Daphne arrived at the gates of the Middle School, where Genevieve’s servant had told her they would be assembling. The midday sun was warm against her fair skin, but not scalding, so she waved away Maid when she brought out a parasol of swan feathers to shade her with. Summer was truly well and over now.

She was riding atop Jade—her pegasus, while Maid had borrowed a horse from one of her knights. It appeared they would be riding out into the woods, which suited Daphne just fine. Like her old master said, the deeper into seclusion, the better the cultivation! He was a monster who had long perfected the Dao of Disappearance, and used it frequently on her and her fellow disciples.

“Lady Daphne!” Genevieve greeted with a cordial nod. She was dressed in dyed leather from boots to bosom, and a pearl necklace wrapped itself around her tall neck. A manservant followed her every movement, making sure not even a drop of sunlight touched her light, auburn hair. “You came.”

“I agreed to attend,” Daphne said. “I am a woman of my word.”

“You are a credit to your family,” Genevieve said. “Only, I thought since Lady Victoria was also coming that you might reconsider.”

Victoria of House Vyne, Daphne remembered from her studies. She was from a margravate house like herself, and a jade beauty equal to her in status and standing though she was not the heir of her house. Her qi Daphne had no measure of, but she had learned lessons in the past days of underestimating these disciples. Their dantian cores were small, but deep, and their versatility with the elements was nothing to joke about! Even with instruction from her cousin, she remained largely limited to using water and ice, and the basic applications of the other elements of this realm.

Did she have some rivalry with this Victoria? If she did, no one had thought to remind her, so how serious could it have been?

“Among the likes of us, honor must be met with honor and courtesy with courtesy,” Daphne said. This was the unspoken law even among immortal cultivators of the same rank, for to engage in bloodshed over every petty quarrel would not only leave one weakened enough to be destroyed by a third party! Fighting was restrained to its proper spheres—at tournaments and restaurants, or while trading pointers at a gathering, and often between those of equal rank.

Exceptions existed, of course, for ants who did not give face to their betters, but as her master liked to say: “I am not addicted to killing. They are just addicted to courting death!”

Genevieve smiled at her. “You’re as refined as always, a true flower among those of the velvet glove,” she said. “I admit, I was surprised to hear you were taking up classes about war this year … and then you signed up with the tournament too!”

“There are many things I still do not know,” Daphne said. “It is important to remain open to new experiences, so that one’s comprehension of the world is ever more complete with each day.” She paused, before asking, “Is it really so strange for me?”

“It’s just you’ve never shown an interest before,” she said. “And you gave your patronage to that new servant too.”

“You heard about that?”

“Everyone heard about that,” Genevieve said. “The lady of a house external does not give her patronage without everyone knowing by the end of the day.”

“My patronage?” Daphne asked. “I made her a servant.”

“Sure, for now,” Genevieve said, waving at another arrival. “But you must be considering a formal extension of patronage if you’ve taken such a keen interest in that village bumpkin.”

She could not truthfully say she was not. “I’ve thought of making her a disciple,” Daphne confessed. “It remains to be seen if what I saw in her was correct.” Many disciples showed potential in the beginning, but sects were known to trim their branches from time to time. Even the wisest do not see all ends, nor recognize all heroes at the start.

“What is it that you do see in her, if you don’t mind me asking? Was there some potential that everyone has missed, even the hystors? They were withdrawing their patronage over her soon after all,” Genevieve said, before quickly adding. “I dare not tempt her away from your service now that you’ve shown your interest. It’s curiosity on my end.”

“She has a poor foundation,” Daphne said, “but in some ways, making it as far as she has as an orphan is commendable. With the right support, and the hystors are hardly that, perhaps she could be more … or perhaps she merely got lucky a few times? I do not know the answer, but it is a small matter for me to investigate.”

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Genevieve fell silent, a thoughtful look etched on her face. A few more minutes passed before all the ladies and lords had gathered, and their mounted party departed through the iron-wrought portcullis. It was a curious thing that many of the others had brought a knight or lesser retainer with them. The surrounding lands were not so dangerous, nor was there any word of bandits nearby. Besides, as the host, Genevieve had brought on a small host to ensure the safety of all present which was only right and proper of her.

Their destination was not a secluded mountain peak (not that the nearby hills could dare be called mountains), or some lake infused with spiritual energy. No, their destination turned out to be a grove of oaks and apple trees.

The servants laid out chequered blankets upon the grass which did not look like cultivation mats to Daphne. She was definitely sure they weren’t cultivating when the baskets were opened, filling the clearing with the smell of sweets, wine, and sweet wine.

