I continued to eat and looked around. The encounter drew some attention but nobody was approaching me yet. The whole party was rather informal. There had been no introductions or announcements so far. Which meant I had no clue who all the people from the Empire were. As my gaze wandered I noticed a striking woman. She had hair as white as snow. Not a natural colour for humans, at least not in my old world. It could have been dyed but I suspected magic. Her skin was rather pale as well, it contrasted nicely with the black side slit gown, which allowed me a peek at her long legs.

As she noticed my attention she split off from her group and walked towards me. While she approached I studied her face. She had striking blue eyes, a small nose and wide cheeks. I would have judged her to be about 30 years old from her looks. But something in her eyes made her feel ancient.

Once she arrived at my table she gave me a small nod. “Greetings, I am Beira.”

“I am Amaya, it is a pleasure to meet you.” I replied. It was curious that she did not use a title.

“I saw Alexander leaving, without being on fire, I admire your restraint.”

I raised an eyebrow. “That is not the reaction I expected. I assume he is known for his questionable behaviour?”

“That he is. But being a prince he mostly gets away with it.”

“You are rather open about this. I doubt the Empire tolerates criticism of their prince. And since this is a diplomatic gathering I am sure the inquisition is listening to every word we say.“

“You are right about that, but I am special.” She smiled. There was something predatory about the smile.

“By special you mean powerful? Basically, they put up with you because you are useful.”

The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

“Very perceptive. The Empire does value power a lot.”

“So what are you doing at this party? With your attitude you are an odd choice to mingle with diplomats.”

“Ah, don’t mistake my dislike for the 3rd prince as a sign of disloyalty to the Empire.”

I was unsure what to make of Beira. It could also just be an act. The whole encounter with Alexander could have been staged.

“I see. You still haven’t told me why you are at this party though. Are you a noble?”

“I am a court mage. I am the magical advisor for the emperor. I am also responsible for the magical defences of the palace.”

Curious. That meant she was rather important. It was also an opportunity to ask some interesting questions.

“So what are your thoughts on the demon lord summoning? Has the Empire been infiltrated by a cult?”

She almost looked pleased at my question. “While the high inquisitors answer to the emperor, there is not much oversight. It is clear that there are problems we need to investigate. I feel like they have lost sight of their true purpose and succumbed to the lust for power.”

Oh. That sounded like an internal power struggle. So she was hoping this disaster could be used to weaken the inquisition.

“Are you saying that the emperor was not aware that Elias invaded a neighbouring country? That seems rather strange.”

“I do not know what the emperor was told about this operation. I am afraid you will have to ask him.” She shrugged.

Our conversation was interrupted when Lucy arrived. “Hi, I am Lucy.”

“My pleasure, I am Beira. It was nice meeting you Amaya, I am sure we will speak again.”

Beira used the opportunity to flee. Or maybe she had achieved what she wanted.

“Who was that?” Lucy asked. She looked a bit confused by Beira’s sudden departure.

“A court mage. Probably the head court mage, if there is something like that. I have a feeling she is rather powerful.”

“What did she want?”

“I have no idea. Maybe just small talk? Evaluate the threat I pose? Or maybe she just wanted to see if she could use me in a political game?” I shrugged. “But she definitely wants to blame the whole mess on the inquisition. More importantly though, you should try the pastries.”

Lucy laughed. “I see you have your priorities straight.” She teased. “Maybe we should just loot the buffet and escape. I have successfully avoided conversations with imperials so far. I would like to keep it that way.”

“That actually sounds delightful. We made our token appearance. Maybe we can withdraw now and walk around the palace a bit.”

The good thing about a magical storage is that you can just grab things from a buffet for later. We gathered some snacks and looked for an exit. It was time to explore a bit.