“Count Goldcroft, my lady, I must say, that I am undeniably impressed.” The haughty noble in his mid-thirties gestured to her with a gloved hand and then placed it on his chin with a smirk. “For one rumoured to have been born into the common caste, you are shockingly well-accustomed to the ways of our nobles. Why, I almost thought you were a high-born member of the Empire such as myself!”
Lucy masked her boredom behind a bright smile that suggested not a word of the degrading hidden meanings of the man before her had been realised. “I’m honoured that you find my performance satisfactory, sir. My aide has been a great deal of help when finding adequate tutors for me.”
“I see,” he replied with a polite smile.
As if I’d ever let the Counties give me ‘tutors’. All they did was pay off a few educators so they would provide fall statements that they taught me. They were willing to do so for the credit they’d receive anyway.
“I apologise sir, but I must go back to my aide’s side,” she stated cheerily. “I’m not allowed to be away from him for more than half an hour.”
“Hmm… Count Goldcroft.” The main with greyish-red hair smirked slightly as she tried to move away. “I’ll commend your aide for being so protective of his young superior, but… don’t you think that’s a bit strict? You are his superior, not the other way around.” He winked at her. “As a descendant of a March myself, I’ll give you a tip on how to act as a true noble. You must command your subordinates, not the other way around.”
She blinked at him.
What does this idiot think he’s doing? Is he seriously trying to start trouble here?
…no, I don’t think that’s it. He must be one of those types who like seeing chaos and drama.
Well, the easiest way to deal with him is to use my default plan: brush off his words with cheerful ignorance.
“Sir Evisenhardt is my friend and I trust him,” she stated brightly. “I really must go now, sir. Thank you for the pleasant conversation.”
Then she walked off, leaving the man gazing at her like she was a few cards short of a deck.
Now, I need to actually go find Vincent because that man will cause trouble if he sees me talking to someone so soon after I left him. Where is- ah.
Conveniently, Vincent seemed to be finishing up his conversation and smiled politely at the Barons who bowed to him and backed away. She sped up to meet with him before another noble met with him first.
Vincent looked up to see her approaching and almost looked slightly relieved. She could tell by how the polite smile he used for all nobles became more sincere. Then when he saw eyes on them his smile returned to being the fake one.
He picked up a glass of weak liquor of some kind from a nearby servant’s tray and sipped it as he walked towards her. “We’ll be heading to the dining hall soon. I suggest you stay beside me until then.”
Lucy nodded and then with a quick glance to see who was watching, she tapped a finger on the top of her cane. A sound-cancelling arcane barrier spread out within her ‘Field of Transmutational Mastery’, but with her ability to disguise all her mana as external atmospheric mana, nobody would suspect she did it. They would assume Vincent used an item with that kind of spell himself, as it was a common thing for nobility to do when anyone at Rank-1 had heightened senses.
“A wise idea, but most of the nobility here have keen observation skills when it comes to lip reading,” Vincent warned.
Normally she would’ve raised an eyebrow, but to keep up her image she just smiled. “Not to worry. I mixed a little bit of illusion nana into that so anyone watching the o much won’t be able to guess what we’re saying.”
“Cautious as always.” Vincent pushed up his glasses and tilted his head in the direction of the man she had been talking to. “And him?”
“Someone who only came along to see what the fuss was about,” she stated flatly. “He’s the representative of a March but not a main descendant, so he’s just enjoying the party and trying to start drama.”
Vincent nodded and Lucy smirked. “And how have you been enjoying yourself, sir ‘Puppet master’?”
“I haven’t.” He nearly sighed but caught himself before any of their onlookers could notice and just crossed his arms with a fake smile on his face. “If another noble brings up that darned Dungeon of yours…”
Lucille blinked. “Ah. Yes, I suppose that would be something of interest for them. Who in particular?”
Vincent glanced over his shoulder and pointed at them with a vague gesture. “Citadel allies, including Light Tower wizards. I’ve heard that the Light Tower is no longer pushing for them to take over the Dark Tower’s role on that plane you mentioned. As if that would do anything.”
“Hmm…” Lucy observed them for a moment and turned back to her aide. “Even if they hadn’t been confrontational with the Dark Tower, I still never would’ve gave them an offer to form a Tower in the City of New Syna.”