No matter what some masters said, consuming spirits behind closed doors did not make it cultivation!

The qi here was stronger than back home, but it was not so much more than the school’s that it was worth the effort of venturing out. Nor could she begin cultivating when the men and women around her began gossiping like hens. Now, she was not one to shy away from such news, for every good lie had a seed of truth in them, but did their topics of conversation have to be so dull? Who cared that this knight was sleeping with that lady, or that some heiress had taken a liking to a strawborn peasant? What importance were these things in the grand scheme of the dao?

Daphne could forgive many things. Being boring was not one of them.

“Oh, Lady Daphne, I didn’t see you there!”

Daphne glanced at the girl who’d spoken. It took her mind a moment to decipher her identity, but she was fairly sure this was Lady Victoria. She had a bright smile, all teeth and cutting, and wore something closer to a ballgown than an outdoor dress. She wore her own ransom, arms and fingers rich with rings and cuff bracelets, while smaller bands of silver adorned her braided hair.

“Then you ought to open your eyes more often,” Daphne said.

Her eyes narrowed, and she brought out a silk fan. “It’s just I didn’t expect to see you back so soon. After the business last year, and then your kidnapping near the end of summer ... tell me, has your family caught those who dared lay a hand on you?”

The chatter closest to them strangled into silence as those around them held their breaths. Daphne understood why. This Victoria was challenging her, and prickling at the face of House Greenglade.

“They are being hunted down,” Daphne said. “It’s no matter when they are caught. Is there anywhere beneath the sun they can hide from my family?”

“Certainly not with your family’s signature spell,” said one of the women helpfully. Others around her tittered their agreement. She was a junior who was giving her face. Daphne made a note of her features, and her prominent, full lips that were red as the cherry blossoms.

“Of course, of course,” Victoria said, “but I think it’s clear the strawborn were the tools of another? After all, it is a deathwish to lay hands on the likes of us, and they would have known that. Only a powerful benefactor would have emboldened them to act so rashly.”

“So powerful that they must achieve their goals through their lessers?” Daphne asked. “The bandits will be found, and then they will talk.” Men always talked—whether it was bragging to friends, boasting to beauties, or betraying secrets under torture.

Victoria laughed. “I admire your confidence. You’ve even gone so far as to enter the tournament this year, when many in your position might have kept their heads down.”

“I am from a margravate house,” Daphne said, realizing now that this was no mere outing. Here they were, consuming food and drink … surely this counted as a restaurant! “It is only right that we show our strength.”

“Ah, still clinging to that old title,” Victoria said with a smile full of mocking mirth. “House External Greenglade has many sworn knights and retainers in the school, the same as mine, but you yourself are entering! Now that was a surprise. I suppose with Prince Hadrian here, you hoped

to catch his attention with this?”

Daphne picked up her bone porcelain teacup, sipping at it before replying. From the corner of her eye, she spotted one of these barbarians pouring milk and sugar of all things into hers. Truly these people were frogs in a well. “Hope?” She scoffed. “Hope is as hollow as fear. Both are phantoms that arise from thinking of the self. When we don’t see the self as the self, what do we have to fear?”

Victoria frowned at her response, and for a brief while, the sound of silence filled the clearing as she deciphered the meaning behind her words. She was a toad who could not see Mount Tai, for she decided then to attack Daphne in other ways. At least she was just a fool, and not a great fool, for she was capable of changing tactics.

Daphne could forgive many things. Being boring was not one of them.

“I hear you’ve taken on a useless girl as your new servant too,” Victoria said.

“You concern yourself with many things,” Daphne said. “I wonder how you find the time in the day.”

Victoria ignored her quip. “It’s a bold move, extending your patronage to the likes of her when even the hystors have written her off their patronage lists.”

“Must I do what others do merely because others do them?” Daphne asked. “Am I a sheep in need of a shepherd? House Greenglade is an ancient family. When we act, it is others that follow.”

“Not when you’re burying gold in a pit like some Deeplander,” Victoria said. “There are better ways to waste your family’s fortune.”

“You speak as if you already know her fate,” Daphne said.

“She’s strawborn, and not a particularly talented one at that,” Victoria said. “To treat her as you do is insanity.”

“Only if I fail,” Daphne said. “I have taken responsibility for her. I do not shirk from duty.”

Victoria snorted. “You are so very confident in your servant, Lady Daphne, but words are merely words. How about a wager? Let your servant enter the tournament, and we shall see how well she fares against the likes of us.”