“Lou!”

I pause stepping off the hired carriage as Maxine waves to me at the entrance of the hotel. The hell is she doing here? She really must be spying on us. I suspected it but the only way she could be here is if she has ears inside the Tome manor. Kierra wants me to make use of Uncle who can’t even keep his own house secure? This is too much.

“Lou, Miss Kierra. Good to see the two of you looking so well this early.”

“Max.” I’m considerably less excited with my greeting. I grasp her outstretched hand with a stiff smile. “What a surprise to see you here.”

She gives a little lady-like chuckle. “Please. You make it sound sinister. The Guiness family is a backer of the Golden Feathers hotels. I was simply discussing some business with the owner when he mentioned a runner was bringing over luggage from the Tome family.”

Oh, I see. What a perfectly logical and reasonable explanation for your presence. I’m not suspicious at all.

“Since you’re here, there’s something I wanted to talk to you about. Actually, I should probably address it to your father.”

“If I can be of help. How about we have breakfast together? The kitchen was recently restocked with exclusive fruits provided from Green Mountain.”

“Mm.” We follow her into the hotel. “By the way, you know a good leather worker and blacksmith? I need something made.”

-

“What do you think?”

I hold up the piece of paper to Kierra and Geneva. On it is the Tome family crest, with a few alterations. Instead of a book on just the elemental circle in the symbol for magic, I added the greater star and small pinpricks throughout the background that casually look like accidental slips.

I sigh at their disinterested looks. “Come on, use your imaginations. We can go with the purple-black for the background, white for the accents, white for the circle, gold for the star and white for the book. It’ll look good.”

“It’s very…representative.” What’s with that look Kierra. “I think there should be something other than these colors. Otherwise, we’ll look a bit too much like the Twilight Province for my tastes.”

“What Master is saying that the colors all look a bit too gloomy,” Geneva adds. “Since they will pervade every aspect of your life.”

“But there’s white and gold. Those are plenty cheery. Anymore and it’ll be the colorful mess of our current crest.”

“It won’t take much. Just a little something on the book. Green is a nice color.”

Oh, I see. You just want a piece. “Green’s a beautiful color.” That’s a nice smile. Good job, me. “A little decoration along the edges.” I mark the design on my drawing and give it a nod of satisfaction. “That’ll work. Now we—”

“Lou,” Geneva interrupts in a toneless voice. I look over to her but her gaze is far off. “Belolial is reporting to me that the city garrison has commenced their raid on the Grimoire family, alongside knights from the Guiness family and the palace. Gordon Senior has rallied who he can but Fen did good work. Junior took the most important members of the family and surrendered. With this, the family’s structure remains intact.”

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“Alright. What about Senior?”

“He is currently battling members of the garrison along with his knights. Belolial…oh, clever girl. She is securing their most valuable treasures. To protect from looters.”

That is a useful subordinate. Knows the important things.

“Mm. She’ll finish securing the treasures before urging Senior on. This has to end with his death, otherwise they’ll question her disappearance. Ah, yes. The battle is heating up. I suppose that man is a bit capable.”

“…are people dead?”

“One dead from the garrison, three with major wounds. The Grimoire knights are battered but they’re holding strong. Not for long though.”

“Geneva,” Kierra calls while leaning against my back. “Order Fen to give an order to Junior. He is to lead the other members of the Grimoire family into battle against their knights. No matter what role they play, they all must participate.”

“Huh?” I frown as I look up at her. “Come on. Do you know how tedious it will be if they die?”

“Mm. But there is no kind of honor quite like military distinction and their influence is your influence. It is also a nice way to distance themselves from the rest of the family that are, currently, enemies of the crown.”

“The order has been relayed.” Geneva winks at me. So, you agree with her. “I work in your best interests.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

“Relax.” Kierra hooks an arm around my neck. “They will be fine. No one is asking them to join the front lines. They simply need to be present and remembered. Grab your little drawing and gold. Max should be lingering about and we can have her get started on our projects.”

“I’m not worried,” I grumble, hastily grabbing the stuff before she drags me out the room. I couldn't care less about the Grimoires, soon to be Masons. I have plans for them is all.

Maxine is in the dining room, head bowed as she looks blankly at a small piece of paper in her hands. She startles to attention when I plop into the seat across from her. “Found you. About that thing we were discussing, I’ve got the plans.”

“Of course. Though I think we should wait awhile.” She folds the piece of paper and tucks it into a discreet pocket of her dress. “There’s a bit of conflict throughout the city.”

“No problem. Unlike you, I don’t have a couple of large knights to protect me.”

“Haha.” She gives Kierra a quick look before turning back to me. Yeah, I’m not fooling anyone. “…you haven’t asked what the conflict is.”

“I can guess. Not that it has anything to do with me. More importantly.”

I hand over the paper with my drawing. Max takes it from me, giving the paper a cursory look. “Seems simple enough. The standard package?”

“Flag, seal, and ring plus send an official notice to the castle to register me as a caster.”

“Also…” Kierra hands over a few folded papers. I try to grab them but she smoothly dodges the unspoken request, dropping them in Maxine’s outstretched hand. “If you really have connections to Green Mountain and the Dragon Isles, this much should be possible.”

Maxine studies the new papers much more intently. Sigh. Now I’m even more curious about what’s on them. After a few minutes, she chuckles as she tucks the papers away. “It’s within the Guiness Company’s ability. You seem quite familiar with these products.”

“I’ve been around. Perhaps even more than your traders.”

Maxine’s eyes are shining at the thought of more trade. If my wife can introduce her to more exclusive products, the Guiness family’s profits will skyrocket and her position in the family will follow.

If Kierra’s gone and told her something like that, I guess she’s cultivating Maxine as an ally. Congratulations. You’ve been transferred from my ‘I’m not sure about you’ list to my ‘hesitant friend’ list. Hope you realize how great that is.

[Lou, the confrontation has ended. Gordon Senior is dead and Belolial is making her way toward us.]

“We’ll let you get to it,” I say popping to my feet.

Maxine stands. “I’ll work with all available speed. Also, I sent a message to Father. Unfortunately, urgent business requires that he leave the city. He’s already gone but if you can’t wait—”

“No, that’s fine. A week or three won’t change anything. See you later.”