“Oh?” Vincent asked curiously.
Lucy shrugged. “The Dark Tower and Black Order have necromancers. The Light Tower doesn’t. Death mana is the best for eradicating monsters.”
Vincent looked surprised but nodded. “So, it was for mostly practical reasons. That makes sense. I have to admit that most nobles are rather biased to using necromancers purely because of their close ties with the Tartarus Realm, but considering the Ancient Dungeon is a resource source and not something to increase military might like other Dungeons, using their strength would be best.”
Lucy adjusted her shoulder cloak. “In the end, one of the most common gemstones I spotted in that Dungeon had been onyx, a dark element gem. The Dark Tower and their adjacent factions were best suited for the place.”
“I see… oh.” Vincent saw something and quickly put a hand on her shoulder to hurry her away. “It’s a bit early, but I think we should head to the dining hall. I see someone that I don’t want to have to deal with.”
Lucille noticed a dark-haired man in his early 50s looking rather frustrated as he failed to catch up to them. “A member of the Valenzest March?”
“First born son of the Marquess,” Vincent replied in a low voice. “He’s a member of the neutral faction, so I can’t just dismiss him, but his reasons for approaching are about marriage talks involving a child of his.”
Lucy, now out of sight of the rest of the nobles as they walked down a hallway of the Gilded Dome Hall, raised an eyebrow at her aide. “Who? Is it a woman? Does the March want to give one of their daughters to you?”
“Ha, no, it’s not about me, it’s…” His voice trailed off and he shot her a very panicked look. “Wait- that’s a possibility now, isn’t it? Women wanting my hand in marriage? And my ambitious mother would even encourage it to happen.” He pressed a hand to his temples and then coughed into his fist as he shook his head. “No, it was actually about his second son to you.”
Lucy stared at him as he smirked. But when she continued to stare at him, Vincent gained a strange expression. “Lucille? You’re not acting quite how I expected.”
She stopped walking and let out a short laugh. “His second son? The one who will run away next year with his commoner lover and become a famous general of the army? Look, if he wants to marry me to his second son, he can try, but the love struck fool would rather abandon his title than ditch the love of his life for someone he had never met.”
It was now Vincent’s turn to stare at her. “Carfen Valenzest hasn’t had… any lovers…” He sounded slightly unsure.
Lucy smirked and shook her head as she walked over to the stairs that would take them to the next floor. “I was never involved with nobility at this time originally, but I recall hearing how he and his lover had been courting for over three years before he ran away with her to elope. That man kept such a pristine reputation that nobody expected it and could respond when it happened.”
She turned around to shrug at her dumbfounded aide, her new cane still gripped in one hand. “Eventually, the Marquess decided to allow one of the March’s vassals to adopt the woman, and so they lived a happy life afterwards while being accepted back into the family. The only reason I know this was because it was discussed for many years to come.”
Vincent stayed silent but then walked up the steps to catch up to her. “Lucille, you have perfect memory, don’t you?” he asked with suspicion.
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“Yes,” she replied with a wry smile.
“How many secrets of nobles here do you remember that got revealed in the… past,” he said slowly.
“Curious, are you?” She gained a slightly evil grin and walked over to the balcony so they could see a view of the entire ballroom below. She pointed at one young noble off in the distance. “That man there? The heir of one of the Counts attending this event? He’s an illegitimate son. The Count claims that his son is the offspring of his deceased first wife, but he’s actually just a replacement. The Count doesn’t want his other wives knowing that the son of his first wife died.”
“…huh.”
Lucille moved her finger to point at a woman off to the sidelines. “That granddaughter of a Marquess will be married to a descendant of the Duchies and get a divorce two years later.” She shifted her finger again, this time to point at a burly solemn man in gleaming armour, someone affiliated with Glory Pantheon. “That man’s title is the ‘Undefeatable’, but eventually the truth about how he bribed or killed all the people who saw him be defeated by any other warriors will be revealed.”
She placed a gloved hand on her chin. “Those of Glory Pantheon tend to comfort themselves with the idea that they’re ‘better’ than the common noble because of their adherence to the honour codes of the Pantheon, but in truth, they’re still nobles like any other.”
