On Maxine’s recommendation, we stop outside a small, charming store with no windows on its front and the picture of a black cat on its door. It doesn’t look like much of anything. “Are you sure this is the place?”

I catch the slight blush on Maxine’s face as she exits the carriage after me. Geneva follows after her and motions to Gajin, who pulls off. “Yes. I’m…positive it’ll be to your tastes.”

“Uh-huh. If you say so.” She seems a little fidgety but I can’t imagine her plotting against me. Still, I hold an arm out to Geneva before opening the door.

We step into another world as the bright morning is swallowed by the store’s gloom. Red and yellow lanterns bathe the room in a mimicry of sunset, giving the rows of shelving an air of mystery.

An older woman is seated behind the long counter at the back of the store. She looks ready to attend a ball, dressed in an elegant purple dress with a neckline bordering on scandalous. Her hair is wrapped up in a messy bun and she wears a short veil, the edge covered in what gleams like small diamonds, the veil itself not so opaque that I can’t make out the details of her face. She holds a short pipe in a black-gloved hand, thin smoke rings floating up from its glowing end. A black cat curled up on the counter opens one yellow eye to peer at us as we approach.

“Oh? If it isn’t the princess.” The woman smiles, setting down her pipe. “And friends.”

Maxine clears her throat. “Lou, this is Madame Black. She’s a frequent customer. I met her while auditing the accounts. Madame, this is Lourianne Tome, a good friend. I thought she would be interested in your…wares.”

“Well, I can’t say I’m not surprised but everyone’s welcome at Kitty’s Lounge.”

“I’m guessing that’s Kitty?” I say, waving a hand to the cat doing an impressive job at ignoring us.

Madame Black chuckles. “No, this is Mr. Black.”

Um. Wait. If she’s Madame Black and that’s Mr. Black, does that mean—

“I’m sure we’ve got something to satisfy you.” Madame Black stands from her seat and moves from behind the corner. “We offer the most sensual delights in the Hall.”

“I’m looking for a perfume,” I say, putting my strange musings out of mind. “Something that says…eat me all night.”

Maxine chokes on air beside me as Madame Black smiles. “Trying to impress a sweetheart, then?”

“Yes. My wife.”

Aw, her reaction is rather subdued. I’m so used to other people dropping their jaws when I announce my marital status that her little hum of amusement is unusual and disappointing.

“Right this way.” She guides us through the shelves. I’m the one who’s surprised as we pass several strange objects. Leather one-pieces that look they’d show more skin than they’d cover, many of them featuring corsets that make me flashback to unhappy memories. A surprising number of restraints, ranging from metal to rope. Then there’s the tools. I can’t imagine what some of them do but one shelf has a grouping of items that have a recognizable shape. Hehe, I guess everyone can’t have the luck of being a shapeshifter.

Toward the back of the room, there’s a display showing many glass bottles. Some are simple and clear. Some are colored and blown into exotic shapes.

Madame Black puts a hand on my shoulder before I approach the shelf. “You wouldn’t want to tax your senses by standing too close. Allow me.” She steps forward, grabbing three bottles and a circular tin filled with dark beans. “Maxine, be a dear,” she says before handing her the bottles. She extends the tin to me. “Take a deep whiff.”

I oblige, letting out a hum of appreciation. “What’s that?”

“Cava beans. They make a wonderful drink when brewed correctly, too. Now, for the first one.” She grins, the gesture given a strangeness slightly obscured by her veil. “You don’t strike me as a floral girl. So, that leaves…”

She takes a small pink bottle with a round bottom from Maxine’s hands and removes the top before holding it toward me. I lean down and breathe in. A range of fruity smells hits me, like I’m walking past the fruits stands of the capital’s market without the smells of the city getting in the way. Enticing, but not what I’m going for.

Madame Black doesn’t need to hear my disapproval before pulling it away, putting on its cap and handing it to Maxine before putting the cava beans back under my nose. “I thought so. Then, next.”

The next bottle she hands me is a simple brown bottle, almost unappealing. When she uncaps it, a wave of nostalgia makes me smile. It smells of the forest. Not the one where I met my wife but it’s close enough to evoke the memory. A scent that reminds me of the clean air, mixed with wood and grass, both fresh and slightly rotting, like the debris covering the forest floor, making it a little pungent in a good way. Fills the senses.

“I’ll take that but it’s not what I’m looking for.” She redoes the top and I carefully take it from her, handing it to Geneva. “Do you have anything else like it?”

She takes me to a shelf with many other bottles done in earth tones. I take a dark green bottle that smells similar but the pungent scent of foliage is replaced by a sharper smell Madame Black calls mint and a gold bottle that adds the fruity smells from the first bottle.

