Chapter 301 - Unexpected Dinner Party

The maids led the way to a small hall that had a standing screen set up at the far end. The wooden panels that made up the privacy screen were intricately carved with landscapes and villages.

The maids waited on the other side as Firuzeh and Char Char stepped behind the screen where some furniture had been set up for them to change into the provided robes.

A subtle shift in the atmosphere told Char Char that Firuzeh had activated her Conspire ability.

“You look worried.” Firuzeh said with a knowing look, “Tell me what you’re thinking.”

“The head of staff was carrying a suspicious object. I think it’s some kind of spiritual pocket watch!” Char Char blurted out excitedly, “I think it’s related to the old master’s luggage from before— I sensed a similar item in one of his chests!”

The similarities were too suspicious. Char Char had to assume the items were related in some way. A dark sense of foreboding filled Char Char as she thought about the situation.

“The head of staff was holding onto it as she left. Do you think she was activating its powers? Are we in danger?” Char Char felt a nervous energy building up inside her as she wondered what dark rituals the servants were up to, “I know you can’t sense items like I can, but you’re more knowledgeable than me— maybe we need to go looking for that luggage, before something bad happens. If we get close enough to it I think we can sense it, then you can take a look—”

She trailed off as she saw Firuzeh smiling calmly at her. She sensed that the senior Exalted was waiting for her to say all her thoughts before commenting, so Char Char wrapped up her thoughts quickly, “It’s just too suspicious, I think. What should we do?”

“Do?” Firuzeh asked rhetorically as she calmly began undressing, “The first thing we should do is get dressed as requested.”

“Okay—“ Char Char’s mind spun as she complied, hurriedly taking off her uniform, “And then?”

“And then we will be escorted to dinner, where we must act like proper guests.” Firuzeh said.

That was remarkably more normal than what Char Char was expecting. Her confused expression wasn’t lost on Firuzeh, who nodded seriously to acknowledge Char Char’s concerns.

“I’ve been paying close attention to our hosts’ actions. I don’t sense any plot against us, so for the time being I don’t think we are in danger.” Firuzeh said. As a Saboteur she also had a sixth sense around people, one that was sensitive to lies and secret plans.

“Didn’t you say earlier that you also sensed something was off?” Char Char frowned.

“Off, yes. But I haven’t sensed any actual actions directed against us.” Firuzeh said, “I won’t dismiss your concerns, but if there is a plot against us consider that it would be best to not let on that we hold suspicions against them.”

“That makes sense…” Char Char nodded, though the frown remained on her face.

“As for the spiritual item… It’s not commonplace, but it’s also not completely unusual for a wealthy family to employ Exalted. Your grandfather is a good example.” Firuzeh continued, “Furthermore, security companies are also treated with suspicion by locals. We are in the business of violence, after all.”

Hearing Firuzeh’s explanation Char Char started to feel a little self-conscious about her previous suspicions, as if she had blown the situation way out of proportion.

The more she thought about it the more she wondered if there was just a rational explanation for everything that she had noticed. She felt her cheeks start to burn as she felt increasingly foolish, like she had let her imagination get away from her, “So we might not be in danger after all…?”

“No, it’s possible that we are in danger. Your path is far more attuned to the emotions and motives of people around you than mine. It would be foolish to ignore your intuition.” Firuzeh smiled reassuringly, though Char Char couldn’t tell whether Firuzeh was sincere or humouring her, “But rationally speaking, even if we are unwelcome I don’t think it’s likely that we would be attacked if we don’t provoke them.”

“Ah, that’s not the right way to tie that…” Char Char had finished putting on her robes when she noticed that Firuzeh had made a mistake with one of the ribbons, due to her unfamiliarity with NianXing formal wear. “Here, let me fix that for you.”

“Even if it’s as you say, there’s one other thing that’s really strange…” As Char Char fixed the robes her brows creased in concern, “I can’t think of any reason that Corbin would call us to the dinner. Not only are we guards who would never be invited, but Corbin would never impose this kind of request on our hosts.”

“That is troubling. I was wondering if this was just some custom I wasn’t aware of.” Firuzeh asked. This was a matter that had also been on her mind.

“No, I’ve never heard of this ever happening… If Corbin really did call for us, it must be something serious that couldn’t wait…” Char Char shook her head, “No, maybe I’m just overthinking things… Maybe there’s a proper explanation for all this.”

“Regardless, in this situation there’s nothing we can do except act like nothing’s wrong.“ Firuzeh said calmly, “For people like us danger is always around the corner. Let’s not be in a rush to find it.”