“Maybe it wasn’t all talk when you said you’d be capable of leading this Faction,” Vincent muttered, coming up beside her. “You certainly have enough blackmail to masquerade as a true noble.”
“Ah, but blackmail is only useful if the event has already occurred. I can’t blackmail someone based on a future that might never come to pass.” She ran a hand along the banister as she looked down and narrowed her eyes slightly. “Although, I suppose it’s a benefit to me that you believe my ‘time traveller’ status because you’re willing to act on my unfounded knowledge.”
Vincent glanced at her and placed his hands behind his back. “Do you know any important details about the Aurelian Commission?”
She considered it and observed him for a slight moment.
It would probably be detrimental if I revealed that he eventually became the Count of Evisenhardt. Not because he’d abandon his position as my aide, but because he’d panic over the responsibility he might end up with.
“Your eldest brother, Lysander, became the next Count,” she informed him.
Vincent rolled his eyes. “I could expect that much. No matter how much my other siblings might desire the position, Lysander is still the most favoured descendant among the vassals. But… not my father?” he asked seriously, likely worrying about what could’ve caused his father to refuse the title and pass it down.
“Haraldus stayed healthy until the time of my passing, from what I recall,” she said with a dismissive wave of her hand. “I believe it was a personal decision of his to let Lysander instead of himself become the next Count. Likely due to his three wives.”
“…ah.” Vincent gained a strange expression. “Yes, I could imagine the hostility between my mother and Genevieve becoming stronger if my mother became the Countess. Lysander is commendably firm on only having one wife.”
Lucy nodded and tapped the banister. “But… knowing what I do now about the influence of Olden and Radical within the Commission, it may have also been a way to prevent the forces backing his wives from taking over Evisenhardt,” she stated quietly.
His expression became solemn, but Lucille shook her head and continued walking. “Regardless, the Counties always stayed on good terms and remained successful until the end. Their only fault was perhaps that they didn’t involve themselves with the Heavenly Realm sooner, so they failed to play a major role in the times after the Millennium Chapter.”
“Then I assume you’re here to correct that,” he said with amusement. He blinked and looked down at the ballroom below, just before they took another side exit to make their way to the dining hall. “That reminds me. Tonight will be the time for you to greet the visitors from the other realms and lesser empires.”
She nodded and they walked into the new hall, where a long table sat overlooking several other round tables set out for the guests. “Any of particular importance?”
“Well, a few of the weaker 1st Rate Sects came to visit, there are a couple of half-demons from a clan that is allied with Ravimoux, an elven and dwarven representative from each of those two empires and…” He hesitated and shot her an odd look. “Did you know a Vigil of Tartarus that you wanted to invite?”
“Hm?” She blinked and walked over to the tall, wide window that overlooked the ballroom. “Where?”
Vincent gestured in the direction of a man with long hair tied behind his head, stubbornly ignoring the attempts of the nobility nearby to make conversation with him.
Lucy smirked. “Is his name Nares Raislef?”
Or ‘Kozzozan’, to be more accurate.
“So you do know him,” Vincent replied.
“In passing.” She took another look at the phantom, dressed in the standard black and silver uniform of the Tartarus Vigils, then turned away from the window. “Remember that organisation, the ‘House of Wordless Observers’ I mentioned? He’s part of them.”
“Oh, so now you finally tell me that this organisation you negotiated with is connected to Tartarus,” her aide stated flatly.
Lucille didn’t bother to show a reaction to his words as she walked over to the long table and took up a seat in the very centre. He pulled up a seat on her right.
“The Vigils are far more pleasant to deal with than undead because they’re technically more similar to elementals, just elementals composed of death mana,” she explained. “Don’t feel pressured to give that phantom too much attention. I can assure you he’s only here due to the commands of his superiors, and that he’d much rather be at home right now.”
“Well… if you say so.” The sound of the doors opening to show a couple of people filing into the room, along with servants ready to wait on them, showed that it was time for dinner to begin. Vincent straightened up and fixed his polite smile on his face. “It seems our break from the frivolities of nobility has come to an end.”
