“Do you think it’s safe to leave her like that?” June asked as she exited the mansion.

  She really was worried, although that worry was buried under several layers of unease about the upcoming event, any potential truth in Naomi’s words, and the warm feeling she’d felt when Naomi first saw her in her ball dress.

  June had never been one for revealing clothes, but now that she’d seen how enamoured – not to say lustful – Naomi had been, she decided to change that. Although, as soon as she and Lude got into their private rail-carriage, she returned her focus to the situation at hand.

  “That wasn’t a rhetorical question.” June felt the need to close that topic before moving on to further planning.

  “I think she won’t harm herself while we’re gone,” Lude replied. His gaze was fixed on something in the window, and he didn’t fully bother concealing his concern either. “It bothers me as well.” He added. “The way she seemed to genuinely think something would happen to you. But I’ve cleared her background …”

  “Hmm.”

  It worried June too, more than she was willing to admit, but Naomi insisting on the subject only made June want to go to the ball more, to unveil the plans of whoever had sent that girl to her home, and maybe allow Naomi to live a proper life once the one pulling her strings had been taken care of. June shook her head. That was not her. She was not some knight in shining armour who’d get involved in political nonsense for the first girl to show her some attention – or rather the only girl…

  June sigh.

  “I will come with you, and intervene if the need comes,” Lude spoke.

  “Are you sure?” June’s concern was suddenly redirected towards her friend. “After all you’ve been through to conceal your form – all those mana injections, I don’t think-”

  Lude extended his palm, cutting her off with a ‘stop’ gesture.

  “That girl is many things, and today I found out she was also a liar. But she was sincerely worried about you, and I don’t think that’s misplaced.”

  June sigh again, before pulling out her travel-sized cantina from a concealed holster on her leg.

  “Let’s walk through a few scenarios before we get there.” She said.

  The Palace that crowned Capital City, overlooking the wide streets and narrow houses from its artificial hill, was as gorgeous and superfluous as the man currently residing in it. The train tracks led all the way under it when they came to a halt in a spacious underground station, the walls of which were decorated with gigantic tubes that pumped light and heat up to the palace.

  Strategically placed automated staircases – escalators if you will – were hiding the servant’s station which was slightly less spacious, but just as bright and clean.

  June nervously held the escalator’s handrail. It wasn’t the other overdressed people who were idly chatting, and paying little to no attention to her or the vastness of the space that was making her uncomfortable. Rather, it was the fact that she was not used to taking the front entrance, and was trying to prepare herself for when she, Baroness Avignon, would get announced by name to the public.

  The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  She glanced at Lude. The man shared none of her stage shyness. He was wearing a simple suit, and his hair was done the same way it always was, but his demeanour had changed. June shook her head, smile on her lips, at the excitement of her friend.

  “Miss Avignon!” A voice called out as they approached the end of the escalator. It had been loud enough to echo through the cavernous station below, making everyone draw their eyes to June.

  For a brief second, she clenched the rail even tighter, before releasing her grip.

  “Ah, you must be that brilliant techno-mage the whole continent is talking about,” June spoke, stepping off the escalator, “But I don’t believe we’ve been introduced? May I have your name?”

  A few other guests gave her a dirty look for the trick she’d just pulled, but she ignored them. If Rose Pinkstar was going to try and embarrass her – an uneducated and sheltered noblewoman (from Rose’s perspective) – then she would play that game too.

  “My name is Rose,” the woman performed a small bow, hand over her chest to preserve her modesty. “I truly am so glad you were able to join me tonight. May I show you around?” She smiled, the expression reaching her eyes, rather surprisingly.

  June tilted her head, suddenly not sure about her initial judgement. Then she nodded, following the woman into the ballroom.

  Rose Pinkstar was beautiful, there was no doubt about that. She held herself as confidently as any noble, and worse just the right amount of jewellery, and just the right type of corseted dresses to draw eyes to her. She stood out, in the best way possible. If not for the ornate and millennia-old decorative ceiling chandelier, she would have been the most beautiful thing in this entire building.

  Yet, when the duo passed a plainly dressed brow-haired man, with a beard he’s at least bothered to brush (albeit not trim) for the event, June lost interest in both the décor and the woman. She slowed enough to whisper, as she passed by him:

  “Watch out for unprompted murder.”

  “Pardon?” Cedar whispered back.

  “Out for me.” Was all June had the time to inform him of, before the interaction could become noticeably lengthy.

  Her statement had been as vague as some of Naomi’s explanations, but she hoped it’d help to get a second pair of eyes on her back, just in case.

  “Ah, this seemed like a good place to talk, don’t you think?” Rose elegantly gestured towards an elevated table that conveniently already had two glasses of white wine resting on it.

  “I mean no offence, young lady,” June accentuated the two-year age difference, as she fished for a sensitive subject, in case she’d need to properly verbally assault the woman, “But I don’t think there’s anything specific the two of us have to discuss.”

  “Well, first,” Rose ignored the insult, “I would like to congratulate you on your title.”

  June’s mouth silently formed the word ‘wow’. It wasn’t every day she met someone who congratulated her on the death of her (fake) father. She took the glass, before putting it back down, with the very clear intent of never drinking it.

  “And your newly acquired estate,” Rose continued. “I have gotten wind that you were understaffed, which is unfortunate considering the essential role the Avignon family plays in stabilising our empire.”

  “How thoughtful of you to worry.” June tried not to sound too sarcastic.

  She could have gone with some sharp replique, but she wanted to know what exactly Rose was getting at. There weren’t many possibilities, but depending on whether she’d try to send in spies disguised as servants, or move into the estate herself, June’s course of action would be very different.

  “It’s nothing.” Rose smiled. “I would like to ask if there is perhaps a way I could h-”

  The chandelier fell down, its intricate glass and metal bits shattering against the marble floor. There should have been a safety shield in place, but it clearly had not activated. It really was a miracle that no one got more than a small tear in their clothes or small cuts from the shards.

  “Someone catch that woman!” A voice came from the other end of the room. “She dropped it on purpose!”

  June turned in that direction with an amused smirk. The expression soon vanished as she saw none other than Naomi trying to evade two guards.

  Beneath Yggdrasill - Sage of War!