~

After changing into their robes, the pair was escorted to the dining room.

As they entered the doors, Char Char saw to her surprise that dinner service was well underway. A round table with a lazy susan was filled with numerous dishes, with three people seated at the table: Master Reza, Corbin and Old Man Reza.

When they entered the room the confused look on both Corbin and Master Reza’s face instantly conveyed to Char Char that their arrival was unexpected by the pair.

Corbin’s confusion was particularly concerning to Char Char, since the servant who had summoned them said that Corbin was the one who had called for them.

If Corbin didn’t know they were coming, then something was amiss!

They lied to gather us in one location? Char Char couldn’t help but wonder if they had fallen into some twisted plot to trap them. The hair on the back of Char Char’s neck bristled as she quickly scanned the room. At the same time she felt Firuzeh tense up as she came to the same conclusion. Both women were instantly on high alert as they expected an ambush.

Before any action took place, Old Man Reza suddenly piped up with a smile, “Come in, come in! Take a seat.”

“These are Corbin’s guards.” Master Reza said with a delicate tone, “Did you request for their presence father?”

“Yes, of course. They are our guests too, after all.” Old Man Reza smiled. “I called for them to join us, there’s no issue right?”

“Well— if we wanted to discuss business—“ Master Reza hesitated.

“They are just guards that I hired from a contracted service, there’s no need to go to the trouble of hosting them.” Corbin shot a concerned look at Char Char before smiling amicably to Old Man Reza.

Char Char and Firuzeh hesitated at the door, sensing the tension between the men at the table. She found herself calculating how fast she could run if Corbin suddenly gave her the order to flee.

“Nonsense! Contractors or not, they have to eat too.” Old Man Reza laughed heartily in a childish fashion, “It would be rude not to treat our guests with care.”

In that moment he looked across the room and locked eyes with Char Char with a beaming smile. At that moment Char Char knew that her identity had been discovered.

However she didn’t feel shock at this epiphany, but relief. There was a look of mischief in Old Man Reza’s eyes that instantly washed away the anxiety in Char Char’s heart.

She smiled, lowering her head slightly as she reached up and removed her mask.

“Wait—“ Corbin protested.

“It’s alright. It seems this mask wasn’t enough to fool Uncle.” Char Char smiled charmingly as she nodded at Old Man Reza.

“Gahaha! I knew it!” Old Man Reza nearly bounced out of his chair in excitement, “I only caught a glimpse but I was sure that I recognized you. You know, I was thinking about it all afternoon!”

“Uncle, you didn’t want us to know you were trying to find out my identity, so you told the servant that Corbin sent for us, so we would have to come.” Char Char made the educated guess.

“Yes, that’s right. Well, I thought, if you’re playing as Corbin’s security guard then you’d have to follow orders, eh?” Old Man Reza chatted cheerfully, “I’m so curious how this situation came about. You can’t actually be part of his guard, can you? Or maybe you’re getting some hands on action experience? You always struck me as the adventurous type, Char Char!”

“Char Char…” The younger Master Reza’s eyes nearly bulged out of his head as he recognized the name of the granddaughter of one of his most important clients. His countenance changed immediately as he quickly gestured for the pair to take a seat, “Maids, please set the table immediately for our guests!”

“She’s actually not supposed to be here.” Corbin said, putting on a sheepish but friendly smile as Char Char sat down at the table, “We would appreciate if you could keep this a secret.”

“Of course, of course!” Old Man Reza chuckled, “But surely you’ll entertain this old man with the details over dinner!”

“Since you found out, then we have nothing to hide.” Corbin said with a smile, “We are actually here on a somewhat sensitive matter, looking for a shrine that we think might be around here…”

With the tension broken the conversation at the table took up a lively atmosphere. Corbin was light on the details around the secrecy of Char Char’s presence, glossing over it before focusing on their mission of finding the White Maiden’s shrine.

Firuzeh was right. There was a reasonable explanation for the whole situation. Char Char found herself relaxing as she saw that both Reza’s were sincerely interested in hearing the details of their mission.

“There’s no such shrine on the estate… At least, none that I know of.” Master Reza stroked his chin thoughtfully as he looked at his father, “Do you have any ideas?”

“No, I can’t say I’ve ever come across a shrine, though some of these buildings do have hundreds of years of history… Wait, there is one place we can look!” Old Man Reza’s eyes were sparkling as an idea came to mind. “The old servant’s complex!”

As he proclaimed the location, there was a loud commotion as one of the wait staff accidentally dropped their tray of dishes, sending shattered glass and food across the floor.