“Help me out here,” Francis said.

The man standing in front of him had an unending slew of questions. Not that they were easy to answer, nor did they help out at all. Just difficult questions asked in an attempt to humiliate him. Nothing that Francis was exactly new to. But it certainly was tiring.

Just in time, that woman, Claudia, stood up on a platform. All eyes were on her, as she raised up a crystal glass. Filled to the 3 quarter mark with white wine, she raised it up and everyone held their breath. What was she going to say?

“Attention everyone~” she spoke in a melodic voice, “I have an announcement I’d like to make. There is a very special guest here with us today, and they’re already here! Now, there was a scene previously, but I’d like to make up for that. Could everyone please give a round of applause to our special guest tonight, the one and only lord Francis of the Rayleigh house!”

Of course. Instantly, the attention was on him once again. So that was their plan, then? To just throw men and women at him until he screws up.

“Lord Francis, what are your thoughts on the blockade on the northern channel?” a noble asked him.

“Guys, help me out here,” he repeated again.

“My lord. There’s someone wanting to talk to you on the Quartz Screen,” Katalina stood in front of everyone and said.

“And who might that be?”

“I’m afraid I can’t say her name here, my lord.”

“Ah. Her. Butler! Take us to a private room. I have to get this call.”

“Very well milord. I shall guide you. If I may?”

That man stepped through the crowd and motioned for Francis and his entourage to follow. Cutting through the sea of nobles like a knife through a slab of warm butter, they moved past the masses.

They stopped in front of a door after weaving through a maze of corridors. The butler walked with arms straight, and his body fluid. More martial artist or assassin than soldier. His uniform was also slightly different from the ones that the Rayleighs had. It seemed like there was no standardisation agency for matters like this.

“This is the guest room, milord. There are enough beds to accommodate all of you. If there are any questions, please do not hesitate to ring for me.”

“Thank you. You may go now.” Francis smiled and pushed the door open. With his dismissal, the butler bowed and returned back to the ballroom.

The door creaked open. They stepped in, and the room certainly did hold up to his standard. 4 average sized beds, all pushed up next to each other.

“Should the luggage be delivered here?” Estelle asked.

“Luggage? We have luggage?”

“Yeah. Clothes, and the like. The wagon left slightly later after we did.”

“Hm. Are we staying here for the night?”

“Yes. Why?”

“Nothing. Just curious. So what did you think of them?”

Francis sat down on a chair. There was a desk in front of a window, with a bottle of ink and a feather pen ready for us. A large wardrobe sat in the corner of the room.

“Oh they’re alright. But I suppose I may be feeling slightly sick,” Francis said.

“Should we really be talking about this? There are probably spies listening in,” Francis also said.

“I heard the butler walk away. We should be fine,” said Estelle.

“What about bugs? Can you do something about that?” Francis turned to Kim Hye-Sung.

“If it's mechanical, I can’t do anything. But I haven’t detected any significant traces of magic.”

“Is that so? Let's just speak normally then. Going through that whole thing feels weird. Like, calling someone when they’re right in front of you. None of you are spies, right?” Francis asked.

“No. My loyalty has been sworn to the Rayleigh family for generations now,” Katalina said.

“I’m your sister.”

“And I have special information that we shared. Why would I be a spy?”

“All valid points. Wait, for generations?”

“Yes my lord.”

“What? Why? Generations?”

“Yes my lord. Is there something you don’t understand?”

“Yeah. Why for generations?”

“Were you not informed, my lord?”

“Obviously not. Sister? Care to explain.”

Estelle shook her head. With a sigh, she said her piece.

“I don’t have a right to recount your people's history, Miss Katalina.”

“Well. It's a rather lengthy story. Do you have time?”

“Oh of course. What, you think I wanted to go back there?”

“Perfect. Then while we’re all chatting, the luggage should arrive any time now,” Estelle said as she took a seat on her bed.

“Right then. Take a seat, everyone. We have some time to burn.”

“Well, are you familiar with the Joubin war?”

“Oh. A little bit. That’s the one between our empire and Friaren, right? Like close to a century ago?”

“That one, yes. After the war, or rather, during it, there was a town on the borders of both nations. It was built specifically as an outpost for mercenaries of Friaren.”

“Mercenaries to fight in the war?”

“Yes. The generals hired mercenaries to bolster their numbers.”

“Alright. Continue?” Francis placed his hands on his legs, and crossed them.

“Now when the war turned in favour of our empire, the generals decided that it was a good idea to do something horrific. That town on the borders? That was where your family was going to invade from. As they were marching, the generals poisoned the water supply of the town. The wells that gave it water? Unusable, undrinkable. Extremely toxic chemicals were dumped in there in an attempt to slow your army down.”

