the story. I gave her a firsthand retelling of the recent events in bygone Pekothas (the city and country, not the continent). Then I showed her Pandora. The [Wisp of Creation]'s {Gifted Divinity} aspect helped the tear-eyed woman calm down.
"Why does Pandora only display a title in her Appraise? Is her status hidden like yours?" She finally asked when her curiosity surpassed the sadness of the story.
"Pandora isn't a System entity. The System just assigns that title to her and shows me some information to quantify what she does in System terms."
I then had to explain to her many things, including that there was a whole multiverse outside Yznarian. POOF! Mind blown. Even with all her smarts, it was too much for the gilded-cage-raised [Princess].
"Now I understand," She said once she recovered her wits. "To you, all this squabbling is like children fighting over a mud pool."
"Wrong. The mud pool has tiny people that live in it and they'll die if a rowdy kid splashes too much mud."
She closed her eyes and sucked her lips in. After a time where she focused only on her breathing, she returned to reality and nodded. "Yes, sure. The mud pool has tiny people in it. Us."
Mirina exchanged a sympathetic glance with Julia.
"Don't you two have a dinner party to attend, Your Highness?" the silk-folk woman asked.
Mirina picked a dress for me, we got ready, and reached the dinner venue just a bit after the socially acceptable late. Everyone was waiting for Mirina, not me.
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Some of Mirina's siblings also attended. But after we sat in our designated places and before food was served, the acting host was fuming. I played the role of the naive simpleton commoner guest and gawked at every little detail and ornament of the room and the gilded tableware.
Someone wasn't expecting my presence. It was by design, the King left the Duke hanging.
"Why must I share a meal with this filthy beast? Fox-kin are nothing but consummate liars!" The duke shouted.
> Level 142 male human [Grand Aristocrat]
His Status was not of a warrior. At least not in his current active path.
I knew I should stay quiet for the sake of a peaceful meal. But I felt a tingle at the base of my tailbone that climbed up my spine and reached my tongue. Something predatory, that demanded I played with my prey before taking it down. I talked before I could rein myself in.
"Royal Courts without liars are few and far between, Your Grace," I replied with a smile. "Most wouldn't mind another one, however--"
"How dare you!" He stood and spat as he shouted with a finger pointing at me, on the lowest-ranked seat across the table. "To raise such a slander against--"
"However," I continued, suppressing his voice at the same time I made sure my own spread to the room without raising it with my [Musician] Abilities. "However, magnificent Lonid is devoid of such loathsome bunch. A realm that survives more than a thousand years must be firmly ensconced in its traditions, and I heard and read nothing about Lonid but praise. I wouldn't accept Mirina's invitation to meet her family and get to know her homeland otherwise."
> Contested Charisma test won. Critical success.
Consummate liars, indeed. I kept my pleasant smile on and silently read the next message.
> Diplomat proficiency increased by 2.
A few of the youngest scions suppressed chuckles.
The duke clenched his fists but returned to his seat. "They also say the fox is wise and cunning," he stated over the silence following my declaration. "I see it is true. What do you stand for, fox-kin girl?"
"I stand by and fully support my friend Mirina, Your Grace," I gently reached toward her far away, causing her to flinch imperceptibly. "All I wanted to see was how marvelous the court she grew in was. I must say that even in my wildest fantasies, I couldn't imagine something like this. My experience growing up in the [Saintes] orphanage was amazing though still limited. But I am no spy, Your Grace. I can assure you it is my deepest wish that Lonid's Royal family lives as long as the Gods grant them with their bountiful blessings. I would kill myself before I allowed even one drop of Mirina's bloodline to stain the floor. This is the purest truth you'll ever hear this 'consummate liar' of a fox-kin speak."
> Contested Charisma test won.
Years of training made the derisive air quotes obvious in my speech without the need for gestures.
"But I lied about myself. I'm not just a fox-kin, Your Grace. I'm a half-dwarf-kitsune," I completed.
Some of the princelings that were at the family meeting perked up as their curious eyes followed every movement of mine.
"You should be mindful of your position, beast!" He finally lost it and shouted. "Your Highness, why did you bring such aberration to this event?"
"My position, Your Grace?" I raised my voice, haughty. "Can you even risk a guess at what my position is? Are you trying to betray Lonid's goals by causing war and offending me?"
Gone was the 'naive girl' demeanor. I stood tall on my elevated seat and glared at him.
"Who do you think you are?" He shouted. Out of his mind, he ignored the presence of the younger princes and princesses. "Guards! Remove this filthy beast from the room now!"
The Duke was the host of the dinner party but it was still held in the palace, and these were Royal guards. They sought Mirina's advice and the princess used a quick hand gesture to tell them to stand down.
"What impudent Duke you have here, Mirina," I said, haughty as any crown-toting gilded shit could dare to be. "I think I should return home and cancel the deal with Lonid! Vugh Tarim will not stand such offense against their First [Princess]!"
"WHAT?" The Duke gasped. "That's absurd!"
"I told you, Your Grace. I'm a half-dwarf-kitsune. And Vugh Tarim's First [Princess]," I declared with a hand over my chest as I set my title and deactivated my {Hidden Royalty} Perk. "I'm leaving, my appetite is nothing but gone. Mirina, I'm sorry, but I expect your Realm to give this impudent noble proper punishment for this grave offense of visiting Royalty."
"This charade--"
"{Silence}!" I shouted a {Royal Order} at him and turned on my {Royal Aura} momentarily. "I demand a duel of honor, you crook of a Duke. You'll pay in blood, gold, and tears for this dire offense! I shall see the end of your House or there will be war!"
"I'll fight on my father's stead!" Mirina's fool of a fiancée slammed the table and stood up.