The four of us move away and I hear Marquis Guiness engaging the rest of my family in conversation. I grab a drink for myself and Geo. Kierra is even more used to elven brew than I am and never bothers drinking. Unless it’s to play a trick on an unsuspecting merchant eager for information. “I hope you don’t mind me using you as an excuse. I needed to be alone.”

“I don’t mind. And congratulations on your contract. How did you manage to pull that off anyway?”

“I taste good.”

Maxine, who had just taken a drink, sprays the wine back into the glass. Her face is flushed pink as she looks at me with wide eyes. My smile stretches wider. “Succubi feed off their summoner’s mana. She likes the taste.” Geneva drives the point home by licking her lips seductively. “Besides that, I’m a good conversationalist. Right, love?”

“You’re amusing at least,” Kierra says.

We laugh together. Maxine comes out of her confusion, putting her glass on the tray of a passing server and grabbing a new one. “So, did you bring me over her for normal small talk?”

“You sound a bit hostile. Thought I was doing you a favor, Max. Isn’t it good if your father thinks you have a good working relationship with us?”

Her eyes narrow. “That depends. Do we have a good working relationship?”

“We might. But no, that’s not why I called you over here. I just needed to give him an opportunity.”

“Him?”

I don’t bother answering her question as I spot my target walking across the room. Junior is scowling deeply. By his side, his thrall Fen looks very nervous. Most likely, she can tell Geneva is stronger than her. The young noble by his side is an unknown. Judging from his close proximity and the company he keeps, he’s probably from another powerful house that dwarfs mine, but the lustful way he eyes Geneva grants him instant dislike.

We turn to face them as they reach us. “Junior!” I call with genuine excitement. Seeing his grit teeth, I am filled with happiness. Ah, yes. This is what I was waiting for. “I bet you’re just dying with curiosity so I won’t wait to introduce you. This is Geo—”

“How?” he barks out. “You have a fire affinity and a coefficient of 50 at best, so how could you—”

“How disappointing. As a member of the Grimoire family, you should know very well that the coefficients of thralls are between 250 and 500, well within my ability to form a contract with. More so, your family were the ones who formed the theory about the third affinity of thralls—”

“Research you shouldn’t have had access to.”

“I wouldn’t if Grimoires didn’t talk so loud.”

“You—” He stops himself from probably cursing me out, taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly. “Whatever. So, you managed to contract a circle 3 thrall. Big deal. I suppose if you can’t beat me, copy me.”

“Circle 3?” I scoff. “Don’t compare me to you. Geo, why don’t you make friends with Fen there?”

Geneva raises her arms toward the thrall. She gives a beatific smile but her voice has no room for compromise as she brightly says, “Come here.”

Junior’s jaw drops as Fen moves away from his side and grabs Geneva’s outstretched hands. “Get back here!” he snaps.

“Geo.”

“Obey Lourianne Tome.”

Fen nods her head and looks at me with anxious eyes. I laugh. “No need to look like that.” I hold out a hand and she grabs it. “I know everything that happened the other day had nothing to do with you. An elemental follows the commands of their summoner. Such petty actions could only come from Junior there.”

“Release her,” he growls, eyes practically blazing with anger.

“Hmm.” I tap my chin as if I’m thinking. “How about…no. At least, not yet. I want to ask her some questions so I’ll be borrowing her for the night.” I purposely raise my voice as I notice we’ve gathered a fast-growing crowd. “Really, a woman like this is wasted on you.” I give her a once over. “It’s like putting jewels on a pig.”

“You damn pervert.”

“Pervert? What exactly do you think I’m going to get up to? I was planning on having a nice cup of tea and comparing their experiences on Burning Earth for my summoning record but I guess the Grimoires think of something different when they take a thrall with them for the night.”

He snorts. “Yeah. You summoned a thrall to talk to her. There’s no point in lying when you flaunt your deviancy.” He spits that out with a dramatic jerk of his head in Kierra’s direction who playfully puts a hand over her heart. “Keep your hands off my thrall.”

“I am disappointed you have so little faith in me. It’s possible for someone to contract a succubus without sleeping with them. Geo, tell the man what he wants to know. Speak the truth.”

Geo looks to the ground, feigning embarrassment. “Lou and I have not been together.”

Yet, I add internally. It’s hilarious because that’s the truth. “Should I ask Fen the same question? Somehow, I don’t think she’s going to give the same answer. Then again, I could be wrong.”

