Most of the Guild, along with Aggramor and his Guards, are at breakfast in the main dining room, enjoying the collection of delicacies that Brother Liu and his staff have prepared.
Unfortunately, Cain can't hang around too long today; Duke Chen is already sending him messages about the chaos of the weekly meetings. The commoners living near the border are frightened by the size of the raids and are demanding that the Supporter-led forces of Dragons that Cain had patrolling the area are returned for their safety.
That isn't practical, but trying to explain that to people frightened of their children being abducted isn't going well for the other Nobles.
The King is sending patrols, of course, but he's not going to be addressing the commoners until after lunch, when he's finished with the concerns of the Nobles. The Nobles are no less insistent about getting protection; they're just more realistic about what they can expect to see.
Cain offers to go alone today and save the others the headache, but Misha and Cyrene insist on accompanying him again. After a short goodbye to King Aggramor, who had business to get back to, and a promise that he'll try to get back early to hang out with the Guild, Cain is off to the Palace.
On arrival, he can barely move from the Transport Circle for the mass of bodies crowded into the courtyard. He briefly considers using his Ancient aura of [Existential Dread] to chase the crowd away so he can walk, but they're just scared people looking to their leadership for answers.
"Misha, I'll need you to store your wings, and Cyrene, I'll be wearing you as an accessory for a moment, so hold on tight." Cain says, and the two rush to obey.
Any excuse to give a hug is a good one to Cyrene, and Cain picks Misha up under the thighs to balance her on his arm, leaning against his side. With both ladies securely in place, Cain draws his Scimitar and activates Cloud Dancing.
The skill doesn't work without a weapon in hand, but that's a pretty low threshold for the "In combat" restriction, as Drazzit the Dark Elf showed him when he taught Cain the basics of Dark Elven Sword Techniques.
Like this, Cain can step over the crowd until he reaches a second-floor balcony and sets Misha down to walk, holding his hand.
This area of the Palace is for guest suites, and they entered from a common area patio, so Cain walks down to the main floor, forgetting that he's still wearing Cyrene and not escorting her.
The reaction of the Upper Nobles when they enter the sitting room that way is a mixture of intrigued and envious. Even her father seems impressed at what he sees as her brave attempt to claim her place as Cain's mistress.
The sitting room is open to all Nobles today, a rare occasion, to allow the border Nobles time to meet and greet the Upper Nobles adequately. The upper Nobles are most likely to have the forces available to assist them in the case of further attacks, and a major reorganization of troops is currently happening.
That naturally leads to Cain being swarmed, and it's a good thing he had Misha put her wings away. They're sensitive, and there's a lot of pushing and shoving going on today, a vast difference from the pompous tone of the usual waiting room.
If this is how things usually get on such occasions, Cain can understand why the Upper Nobles choose to hide away from the crowd.
Eventually, Cain resorts to simply using Skills to calm the Crowd around him. [Superior Mental Domination] to be exact.
[Relax. My Mercenaries are on leave, but the King has sent an equal force of soldiers to maintain border security.]
Cain only extends his mental voice to those who would be within easy listening distance and ends the ability as soon as he's said his piece, not wanting everyone to notice they were mind-controlled. However, he sees a few annoyed looks in the faces of Nobles who have most likely detected the ability.
But that was enough to at least plant the idea that the soldiers were enough, which spread quickly through the room and calmed some of the nervousness.
An Earl named Mills has made his way through the crowd to Cain's side, but for a change, he's not here to ask Cain any security issues or business. Instead, he's brought his son, hoping to meet Mythryll.
At first, Cain decided that he would make some noncommittal platitude, but then he caught sight of the son. Clearly into his thirties with no system interface, the boy is so incredibly obese that the effort of standing for so long has made his face wet with sweat.
No way would Mythryll even humor that request.
"My most sincere apologies Earl Mills; my Elven friend is already engaged to a Wave Rider Captain."
Earl Mills frowns, not having expected that answer. "Surely you wouldn't choose marriage to a Pirate over the sole inheritor of a fellow Noble?"