…
“-and this beautiful silk has been handcrafted by the finest of my artisans!” Viscount Naram Eil-Mlimar, the rotund and jovial dark-skinned man from the Tua’Cethla Kingdom Lucy and Vincent had crossed paths with several times before, bowed before the long table Lucille sat at with the Counts. His fingers adorned with precious stones gestured to the boxes overflowing with silks.
Lucille was receiving the gifts given to her as a congratulations for her debut. The majority of the gifts were attempts to flatter the Counts and Vincent rather than her, but there were still quite a few interesting trinkets.
One item Lucy did not find appealing, however, was a set of embroidery needles, magical thread and cloth for her to practice haberdashery. She didn’t know a single noble woman who did that as a hobby, but apparently one old-fashioned wife of a noble thought it a good gift for a ‘young noble’ such as her. As a Count, Lucy would not be sitting there doing normal ‘ladylike’ things.
Scytale was in his serpent form and coiled up on the chair to her left. He seemed like he was basking in the attention. Several exotic natural treasures cultivated in the private gardens of nobles had been given to him. Truthfully, there wasn’t much besides natural treasures that a magical beast needed as gifts.
One thing that was valuable was the gift of the dwarven representative of Rocht’guardes. He had brought along one of their chief craftsmen and were willing to let him remain in her employ for the next ten years. She presumed that word about her locomotive transport had been leaked somehow, and because the Aurelian Commission was the centre for commerce and many craftsmen, many dwarf clans wanted to build closer relations with the Faction.
Vincent put a hand on her shoulder. “Count Goldcroft, are you pleased with all these gifts?” he asked.
Lucy nodded. “Oh, definitely. This is more than I ever imagined I would be given. I thank you all for the splendid gifts.”
The Viscount bowed and backed away as servants came forward to collect the chests of silks and transport them to where the other gifts were held. Vincent rose from his seat and raised a glass in the air, a smile fixed on his face. “On behalf of my lady, I would like to thank you all for attending, as I thanked you one the day you arrived. But I cannot leave this meal here without calling to your attention the visitors from the other realms who have graced us with their presence. While the Empire might be a mighty power in the Tower, these realms have their powers to rule them.”
He sat down, and the doors at the end of the dining hall opened to reveal a man in his late thirties with flowing green-gold robes and an ornamental hairpiece in his topknot. He walked forward as servants behind him carried a platform covered in treasures that released the unique auras of spiritual qi.
“It is my honour to meet the new Head of the Aurelian Commission,” the man began haughtily. He clasped his hands together and bowed slightly. “I am Sect Elder Guo Jiang of the Seven Earthly Instruments Sect. I come with gifts for your prosperity and to share with you some of the many wonders of the Heavenly Realm.” He gestured to the front of the platform, which was covered in an assortment of unique instruments. He selected a long, narrow tube of bamboo with a delicate tassel hanging off of it and bowed again while holding it out.
“As is in our name, our Sect is well known for their craftsmanship of fine tools of melody,” he continued calmly. “This one here has been named the Spring Wind Dao Jade Bamboo Dizi, a five-star Dao Treasure.”
The audience began to whisper, while Lucy made a show of widening her eyes. Vincent held his chin. “A Dao Artifact… one of your craftsmen imbued the power of their Dao into this item?”
Guo Jiang bowed again, still holding the item. “It is the most valuable of our gifts. If we could be so honoured, may the Aurelian Commission Head wish to test this item herself?”
Lucille pretended to open her mouth to reply, but then hesitated and looked at Vincent. Vincent nodded and she got up from her chair to walk down from the raised platform of the dining table and stand before the man. Sect Elder Guo Jiang passed it to her, looking calm and indifferent.
Lucy studied the exquisitely carved instrument. It may look like a normal gift, but she knew why they had given her a Dao Treasure as a present.
All I need to do is scan it briefly with my spiritual energy and… there.
As someone who didn’t have a spiritual root, she couldn’t analyse the power of the Dao imbued within to discover the effects of the item. They claimed it had the power of the ‘Spring Wind Dao’, a Minor Dao that reflected the power of a seasonal wind, but the purpose of the Dao had yet to be identified.
Lucille sped up her thoughts to use a copy of the treasure in her Simulacrum Realm and inwardly smirked once she discovered its effects.
