[42]

For the second morning in a row, I received several upgrades to my skills and abilities. It was the best turnout I had yet.

+1 Agility

+1 Willpower

Darkness (Rank 2)

Haunt (Rank 2): Curse a person with minor auditory, visual, and olfactory hallucinations for 24 hours. This will make it difficult for the person to get restful sleep. Usable on one person at a time.

Monster Lore: F

Wilderness Traversal: E

Turns out, nearly passing out from spell casting, while stupid in real life, is a great way to increase your willpower in a dungeon.

Also, my extracurricular studies on monsters resulted in me getting a skill. The increase to Haunt was not as exciting as I hoped, but I had to admit that adding random odors to the hallucinations was amusing. Finally, getting an increase to Wilderness Traversal after just gaining the skill made me want to jump for joy. Anything that would make Cen-Boleman’s horrid class easier was a cause for celebration.

Angelina and Ambrose joined us for breakfast at the usual table after I invited them. I could tell Angelina was a bit put off sitting with us, given that she had a rather large social circle that did not include a Sea Dog and Wildling. However, seeing Elaine at the table made her noticeably more encouraged. Angelina was rather friendly with everyone and had a surprising lack of prejudice for a noble, but she still had a reputation to protect, as well as that of her new husband to be. As a [Gossip], Angelina understood better than most how the social games played out.

For his part, Ambrose was happy to come along. He knew no one at Ashmere save Angelina and me—who he had only briefly met the night before. Ambrose was of the rare sort of noble that was blind to his station because of circumstance or personality. Contrary to Angelina, he was eager to talk to a Harak, nearly running to the table right there on the spot. I could not help but like the fellow.

Elaine saw that the two of them fit right in, guiding the conversation masterfully to find similarities between us in a manner that awed me. Ambrose was a history major and loved talking about famous naval battles with Raxx. Angelina and Joy became entangled in a conversation about honeysuckles. Then we found out Ambrose was a regular at the library Joy’s parents worked at, though they did not recognize one another.

Not all was well, however. Angelina soured a bit, seeing Elaine’s closeness to me. Thankfully, Ambrose was so occupied by Raxx’s favorite sea crocodile story he failed to notice that her spitting out a sausage was because Elaine said we were courting, and not because she had been choking like he assumed. I suspected that tempting Angelina to sit with us again with Elaine was out of the question.

Alchemy class was more of a delight than I expected. Joy helped me navigate through the practical portions, where my book learning did not help, by teaching me to create a basic salve for skin irritation. It was the first real thing I made with my own hands, and I felt reluctant to give the cream up. It was a pity that one tube of the salve took the entire class to make. I could not wait to create more alchemy products. More so, after I learned that what I created would net me contribution points.

Between the salve which gave me 1 contribution point, and the 5 I got for giving another great lecture in Monsters class, I had almost made up the money I spent on Elaine’s shawl.

Everyone skipped spell casting class that night. With the start of the year parties happening that evening, no one was willing to risk the splitting headaches and mental exhaustion from repeatedly casting detect magic. I wondered if the instructor even bothered to show up. Her work ethic was already suspect.

Instead of class, everyone got themselves ready for a night of celebration. I was in such a good mood, I almost started singing in the bathtub. A position my familiar did not share, glaring at me with his characteristic annoyance.

The good cheer lasted until Elaine showed up early, wanting to talk about our plans for the evening.

“I don’t understand,” I said, a bad feeling growing in the pit of my stomach, replacing the positive one.

“We can still go to the other parties.” Elaine smiled, reaching out to grasp my hand, but stopping midway. How did she always know when to pull away like that?

“The Churm party was the only one I was planning on not attending.” I said. I did not want to explain my Know thy Enemy boon. Yet, I had told no one about it, only ever hinting to others about “hunches”.

Florence’s involvement with that family also continued to bother me, even if her attitude toward me was plausibly because of the typical noble versus commoner arrogance. I could see no other reason for her derision. It was not like I tried to blackmail her over what she tried to do to Angelina. Whatever the case, I hoped she would not present a problem.

