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Lord Konrad shot me one nasty look before storming out of the room, slamming the door shut behind him. Lord Alonzo followed suit, albeit less violently, and his eyes held nothing but regret as they locked onto mine.

With a heavy sigh, I got up and dusted my skirts. I was just about to leave when a hand clapped my shoulder.

I jerked from the contact, shrugging the hand off and wheeling around. Lady Gertrude. I dipped into a hasty curtsy.

"A word," was all she said before she headed out. After a moment's hesitation, I caught up to her.

I prayed that she wouldn't say anything which made me feel worse than I already was.

"I heard that you and the Tinker were very close," she said suddenly as we shuffled down one of the smaller hallways.

Were. She's already decided that he's dead, I thought.

"Heard from whom?" I tried to deflect her statement.

"Lady Anya, of course." She wasn't as tall as Lady Anya, but she was still taller than me. She shot me a sideways look down her nose, and I held back a sigh of frustration. "She did show you Anton's memories a few days back and offered you a way you could help, no?"

"Yes," I admitted. I kept my eyes pinned forwards, refusing to look at her.

Gently, she touched my elbow and guided me to a corridor down the right. "All right, I'll be frank," said Lady Gertrude, tone clipped. "Are you sure you agree to our plan?"

"I'm not sure I quite understand what you mean, Your Ladyship."

"No use going around in circles, Klaudia. If you want me to be even more precise, I want to know if you're all right."

I stopped in my tracks, looking at Lady Gertrude. She stopped as well, and proceeded to stare me down with narrow green eyes. "I—don't know," I answered slowly. It was the truth. I didn't know how I should feel about the situation. About the fact that I was being used like a tool by everyone. About everything.

"I was expecting that." She folded her arms and straightened her posture. We were going to have our conversation here, it seemed. "What are you confused about?"

I folded my arms too, staring at the ground. I guessed that it couldn't hurt to tell her my thoughts. "It's just—I feel like I'm supposed to appreciate what I have for now," I stumbled over my words. Drawing in a breath, I laced my fingers together and continued: "I'm safe. I escaped Heidelberg. Yet I don't know...I don't feel as appreciative as I'm supposed to?"

I waited for a severe lecture from Lady Gertrude. Instead, her lips twisted into a wry smile. "That's to be expected. Welcome to Council politics, my dear."

I blinked furiously, trying not to goggle at her.

"Don't look so surprised. I was once your age too." The light in her eyes dimmed in mild melancholy. "I'm the youngest in the Council, so they don't regard me as seriously as I'd like them to. You, however, will bear the brunt of their scorn."

"Because I'm the latest addition to the line of Magi?" I said sourly.

She chuckled in response. "Is there any other reason?"

Despite myself, the corners of my lips quirked up at the corners. "No, there isn't."

"Precisely."

I burst out loud in laughter. Then when I realised what I was doing, I clamped down on my mouth. The sound was alien in my ears, and though genuine, it had taken me by surprise. Something about Lady Gertrude just made her more approachable than the rest of the Council members, and unknowingly, I had let my guard down around her.

"Finally! I was beginning to think that you didn't have a sense of humour in you," she said, grinning.

Could I trust her? But I had little allies at this point. "Glad I've earned your stamp of approval, milady."

"Anyway, as you have probably deduced from the very first meeting you attended, I'm regarded as the softest and most irrational Council member by my colleagues," she resumed, instantly sobering herself.

I recalled the day. The memory of Lord Konrad slapping Lady Gertrude in front of me resonating in my mind. It was not a scene easily forgotten—to see one of the legendary, unflappable Council members get hit by another...it would cause an uproar if the incident were to ever get out.

"How old are you?" I asked before I could stop myself.

Another dry smile. "I will be turning fifty-two this winter. And in case you'd like to know, Lady Anya is the oldest member. She's a hundred and twelve years old."

I thought that my jaw was going to unhinge and plop straight onto the ground. "She's older than the plague itself?"

"Why, yes. Appearances for us Magi can be rather deceiving, you know?"

"I do know," I grumbled. I shouldn't have been so surprised. Lord Himmel must have been over a century too.

The only question was, why did he still felt the need to drain children of their youth?

"And she's over twice my age. Understand the whole situation now?"

Not really. But I did have a slight inkling of it. I nodded hesitantly.

She loosened a heavy sigh. "What I truly want to say is that I understand what you're going through now. I know you would do anything to save your Tinker friend. But there's nothing you can do about it."

My hackles rose in suspicion. During that very first Council meeting, Lady Gertrude had gone hysterical, and several names had been mentioned... "Haydn?" I said tentatively.

Amusement tinged her expression. "And here I was, thinking that I'd have to spell everything out for you. Perhaps all of us give you too little credit."

"Who is he?"

"Wrong question, Klaudia."

I thought harder. "Who was he?"

"That's better. Now to answer your question, Haydn Amadeus Himmel was the youngest-born son to the previous Lord Himmel. He was killed along with the rest of his family members in a...tragic carriage accident."

The carriage accident the Council had begun to question. "And what does this have to do with everything?"

"He was my betrothed, once upon a time." Her eyes glimmered like sorrowful emeralds.

"Oh," I offered. I still couldn't see what a dead lover had to do with this situation though. But I said, "I'm sorry."

"No need to be. He was long gone. That meeting brought back everything, however."

I stayed silent, waiting patiently for Lady Gertrude to elaborate on the matter.

"So as you can probably understand, I want justice for Haydn." The vehemence in her tone startled me, a lethal blade coated with sweet honey. "I will do whatever it takes to bring Lord Himmel to justice. What I want you to know is that although Lord Konrad's suggestion seems like the most immediate answer to your problem, your decision was the best one you could have taken."

What on earth was she getting at? "I'm sorry, but—"

"If it's within my power, I'll do the best I can to make sure your Tinker stays alive. For now though, I want you to focus on the task at hand."

My cheeks burned. "I would not have thought otherwise, Lady Gertrude," I said coldly. At least now I knew how much the Council members doubted me. I was a tool, but I was a wildcard at the same time. They couldn't fully trust me just yet. Lady Gertrude's sharing of the story of her dead lover was only a ploy to gain empathy from me. And as much as I hated to admit it, it was working.

Council politics. I was never made for this.

As though to confirm my suspicions, Lady Gertrude's shoulders sagged in relief. "Excellent. I confess, I was worried that you may allow your...feelings to get in the way of your better judgment."

"I do want to save my friend. But I assure you, milady, I will not turn back on my word," I replied stoutly.

"He's merely a friend?" She actually sounded surprised.

"Yes." Even as I answered though, I was flushing up to the roots of my hair. I suddenly understood another reason why Lady Gertrude had talked about Haydn with me. "I never thought about him in that—that way," I added hastily.

"I see." She raised both brows, clearly implying that she took my stuttering as denial. I held back a huff of annoyance. Let her think what she wanted.

Besides, it was true that I never thought about Josef in a romantic way. There was already so much going on; I didn't need to worry about something as trivial as this. I couldn't.

"That will be all, Klaudia," said Lady Gertrude.

I curtsied immediately, making a quick exit. Inside, my emotions were all jumbled up. What was I supposed to make of this conversation?

I shook my head as I walked back towards my room. I would tell Heidi everything. At least she wasn't that much involved in Council politics.

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