Playing this treasure pacifies the emotions of the user and listeners… a normal-sounding effect, if it weren’t for the fact that the traces of the Dao linger in the listener’s soul. A skilled manipulator of the Dao could utilise the remnants of their qi in unprotected souls and influence their actions.
And a wood-element First Rate Sect? They no doubt have connections with the Profound Emergent Jade Lotus Sect. I might need to look into this.
“How… do I play it?” she asked expectantly.
Guo Jiang walked closer and gestured to the holes along the dizi. “This is a wind instrument. You blow lightly into the largest opening and cover the holes along its length to influence the notes.”
She put it up to her mouth and closed her eyes as she pretended to struggle with producing a sound. Then after a second, a low breathy note came out. She lowered it and looked at it with wonder.
Guo Jiang bowed. “It appears you must be naturally talented, Count Goldcroft. I’m sure a tutor in the art of playing the Dizi would allow your talent to flourish.”
“It’s a beautiful instrument.” She placed it back onto the platform and ran up the stairs to sit next to Vincent again.
Her aide adjusted his glasses and nodded to the Sect Elder. “Guo Jiang of the Seven Earthly Instruments Sect, this is a wonderful gift. Perhaps the Commission should purchase several instruments from your Sect for the orchestras of the Counties.”
“It is only a small gift.” The Sect Elder bowed one last time and backed away. Lucy’s eyes were narrowed slightly as she watched him leave.
While the Heavenly Realm flute equivalent had the ability to influence people’s actions, it wasn’t an innately harmful gift. Dao Treasures were usually crafted to become the Life Treasure of the cultivator who used it, a way for them to use their learned Daos more frequently and reduce the strain on their cultivation bases. In the event that another obtained the Dao Treasure crafted by someone else, they’d use the treasure to attempt to comprehend the Dao of its crafter as well as glean insights to further their own comprehension.
If this was the Heavenly Realm, it would actually be a very valuable gift, because a senior cultivator had bestowed their Dao in a way that could allow a young cultivator to make quick progress from following their footsteps. But this was the Mystical Realm, where none of them had a way to comprehend the Dao, and few had the powerful souls that could protect against the qi’s effect.
If the item’s effect gets revealed, they can claim it was a small misstep on their behalf due to the normal value of the item, and if I ended up using it more frequently they have a possible way of influencing me and the people around me. What makes this complicated is that this could possibly have connections to Leng Xiuying. She’s one of the few outside the Aurelian Commission who know my soul age. She also knows I have an incredibly powerful soul for someone who came from the Mystical Realm.
If this was a result of the Sect Leader’s machinations, was she trying to send Lucille a message, or search out more information about her? It could be that she was suspicious that Lucy might’ve been a reincarnated cultivator. Reincarnation was certainly a more frequent occurrence for cultivators than mages and wizards. And if Lucy had somehow found a way to use magic and the abilities of the Heavenly Realm at the same time… she’d be the most valuable asset for either realm, and a reason for war between them.
What I don’t get is why Leng Xiuying would be interested in me that much. Their Sect is the fifth-ranked Heavenly Sect, the weakest of the five. Their Sect is known for being the most peaceable and non-competitive of the five, with a focus on pill alchemy, music and the Four Great Arts for comprehending the Daos.
Lucy had never had much interaction with the Heavenly Sects. She had spent her fair share of time in the Heavenly Realm, but it was because of her curiosity about its past and why they had demon beasts when demons were supposed to be native to only the Demon Realm. She had also been curious about its cosmological structure, as the Heavenly Realm has structurally segmented into one large realm, the true ‘Heavenly Realm’, with the Earthly and Mortal Realms below that for cultivators to ascend through.
She idly tapped a finger on the table and ignored Vincent’s strange looks as others came forward to present their gifts.
Someone has been spreading my image throughout a Minor Plane. The Profound Emergent Jade Lotus Sect owns many tea houses, auction houses and restaurants. They have the most control over propaganda and social image control.
…it seems things are getting complicated. I might end up advancing my plans for the Heavenly Realm sooner than I thought.
But not before the debut was over and she could meet with Efratel, Marellen, Garthe and Larena again. And meet the future Sovereign Sorceress of Frostfire in person for the first time.