Night had descended and Walter had been waiting patiently. He had it all planned; he had informed the maid that had come to his residence on Her Ladyship's orders, that he had information to pass along. All he needed to do was wait for instructions. Just as he had thought; the maid, Shilla, had returned. She led him through a track by the west garden. There, the lady was waiting for him. She was dressed in a flowing dress that looked grey under moonlight, she had a large fur for a shawl, it draped around her shoulder, while some of its lengths draped around her arm allowing the remaining fall to the grass. She looked positively regal.

“My lady,” he said with a bow.

“You requested to meet? What is this information?” she asked.

“My lady, there were a few loose ends during the acquisition. Lady Steinhouse offered a hand of help. She had put two together about my work, as she had seen myself and the two lords the other day. She asked something in return.

She wanted dirt on the minister of finance. She already knows the gold is with us as she had known of the Mclears' lost fortune. It makes one suspect her motive as there is the matter of the extra gold. She wanted the minister of finance investigated.

Lord Morge looked into it and found that the minister has his hands dirty in the queen's work,” he explained. He wanted to elaborate when she stopped him.

“So, she wants permission whether she should act or not,” Lucy commented.

“Yes, my lady, it seems so to me. Whatever she is playing at, it seems it is big and may have connections to the extra gold in our possession,” Walter said.

“So, the king intends to dispose of the queen,” Lucy said softly and Walter paused. How did his few words end up in that deduction?

“My lady?” he asked confused.

“The money in our possession is from the royal treasury,” Lucy said and Walter's eyes visibly shrunk.

“Now, I see the full picture. The queen had taken money without the king's approval and from what you have described, it must be a lot. Her crime is enough to be executed but that can't work because of her background,” Lucy said.

“How...” Walter started to ask. He was confused. How is she putting this together? Lucy saw his confusion and smiled. This smile made his hair stand.

“Do you know why I sent you to get the information about those names on the list? When you understand people's relationships with each other and their history, random things look like straight lines,” Lucy said and Walter stared. He understood what she meant, but he had not said much, so how did she do it? Seeing that Walter did not understand, Lucy explained.

“You had said she helped you with the loose end and that she is aware we are responsible for the lost gold. That means she had taken this information to the king. She would not have taken it if it was not information that could help the king. You also said she asked you to investigate the minister of finance and you found out that the minister is one of the queen's helpers. If the gold we have with us is a trigger, then it may be evidence of the queen's illegal actions.

Since this is a financial struggle; there is no better crime to help the king dispose of the queen than stealing from the kingdom. Do you see the entire picture now? I know that Lady Steinhouse is only interested in helping the king; His Majesty has always wanted to dispose of the queen but has no means to do so; the Mclears have been receiving aid from the queen to harm me all this while; but, the king is not sure why I have not gotten rid of the queen for

him. He has never stopped her from doing her worst, hoping that I will make a move. He must have thought that she was still of use to me, so he asks his niece to confirm that I don't mind him taking her out. Tell her I don't mind. Give her whatever she wants,” she explained and Walter stared. She deduced that from that little information?

“Do you think I would spend my time explaining this to you?” Lucy asked and Walter froze. He had a bad feeling about this.

“You have worked with the Lady Steinhouse once; you may have to work with her for a while,” Lucy gave a soft chuckle and Walter frowned. Why did he have a bad premonition?

“You have grown Walter, from the small stable boy to the leader of a household in the country. That farm is no small investment and it is in your name. You must understand, this will come in handy right? There will come a time when this will be to your own good,” Lucy smiled.

“Have I done wrong My Lady? You sound as though it's my turn to be plotted against,” Walter shivered under her smiling gaze. Why did the moonlight seem too bright tonight? Why did he feel as though he was stared down by a predator?

“No, you are one of mine. I will not plot against you, I will plot for you. This will probably be your reward for being good at your job,” Lucy grinned sweetly.

Walter had turned all night in bed after returning home. No matter how much he tried, he could not descend into deep sleep.

