Chapter 68: Masquerade

The muffled sound of horse hooves echoed through the carriage. Leo’s finger tapped his leg absently. He couldn’t help but glance outside every minute or so, the translucent curtains pulled aside just enough to give him a glimpse outside.

Night had fully settled, and the golden wall of light cast the city streets in a hazy glow. The wards were now fully active, the orbs glowing distantly atop the encircling wall. Though the barrier itself was invisible, every now and then Leo thought he caught a faint shimmer high up in the air where the magic cloaked Alnwick.

A burst of laughter caught Leo’s attention. He glanced over to the other window and saw a group of wealthy looking teenagers exiting a store, bags in their hands. They didn’t give the sky a second glance as they proceeded down the streets, chatting and joking with all the carefreeness of people who’d never needed to fear the night.

Seated across from him in the carriage, Allan shook his head disbelievingly.

“I still can’t believe it,” he murmured. Leo snorted and turned to face the front again.

“No kidding.” His finger kept tapping across his leg. At least the masquerade was indoors. Even if logically he knew the wards were protecting them from Echoes, that didn’t stop him from being paranoid. At least this way he wouldn’t have to split his focus between the auction and fear of the Silence.

“You think Spade’s already there?” Leo asked. The [Executioner] had left earlier to report to the venue with the other guards, their weapons in tow.

“Probably.” Allan glanced outside the small carriage window. “I think I see the hall.”

Leo nodded. He leaned forward and raised his voice a little, calling out to the driver in the front. “Hey! Can you drop us off here?”

The driver didn’t respond, but a few seconds later the carriage veered to the right before coming to a full stop. Leo leapt out, sighing in relief when his feet hit solid ground. He breathed in the crisp night air. Luxurious as it was, the inside of the carriage had felt far too stuffy.

Leo heard Allan thanking the driver before he appeared as well, and the carriage soon disappeared into the night with a snap of the driver’s reins.

The building where the masquerade took place was across the street. The shadows of the alleyway they stood in provided some cover, allowing them to study the hall from a distance.

Leo could see guests dressed in lavish clothes stepping up to the entrance, where a line of guards stood with their weapons held at ready. The security around the place was better than most prisons, the former [Thief] thought.

Leo shrugged off his bag and set it down behind an empty crate, and Allan did the same. Their coins and the money for the auction stayed on hand, but the rest of their stuff would be too conspicuous to carry inside.

“You got your mask?” Leo asked. Allan nodded and put on a mask similar to the one the [Fragmentholder] had, only it was dark blue and silver.

After double checking that their masks were in place and everything was in order, the two headed over to the doors. Leo consciously tried to stand straighter as Lenore had instructed, but it was habit at this point to hunch in on himself. Being surrounded by so many wealthy people wasn’t helping, and he knew it would only get worse once they were inside.

Allan, for all his struggles with cutlery and ballroom dance knowledge, was significantly better at the whole “pretending to be a noble” schtick. He strode confidently forward in a smooth gait that looked just relaxed enough to seem natural.

“Good evening,” he greeted the closest guard pleasantly. The man grunted. He barely gave their invitation card a second glance before waving them inside.

Leo’s shoulders slumped with relief. They’d gotten in. Now they just needed to make it through the masquerade and auction without arousing suspicion.

As they entered the building, the distant chatter of guests was accompanied by the clear, ringing notes of a violin drifting over the voices. In his peripheral vision, Leo saw Allan’s eyes widen.

The ballroom was massive. The narrow entryway quickly expanded into a wide space complete with an arching, high ceiling that stretched far above them. Glass panels revealed flashes of the night sky, and a shimmering golden chandelier dangled down in the center of the dance floor, its bright light mirrored by the flickering torches lining the walls.

At the edges of the ballroom, a few artful white columns rose up to meet the ceiling. Long tables covered in food and drink had been laid out while servers carrying trays maneuvered around the crowd. A line of silent guards surrounded the perimeter of the ballroom, but Leo couldn’t make out Spade from their current position.

Some of the guests stood by the chairs near the food chatting or taking a break from dancing. The majority, however, were on the dance floor, where nobles in suits and gowns twirled and swayed to the music.

Leo’s eyes quickly landed on the stage tucked in the back corner of the room. A group of musicians sat in chairs while a conductor stood in front of them, her hands never once pausing their movements. The thick maroon curtains behind them remained still.

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“It’s so bright,” Allan breathed beside him. Leo snorted.

“Yeah, I know what you mean.” The first time he’d seen a ball like this, he’d been awestruck at the sheer opulence. So awestruck that he’d stopped in place and almost dropped the trays he was carrying, Leo thought bitterly.

He shook his head. That was in the past, and he would admit that the ballroom did look very different from the center, among the nobles, than it did from the sidelines.

“When the ball ends, meet me by the stage,” Leo said under his breath, hazel eyes flitting about to make sure no one was listening. “Until then, we just need to lay low. Maybe try to guess who’ll be at the auction, look around, chat up some nobles if you’re up for it.”

Allan nodded. “Be careful,” he muttered. Leo grinned.

“Always am.”