“Oi!”

“Fen—”

“Shut your mouth, Lou!”

“—what kind of things does Junior like to do at night? Don’t be shy with the details.”

“I do very little talking,” Fen answers immediately. As the higher ranked Geneva gave her an order to obey me, she doesn’t hesitate to do so. And dare I say I see a little enjoyment in her eyes? “Gordon mainly grunts. He’s rather preoccupied thrusting—”

With an angry roar, Junior loses all composure and rushes me. Reacting almost instinctively, I grab the hand reaching out to me and move behind him, twisting it behind his back as my opposite arm goes around his throat. He yelps in pain as I pull the arm.

“Hey now. What do you think you’re doing? A gentleman doesn’t use violence against women.” I toss him away from me, sending him stumbling toward the crowd comprised of the rest of the room who take a collective step back to avoid colliding into him.

He’s bigger than me but he has no muscle tone. As expected of a spoiled noble. Without his thrall, he’s nothing. “Then again, you’re clearly not a gentleman from what little Fen’s said. And you had the audacity to call me a deviant.”

“You bitch! I’ll—”

“Ahem.”

I grit my teeth as a sudden pressure pushes down on me. Turning my head to the source, I see a neutrally smiling Marquis Guiness watching us. I’ve heard about this. It’s a high-level technique where someone can exude their mana into the air. The sudden concentration translates as weight to people who don’t have large capacities, as their bodies aren’t used to the saturation.

Thing is, it doesn’t mean anything unless the source has a coefficient over 100 of their target. At the moment, I’ve got 65. Junior may be an ass but last I checked, he had an impressive 130.

That means the marquis would need at least 230 to affect him. And from the way Junior’s knees are buckling, he has much more than that.

So, the richest man in the kingdom is also an accomplished caster. Some people just have all the fortune in life. I would know. The pressure should have me buckling but all I feel is a mild discomfort. Another boon of my new body? I fall to a knee anyway to keep up appearances.

“I would appreciate it if you ceased this disturbance.” He’s looking at Junior. Phew. I mean, I don’t particularly care about having a good relationship with them right now but I also don’t want him angry with me. That is a complication no one needs in their lives.

The pressure disappears as Marquis Guiness retracts his aura. With someone to douse his anger, Junior evaluates his situation and realizes the mess he’s in. The nobles surrounding him whisper to each other. Oh yeah, daddy Grimoire is going to hear all about this. I know he’s come to the same realization when his face pales. Even the guy who walked over with him won’t meet his eyes, doing his best to forget Junior exists.

Junior spares one look to me and Fen. I glare at him, not attempting to hide a bit of my derision. He makes the first smart decision of the night and walks away, shoving aside members of the crowd in silent anger.

“Everyone,” the marquis announces. “The meal for the evening is finished. If you’ll all follow me to the banquet room.” He herds them into the next room, the tension leaking away with them.

Once the room empties, I laugh. “Saints witness, did any of you see his face? Whew. I haven’t had that much fun in forever.”

“I’m glad to see my efforts haven’t been in vain.” Kierra leans onto my back. “In the future though, anyone who attacks you should at least have three broken bones before you allow them to retreat.”

As expected of my bride. “That’s a bit too much with all those witnesses around.”

Maxine gives me a strange look. Yes, I know what I said. I meant it. If we weren’t at a party surrounded by several influential people, Junior might not have been able to walk away. That look she’s giving me says she’s reevaluating me.

Good. You have no idea who, or what, you’re dealing with.

“Shall we go eat?” Maxine finally says. “Our chef has prepared several fish from the Dragon Fire Sea. We are pioneering a new kind of preservation magic that makes them as fresh as the day they were caught.”

Her plan is to simply go with it, huh? Taking a cue from her father, she seems to want to stay out of these events. At least until they know which side is going to win. Fine by me. Wonder what the marquis will do once I come out on top? Guarantee no one will brush me off again.

“Lead the way.”

We follow her into the dining room. In the hall, I lock eyes with Father who waited for me. Our eyes meet and he gives me a vicious grin. No words are said but I know he enjoyed that every bit as much as I did.

Along with someone else. Fen is walking behind Geneva silently. She hasn’t said a word but I caught her smiling to herself earlier and she’s watching me as we move down the halls. I never factored her into my plans, which is stupid. Despite being contracted to Junior, she has her own motivations. Motivations that don’t seem to align with Junior’s best interest.

It’s going to be an interesting conversation tonight.