Well, Cain could make the boy a bit easier to look at and maybe better smelling, but mostly he just doesn't like the look in his eyes. He might not be the very best judge of character, but sometimes you don't have to be.
"Unfortunately, she is a friend, not a subordinate; the choice isn't mine to make." Cain dismisses the Earl, who looks positively livid. Judging by the smirks, this isn't the first time he's been rejected, but it might be the last straw for his dignity.
[He runs a merchant flotilla between here and the southern continent. Pirates are the bane of his existence. A commoner denying his son for a Pirate is just priceless.] Duke Archibald sends Cain a private message.
Intrigued, Cain decides to listen in on the Earl's thoughts, finding that he's sending a series of messages to his allies to block Long Fang Valley goods from the market. He is s Business Noble, it only makes sense that a trade war would be his choice of tactic, but two can play that game.
[I'm offering the Wave Riders one gold bar for every ship belonging to or chartered by Earl Mills of Skyview that doesn't make its destination in the next three months. All I ask is proof that it was his ship or his chartered goods.] Cain sends a message to Captain Selah, the Wave Rider who took them on the run to get Frost Giant Vodka.
[Any Wave Rider? And you don't want the goods?] She responds instantly.
[That's right. Just a friendly trade war. If you happen to be in Karrack in the near future, I'm all out of Vodka, and my new territory is right up the canal from the capital.]
[I'll let everyone know. Expect rapid results.]
Earl Mills is giving Cain an evil smirk before turning away, and Cain grins at his back, making the surrounding Nobles feel bad for the Earl, despite the fact none of them know what Duke Cain has planned.
[Damien, Earl Mills intends to block us from market. If you have issues selling, let me know, and I'll have it sold in the east.]
[Fear not, sir, it won't be my first trade war.]
Duke Archibald looks amused at the entire interaction, coming over to Cain's side, accompanied by a much better-behaved version of his daughter and his Son in Law, the finance minister.
"Simply fantastic fashion sense, Your Grace." Earl Gibson, the Finance Minister, jokes, indicating Cyrene wrapped around his waist.
"Who said Businessmen can't be as Avant-Garde with their fashion as anyone else?" Cain answers, making both the ministers laugh.
Cyrene shifts her torso behind Cain's back, looking over his shoulder, not used to the attention.
"You're looking lovely today, Lady Cyrene. Spending some time with the Duke has been good for you." Gibson greets her.
"Thank You, Earl Gibson. Being able to serve the Duke has been my greatest honor in life."
That makes Archibald smile at the euphemism. Until she met Cain, honor, and respect weren't things she often received. But now, she is finally getting the respect she deserved all along.
"Your advancement has been the talk of the town lately. Many young women would love to be in your place, and many more young men regret overlooking you in the past, especially Count Moovin. After that incident with your sister and all." The Finance Minister praises her.
"Incident? My family rarely contacted me even when I lived with them, what did she do now? Count Moovin is engaged to my youngest sister Emily isn't he?" It takes a while for Cyrene to recall who the Count is, since her family rarely told her anything, so she had to rely on the updates and gossip received from her Governess or overheard in the hallways.
"He was. Until this morning when he found out that his blushing Virgin Bride was pregnant with a stable hands child." Gibson says quietly.
Cyrene thinks back over her past interactions, the Count seemed devoted to her little sister the few times she talked with him, but she simply doesn't know much about their relationship.
"Voluntarily?" Cain asks, and Archibald nods.
"She's got a hobby much like Aprilia, but with the staff. If her father hadn't caught her, rumor says they would have eloped."
Well, that's a bit scandalous for high society, but hardly the end of the world, even if she's disowned and raising her family in a rented flat with a former stable hand.
"I'll send them something for the baby shower." Cyrene smiles. She never liked any of her siblings, but Emily wasn't terrible when they were roommates. A gift of support for making her own choices seems like a suitably ambiguous gift for the occasion.