The [Healer] snorted and shook his head. With another nod, he turned and slipped deeper into the crowd, where Leo could see a group of primly dressed nobles talking. He shook his head amusedly. It figured that Allan would head straight into a conversation. He probably wouldn’t have any issue fitting in.

Now on his own, Leo glanced around and decided to head towards the food table. If he was going to be here all night, he might as well enjoy the free food.

The former [Thief] navigated through the crowd, accidentally bumping into more than a few people along the way. He gritted his teeth, resisting the urge to immediately lower his head and apologize. He was here as their equal, he reminded himself, and he wasn’t going to grovel to a bunch of haughty aristocrats. Never again, he thought.

It was a relief when Leo finally managed to break free of the crowd. He stopped to double check that his mask was secure before finally heading for the table.

It turned out Lenore hadn’t been overdoing it; the spread looked more appropriate for a feast than as complimentary treats for a ball.

The [Fragmentholder] grabbed a plate and loaded it up, careful not to go too overboard despite his urge to try everything. None of the nobles were drooling at the food, so some restraint would probably be in order.

Once Leo had grabbed as much food as he thought he could get away with, he moved over to one of the white pillars where it was quieter and leaned against it.

Balancing the plate in one hand, he stabbed his fork into one of the cake slices. His eyes lit up when he took the first bite. He quickly devoured the rest of the piece with probably a bit more enthusiasm than was appropriate.

As he ate, Leo casually scanned the crowd. There was no actual way to tell if someone would be attending the auction afterwards or not, so he tried to commit as many faces to memory as possible in case one of them won the fragment.

There was a woman in a bold red dress and an equally bright feathered mask. An elderly man in a plain black suit and a grey mask who carried himself with a distinct aura of dignity that automatically commanded respect. A family of five who seemed to be attracting a good amount of attention, all of their postures perfectly straight and rigid.

Allan had taken up conversation with a smaller group of nobles near the woman in red. Leo could see the man laughing, and none of the nobles he spoke to seemed to suspect for a second that they were actually speaking to a former [Rickshaw Puller] from the slums. They’d probably be horrified if they knew the truth. Leo smiled to himself at the thought.

As Leo moved to scoop up more of his food, a sudden chill crawled up his spine.

He shuddered, nearly dropping his fork as his head snapped around, searching for the source of that chill.

There. Across the ballroom, barely visible behind the swaying dancers, was a man standing beside the opposite pillar.

It was hard to make out details from the distance, but he caught a glimpse of a plain white mask, a black suit, and ashy hair pulled into a low ponytail that looked noticeably messier than that of the other nobles. The man’s clothes, too, seemed a little more rumpled, as if he’d thrown the suit on half-heartedly.

Even though he couldn’t see his eyes, Leo was sure the man was staring directly at him. His shoulders tensed and he activated [Judgement], but when he looked again, the man was gone. Vanished into the churning crowd.

Leo swallowed, suddenly losing his appetite. Who was that?

He set his plate down, attempting to calm his nerves. It was possible he was just another noble, maybe one with a little less care for formality than most.

And yet, every instinct of his was screaming at him that there was more going on. There’d been a danger hanging over him, and he couldn’t have imagined that chilling gaze.

“Not liking the food?” an amused voice suddenly spoke from behind him.

Leo jumped. He spun around, ready to draw his hidden dagger, when hazel eyes landed on a familiar [Executioner].

Spade was dressed in a standard guard uniform with an equally unassuming mask, but her grey hair and the visible scars poking out from under the mask made her easily identifiable. Leo’s shoulders slumped back down.

“Don’t do that,” he hissed. His eyes darted around, double checking that no one was watching them. He stepped closer, keeping his voice low.

“Hey. Just now, did you see that weird guy in the crowd?”

Spade raised a scarred eyebrow. “I’m afraid you’re going to have to be a little more specific.”

Leo gestured vaguely across the ballroom. “There was this guy, he had a white mask, black suit. I could’ve sworn he was watching me. He seemed…dangerous.” God, he probably sounded so paranoid right now.

To her credit, the [Executioner] didn’t immediately scoff at him. Humming, she raised her head, grey eyes scanning the crowd with a casual, yet sharp efficiency. When she was done, she shook her head.

“I don’t see anyone like that.”

Leo bit his lip. “Figures. Look, could you keep an eye out? It might be nothing, but I got a bad feeling from the guy.” Her [Vigilance] skill would be particularly useful in this case.

“I can do that,” Spade said simply. She turned to head back over to her guard position by the wall, but before she reached it, she paused and glanced back.

“There’s still a few hours left until the auction starts. You might as well mingle until then.” Spade nodded at the crowd.

Leo groaned, but he knew the [Executioner] was right. This was a rare chance to gather intel, and he’d be wasting it if he just stood around for the rest of the masquerade.

His eyes darted over to where Allan was still chatting with the nobles as easily as if he’d been born to the aristocracy himself. Leo sighed and straightened.

“Yeah, I guess so.” If he got lucky, maybe he’d even manage to find the man from earlier and use [Judgement] on him. That would get him a name and a level, at least.

Emboldened by the thought, Leo took a deep breath and strode forward.