“Were the mercenaries still there?”

“They were. And they were not informed of that crime. So they drank from the wells and got poisoned.”

“That’s horrible.”

“The first death happened just half a day before your troops stepped foot into the town. But instead of killing off the easy targets, you know what your family did? They rescued them.”

“But were they able to save them?”

“Surprisingly, yes. The mages there were skilled, and the doctors were amazing. After their recovery, the mercenaries didn’t immediately attack their saviors.”

“Obviously? Why would you?”

“But what some of them did instead, was pledge their loyalty to the family. And swore to work for them. Once they have children, basically one of them is selected to continue on. Typically the most eager, or the strongest.”

“So I assume that you are descended from that line of mercenaries?”

“Yes. And that’s why I’ve pledged myself to the Rayleigh family. Any questions, my lord?”

“One question. Why? I really don’t think that my family, out of everyone else, needs guards or knights. With the sole exception of me, I’m pretty sure any one of them can handle you single handedly.”

“That’s where the second factor comes in. Your family members are insanely strong, my lord. And we hope to be able to defeat one of them one day. Where else could we receive better training? The only other knights that would be able to match us in skill are the Royal Guard.”

“They’re the ones that make sure the imperial family is safe, right?”

“Yeap. More or less. They’re also the top echelon of the knights that serve the crown.”

“So the Secret Service then?” Kim Hye-Sung chimed in.

“Hahah! I’m just imagining them tackling the princess down and shouting ‘Get down your highness!’ while they look around frantically.”

Francis chuckled at the thought. He covered his lips with his fist, and spotted her smiling from across the room. Of course, only the two of them would know. And besides, she sent it only to him.

“So that’s your family’s history, Katalina?”

“Summarised, but yes. If you’re interested, please talk to the historian.”

“Alright, I’ll see if I have time. But I reached a conclusion, some time ago.”

“What do you mean?” Estelle asked.

“I know why I’m like this. Pass me the weighing scale.”

He pointed to the golden balancing scale in the corner of the room. Sitting atop a bedside table, it looked like it was used to measure out medication. Estelle picked it up by the pillar, and handed it to him. Reaching into his pocket, he took out several silver coins.

The balancing scale sat in equilibrium. Balanced and equal. He set it up, and motioned for everyone to pay attention.

“Name some traits of the Rayeleighs. Excluding me. Positive stuff only.”

“Aura proficiency, for one,” added Katalina. Clink.

“Overwhelming strength.” Clink.

Each time something was said, he placed another coin on the left side pan. Eventually, a whole stack of coins tipped the balance entirely. He supported the other end, holding down the pan with his middle finger.

“Now. A certain powerful dragon that I’ve met turned out to be a rather businessman-like person. Basically, there’s this thing called equivalent exchange. Look at the scales. Is it balanced and equalised?”

The answer was obvious. He let his finger go, and the left side dropped onto the desk. Pulling up the left pan by its strings, he rebalanced it.

“And now, the opposite of that. The bad stuff about me.”

He repeated the act. Though, the left side remained heavier. Of course, he expected this. Shifting the fulcrum to the left, he let go. Perfectly balanced, it swayed a little but eventually settled.

“I am the debt that you have racked up, sister. But whoever negotiated with Bahamut in the beginning was a skilled negotiator.”

“The first Rayleigh, huh?”

“Yeap. Oh but don’t think of it as your fault. It's neither yours, nor Elise’s.”

“But you say you came in contact with a dragon? Is that what happened?”

“That’s an incredibly long story for next time.”

A knock came from the door. Francis raised his eyebrows, and looked towards his sister. She stood up, and gripped her sword. Twisting the door knob, she slowly opened the door.

“Luggage. And... Who are you?” Estelle asked.

“I was sent by your sister, Lady Estelle. I got permission from Lady Elise to meet with Francis Rayleigh.”

“Address him properly. And state your identity. I will not let strangers meet him.”

“Lord Francis Rayleigh, I apologize. And I am Iris. Pleased to meet you.”

“Do you know her?” The sister turned back into the room and asked.

“I’ve never heard that name before. Let me see her.”

Francis stood up from his seat. Walking towards the door, he had quite a few theories about who she was. Benjamin Wynt’s sister, or mother. That could be a possible reason as to why she didn’t give a surname. Another possibility was that the name Iris was a fake. And that girl was an assassin sent from someone. But then what about the luggage? Did they intercept the wagon?