Then she gives a third bottle and I’m enthralled.

This one is what she calls a musk with hints of a fragrant wood that is both enticing and relaxing. “I need to see all of these.”

The shop owner doesn’t even pause before guiding me over to one of the shelves. I grab several that pique my interest before taking them away to the less fragrant counter.

My succubus lays a hand on my wrist and I feel the warmth of invading mana, relaxing as I let it do its work. It travels to my nose, altering it. The scents of the room come into focus and I give her a discrete nod, her magic retracting. I could do something myself but I don’t have a template that is inconspicuous enough for company.

With my new and improved nose, I go through the different bottles. Through much deliberation, I settle on three. The first combines the standard musk with a subtle sweetness. The second combines it with spices. The only one I can recognize is cinnamon but my nose picks apart over half a dozen of them. It adds an air of mystery, baiting someone to take another whiff just to try and solve the riddle.

The last though, really catches me. It has a smokiness to it, close to expensive incense some nobles burn to keep back the smell of the city. It makes me think of candlelit nights and the type of activities it invites.

Really, now that I have the foundation for the type of scent I want to craft, I could leave the store but out of courtesy, I purchase all six bottles. Madame Black’s veil can’t hide her smile as she carefully places the bottles into a velvet lined box. I understand why when she quotes the price. Eighty gold crowns for a few bottles of perfume? I could feed two families for a year with that. Generously.

I pay it happily, smug with the knowledge I can afford it. It feels good to be privileged.

After I pass the box to Geneva, Madame Black slides a black card to me. On one side is the picture of a cat, Mr. Black I’m assuming, the edges done in a swirling golden border. The other side has words. “You are cordially invited to the Black Ball?”

“A small gathering of my best customers.” Madame Black takes up her pipe again. I notice the ends of the pipe is filled with small bundles of green. “Those with too much free time who look for pleasurable ways to spend it along with those who give themselves to providing that pleasure. There’s usually a gathering every Restday, if you’re interested.”

“Ah. I’ll keep it in mind.” I put the card on top of the box and leave the store. Maxine, who remained rather quiet while inside, finally bursts in the carriage.

“Do you know what you’ve done by accepting that invitation!?” she shouts, nearly coming off the opposite bench as she leans toward me.

“Clearly not what you know.” I’m not worried about her sudden panic. It can’t be anything dangerous. Otherwise, Geneva would have intervened and I think highly enough of Max to be assured she wouldn’t have let me walk into it blind. “You going to tell me?”

She takes a deep breath. “The Black Ball is…not a place where those of a reputable reputation go. It’s a sordid affair that attracts those of a degenerate nature.”

I blink. “Max…” What do you think I am?

“Not like you. You may be a bit wanton but you’re still courteous. Those people who go the Black Ball…” She sighs.

“How come you know so much about this? Something you want to tell me?”

Her lips turn down. “The Black Ball is less an event and more a tradition amongst nobility. It is in every major city. My father…I and all of my siblings have been made to attend. It is a time to build connections, and, if you are smart, a good place to learn privileged information about others.”

“You mean blackmail material.”

“Amongst other things, yes. The ball caters to the carnal desires of the rich. Those can be…ugly.”

“Two things, Max.” I stretch out my legs, propping them up beside her on the opposite bench. “I’m not going to fall prey to this ball or whatever it is. I’m not starved for carnal pleasure. It might not be the norm amongst the obligated marriages of most nobles but my wife treats me well in that department of our relationship. And you’ve seen her. They’re going to be hard-pressed to find a woman that can not only rival her but outshine her.” I snort. “And if they did, Kii might drag me to the ball.”

“Ah. I didn’t take her for, um.”

“No, no. She wouldn’t be interested in the woman. She’s all about what you can do. Looking good’s just a bonus. No, she’d do it just to work me up.”

“Oh.”

“Oh, is right. Secondly, what are you worried about? I can’t imagine anything that will scar me from witnessing it.” Depending on how depraved these people are, they might offend me, but I’m no sheltered princess who faints at her first look at reality. “Who’s going to blackmail me? Do I have a reputation to be concerned about? Please. And the last thing I’m worried about is my safety. At all.”

She seems convinced, settling back onto her bench. “I…may have gotten overly excited. Though I urge you not to underestimate the Black Ball. Its lure is…insidious.”

“Honestly, you’re only making me more interested.”

“Is there anything else you wanted to get today?” she asks quickly, likely hoping to distract me from my plans.

[My summoner, I have a few suggestions.]

“Yeah, let’s go.”