“It’s where Reynold and his sister are going.” Elaine sighed. “Believe it or not, it was difficult to find that information out. We need to find out why they are going there. Since you received an invite, it works out rather well. It is suspicious that two high-profile Ergentein nobles are attending a party hosted by aristocrats from Ankest. Worrying, even.”

“If that was supposed to convince me, it didn’t work. I really think we should skip it. This isn’t just putting us in danger, it’s also putting my friends in danger in a place with no backup except Izzy. She’s formidable, but I doubt she can take on a room full of nobles.” I said.

Elaine looked momentarily upset when I said, “my friends” but recovered quickly. I guess she sincerely thought of them as her friends too.

“We will have backup. There are going to be RRS agents outside of the party, but I believe nothing drastic will happen. Sibilla is too smart. A public snub to Reynold in front of other nobles will push him over the edge, but with his sister there he will be under control. This will all be over soon.” Elaine said soothingly.

That made me feel a little better, but it did not change the fact that Joy and Raxx did not sign up for that. Well, Raxx would probably want to go to the party more than ever, but Joy would not.

“No, Joy did not sign up for this. She thinks she is going to have a fun night of partying and drinks.” I said.

“I already spoke with Raxx and Joy, and they agreed to go.” Elaine said.

“What?” I asked. It felt like she had punched me in the stomach. “You told them you are RRS?”

“No, of course not. I just told them we were walking into a trap, and to expect danger if they still wanted to go. Joy agreed.” Elaine clarified. Then, before I could get too angry, she continued, “I promise it will be fine, Harald. They are my friends too! RRS agents will be there, I will be there, Izzy will be there, and Raxx and Joy are both formidable themselves.”

“I see you made sure there would be no way I could say no. Well done, Elaine.” I said coldly, but instantly regretted it. I already signed up for this when I agreed to do the quest. There was no use in behaving like an angry brat. Punishing Elaine because I did not like what she was, or how she did her job, would do nothing but widen the gulf of mistrust between us. I just hoped Joy really understood what was at stake.

“Fine,” I relented. “If they agreed, then there is nothing more to say.”

Neither of us spoke for a time, Elaine looking down at her shoes, me staring at the wall, Izzy shaking her head.

“Anyway, I got you something.” I said, trying to fill the silence. I was not ready to apologize, because I was not fully sure I was sorry. Realistically, Raxx and Joy had been friends with me for only a few days longer than Elaine. Speaking to them individually was not as big a betrayal as it felt.

“Y-You… did?” Elaine said surprised or nervous, maybe both.

I nodded, then retrieved the gift box from my room. The walk back felt like waiting on the summary judgement of a magister. What if she hated it? It is not like I had experience buying things for… women. Or anyone.

Elaine’s eyes sparkled as she ripped open the box, tearing the ribbon away in a manner more like Raxx than a member of the peerage.

“Oh Harald, I love it!” She said, holding the shawl up with a dopey smile.

“Really?” I asked, relieved.

Ignoring my question for a second, she placed the velvety material against her cheek, stroking it with her fingers. She examined both sides, giggling at the softness of the silk. I felt a warmth grow in my chest.

Quest complete +100 Essence

“Yes, it’s perfect! It will match my dress. How did you know?” She asked, arching an eyebrow speculatively.

“Uh, well… Izzy said you probably got me something that would match my outfit…” I stammered out.

Elaine nodded, then gave thanks to Izzy.

I blushed in embarrassment at being exposed so easily.

“I can’t wait to put it on. After the rains, tonight will be a little chilly. This will look stylish and keep me warm,” Elaine said, pecking me on the cheek.

“I’m glad you like it.” I said. A little generosity went a long way. And in this case, I felt my gift repaired some of the damage from our earlier conversation. There was no way for me to read her mind; her sincerity would forever be a mystery. But I could control how I acted—maybe even felt—and I refused to be angry and suspicious all the time. Hopefully, it would all be over soon.