He peeked through the crack in the door. With Estelle standing in front of him, he had to squeeze in behind him and tiptoe to take a look. The warmth from her body was strange to experience. Francis wasn’t exactly sure how to feel. On one hand, they were technically siblings. On the other hand, he didn’t really want to think about it.

A head full of blonde hair poked up. That shade and hue was all too familiar. That girl from the bar, was it? And the persistent one at the gates.

"So you're called Iris. Come on in and introduce yourself."

> He motioned for her to enter. Pointing towards a corner of his bed, he gestured for her to sit. Placing down a mass of baggage in the corner, she stood up and never sat down.

"There's a change of clothes right? I'll get into something more comfortable, but also presentable. All of you, leave for a bit." Francis opened up the case.

The door creaked open as they shuffled out. Even Iris. Sifting through the neatly folded clothes, he picked out a nice shirt.

When he opened the door for the others to come back in, he was in a strapless shirt, and a shortish skirt that just barely reached the top of his knees. The shirt was tucked into the skirt, and Kim Hye-Sung whistled like a person that saw a beautiful person walk by. Francis smiled, and welcomed them back in. The formal dress he was in previously was stuffy.

"We had some words when you were changing. She really wants to talk to you alone. What do you wanna do?" Hye-Sung asked.

"What’s your impression of her? We’ve met before, I believe. You ignored me.”

“She sounds sane. But what about your sister?”

“Well, any objections, Estelle?”

“Not really. If you do harm him in any way, there’ll be hell to pay. Katalina, take care of him if anything happens.”

“Yes, my lady.”

Katalina bowed her head. As Hye-Sung and Estelle left, Francis took a seat behind the desk. The knight hovered above the duke’s son, her hand on the handle of her blade.

“So what’s the deal?” Francis asked.

He placed his head on his hands. The shirt was tight on his chest, but that was also how it stayed there without slipping down. That blonde girl, Iris, looked at him all over. It actually kind of reminded him of some of the more lecherous eyes on him when he went out in a dress.

“I’m sorry. But I just can’t do it while you’re dressed like that. I mean, you’re a man, aren’t you?”

“Then think of me as a woman. That would be beneficial to me as well. I would rather you think of me as one.”

“What?”

Francis put his hands up and stretched. His spine popped. The tips of his hair grazed his bare shoulders. Meanwhile, Iris sat on his bed. In a white shirt that wrapped around her body with a golden diamond shape linings around it, tucked into tights embroidered with blue patterns on a white background, on the side of that pair. If there was a difference anywhere in the world, it would be these two. The strapless shirt exposed his clean, slender arms and armpits, whilst she was covered entirely. And there was no need to speak of the bottom half, the contrast between her tights and his short skirt was plain for all to see.

“I mean what I said. If you don't want to think of me as a man, then think of me as a woman. Would actually prefer that.”

“Putting that aside... Why are you crossdressing?”

“Starting with that, huh? Well I feel much more comfortable in this. My turn. Why do you want to see me so badly that you’d wait by the gates?”

“Let’s make this the divine game of Truths and Lies. Are you familiar with it?”

“Nope. Give me the summary.”

“We’ll get Truth to watch over our questions. We can both lie once out of the three questions asked, but we have no need to announce it.”

“And if we lie more than once?” Francis asked.

“Then you’ll be in trouble with the divine. Let’s get started. Do you wanna do this?”

“Go for it.”

“Repeat my words. I swear to the goddess Truth to sacrifice my soul and body if I violate the rules of this divine game.” Francis repeated her words back to her.

“Great. I’ll start. What is your goal?” said Iris.

“To stay alive and not die. Why are you doing this?”

“Because you’ll become a great evil in the future. Have you ever killed anyone?”

“Hmm.” He tilted his head back in thought. “I have. Second question. Why do you know how I turned out?”

“I received a prophecy that said you might turn out like that. Lastly, who are you really?”

“Francis Rayleigh. You’re pretty scary. Are you here to kill me?”

“Not yet. And that concludes the divine game.”

“Yes. Don’t tell me you want to kill me now.”

“No, not at this moment.”

“And I hope you’re not like the many suitors I have vying for my attention.”

“You have suitors?”

“Of course. What, you want to add to that?”

“I have no intentions of ever going out with you.”

“Right. That’s great. I don’t need another person to try to assault me.”

Iris raised an eyebrow. She opened her mouth to say something, but stopped. She seemed to be conflicted over something.

“Need a place to stay?” Francis asked.

“I can’t intrude on your time.”

“I don’t see why not. What’s another woman in my room?”

“Huh?”

“That did not come out correctly. I meant if you needed a place to sleep. It's night.”

“No need for that.”

“Is that so?”