What was Her Ladyship planning for him? He could not get that smile of hers out of his head. Though it was a hot night, he shivered nevertheless, while soaked in sweat. By morning, he looked like he had not slept at all. Sitting up, he looked around his room. The farm was moving without issue and his mother took the liberty of decorating his room. He had slept here a lot, yet half the things in here, he could not recognize. A knock on the door told him a servant had brought water for him to clean up. He sighed at this. A few days

ago, they could not afford clothes that would take them into the near white-cold, now she was indulging in designing the household. She had even brought a tutor for his little brother, Allen. His father stopped complaining about managing the farm, as he could not complain that his wife was having the time of her life.

“Come in,” Walter answered and the servant came in. The elderly man put the water in the bath before informing a dazed Walter that he was done. Dismissing him, Walter cleaned up and dressed in the new garments his mother had bought before going down for breakfast. Today was his first day after quitting his job. Even though the Lady had been the one who told him to quit, he still wondered how she was going to get information from him.

Walter had nothing to do today, but go and deliver documents to Lady Steinhouse. Knowing that no one was coming for the money in their possession and those that wanted it did not know where to go, his family could go into town and make friends and even go into the city. He approached the table and greeted his mother and father before sitting down.

“No work today?” his father asked.

“I quit today. I will not be working at the stables anymore,” Walter informed them and his mother smiled.

“That's great. How can you be working in the dirt? You can help out on the farm. It's yours after all, and you know it would help your father a lot,” his mother said.

After all the fortune her son had amassed, she was always indignant that he was still working in that school as a stable boy. She had already had some neighbours from town stop by and wanted their daughters to meet her son. Though they were not nobility, they were not poor at all. She had discovered how much standing they had in town because of this property of theirs. They were The Krains and they were somebodies now.

“That is not the job I was referring to,” his father corrected and the table went silent. Everybody assumed Walter's job was taboo. The maids always asked what the young master was doing out all day. They were never allowed

to discuss Walter and were punished if they were caught discussing him. Though they did not understand the consequence of their actions, they had already made a mystery out of Walter. Making others so curious, It had spread to their new circle.

“I do. I will be out for a while today,” was all Walter said. As usual, he did not explain nor did they ask. Breakfast continued as usual, with Walter saying little to nothing.

After breakfast, Walter sat in the sitting room doing some light reading, till Lord Morge and Lord of Merve made an appearance. Walter led them to his study where he told them what the lady had told him last night.

The two men sat solemnly. This was news. Especially for them as they did a lot of business with Northern Lan. These were made fluid by the fact that their queen is a Northern Lan Princess. Business-wise, it would be a disaster for those investing at the moment. When this happens, there will be tons of losses. They sighed; good thing they know now before they went too deep. The money invested at the moment is nothing compared to the loss they would gain if they did not know of this and had invested more.

Walter and the two lords made their way downstairs only to be greeted by a few women and their wards their mother had befriended. Walter sighed;

it seems his mother is really integrating into this lifestyle. She was hosting brunch for her new peers in only a few days of entering this lifestyle. The women and their wards were moving to the garden, which Walter did not even know they had when Walter and his guests had descended.

The two lords raised a brow for a second as they made their way down.

“My lords, I was not aware you were around. Walter, are you leaving so soon?” Walter's mother curtsied before asking Walter. Seeing as she curtsied, her guests scramble to do the same.

The lords and Walter felt their mouths twitch. As if anyone would believe you did not know they were around? The lords seemed to feel it was too convenient that the ladies were just hanging around the stairs and had not been led to relax in the garden since they came in. Two sentences and she had

made it known that they were nobility and her son associated with them.

“Mn. I will be back later,” Walter answered before leaving with the two lords who nodded in reply before following Walter out.

“Your mother knows her way around society,” Lord of Merve commented as they stepped outside.

“She is of noble birth; her father was Baron Townsdale,” Walter sighed inwardly as he explained. The two men glanced at each other and remained silent, before entering their respective carriages. They had left, while Walter mounted a horse and rode out into the city.