Chapter 68: The Power of a Pretty Plea

"I see you have found a most entertaining way to waste your remaining days in the capital. Shall I send for more parchment, or would you prefer to be buried with what you already have?"

"Finding a proper attendant for Prince Xavion is hardly a chore, Sister," Lioren replied. "It’s just common sense. The man needs someone who can take care of the little things without making him regret asking for help."

Evelia hummed in amusement as she watched Therin carry on with his work. He was busy sorting the candidate profiles, carefully arranging them into separate piles as if he hadn’t heard a word of their conversation.

A few minutes passed with nothing but the sound of quills moving across paper. Then Evelia straightened a little, her attention seemingly turning to something else.

"So," Evelia mused, tapping her chin with a manicured nail as she watched Therin lay down another neatly sorted stack of parchment, "what about our shadow? Have we identified the clever little ghost who’s been lingering around us, or is he still just a vaguely suspicious smudge on the landscape?"

Therin continued writing without looking up. "The man keeping an eye on Prince Xavion has been linked to Marquess Gardner’s household."

Evelia’s eyebrows shot up, a slow, wicked grin spreading across her face. "Ah. Lioren’s very enthusiastic future father-in-law candidate."

Lioren’s head snapped up from his paper. "Evelia."

"Oh, don’t look at me like I just insulted your favorite hound," she scoffed, waving a dismissive hand. "It’s hardly a national secret, Brother. He’s been hinting at it for years, bringing up his precious Celia at every banquet and hoping you’d finally take the bait. The man probably has your wedding and the grandchildren all planned out already."

She leaned a little closer. "So, what are you actually planning to do with him? Send a formal protest, or just have him thrown out of the assembly?"

Lioren didn’t answer right away. He simply leaned back in his seat, resting his chin on his steepled fingers as a slow, terribly pleasant chuckle bubbled up from his chest. It was the sort of soft, harmless sound that usually meant someone’s life was about to become extremely complicated.

Before Lioren could open his mouth to offer an explanation, Therin cleared his throat quietly beside him.

"His Grace has opted for a more... direct form of psychological feedback," Therin explained. "Rather than confronting the Marquess, His Grace has arranged our man to shadow Gardner’s from the moment he wakes until he retires for the night."

Evelia blinked, then burst out laughing. "You’re having him followed back? Oh, that is petty. That is delightfully, horribly petty."

"It is not petty," Lioren insisted smoothly, picking up his tea cup. "It’s simple reciprocity. I merely thought the Marquess should understand how unpleasant it is to have someone constantly watching his every move. A little firsthand experience might do him some good. Fair enough, don’t you think?"

Evelia stared at him for a moment before breaking into another laugh. "Of course. How very considerate of you, Brother."

"And he was already half-mad with paranoia anyway. This’ll probably push him right over the edge. Frankly? Serves him right."

"Should I be worried about what else you’ve planned?"

"Oh, I could’ve made it infinitely more entertaining," Lioren countered cheerfully. "My man could have trailed him right into the public bathhouses, or stood behind his chair while he tried to eat his morning porridge, or just made sure someone was coughing politely over his shoulder every single time he stepped out of his carriage. Give the man a proper taste of what it feels like to have an invisible stalker breathing down his neck."

He paused and shrugged. "Still, I should probably show some mercy to my man. Following Gardner around all day can’t be pleasant. Imagine having to listen to that old man complain from morning until night. I wouldn’t blame him if he came back a completely different person. Oh, God. Therin, prepare a generous compensation for him. We might need to cover his therapy bills, too."

Evelia stared at him, blinking slowly as if trying to calculate whether her brother had suffered a mild concussion during his last campaign. "Honestly, Brother, I sometimes wonder what goes on in that head of yours. You make the most absurd schemes sound perfectly reasonable."

"I prefer to call it creative thinking. The word ’absurd’ is usually reserved for people who lack imagination."

"All right, but what if Gardner finds out and decides to do something about it?"

"Let him try," Lioren said. "He started this little game by paying an information guild to trail Prince Xavion. I’m simply returning the courtesy. I don’t see any reason to hide the fact that I know he was snooping. Let him sweat."

Therin, who had been following the conversation, added his own remark. "His Grace specifically instructed him not to be too discreet. Gardner is supposed to know he’s being watched."

Evelia shook her head with a sigh. "At the rate you’re going, you’re going to end up publicly confronting the man tomorrow, and I won’t even be surprised."

"Confront him tomorrow? Why tomorrow?"

Evelia stared at him for a moment, as though waiting for him to take back what he’d just said. "Lioren. Tell me you didn’t forget."

"Forget what?"

"The Arvandel celebration," she said, her voice rising an octave in sheer disbelief. "Duke Arvandel’s birthday banquet? The very one he sent invitations for a whole month ago?"

Lioren’s eyes widened slightly as the memory finally clawed its way through the fog of so much work he had to take care of. "Ah. Right. That." He grimaced, rubbing the back of his neck. "Do we really have to go? It’s bound to be hours of old men congratulating one another, exchanging empty pleasantries, and pretending to enjoy each other’s company."

"Yes, we really have to go. And honestly, do you think old men are the only ones attending?" Evelia hissed, throwing her hands up in frustration. "If you don’t attend, do you have any earthly idea what people will say? Everyone will corner me throughout the evening, demanding to know why the Grand Duke couldn’t be bothered to show his face. I am not spending my entire evening making excuses for you, Lioren."

"Then run," Lioren deadpanned, pointing toward her feet with a smirk. "You’re remarkably quick on your feet, even in those pointy little shoes. Though I still haven’t forgotten the time you used them to stab my toe. Yes, Evelia, it left a scar!"

Evelia glanced down at her heels before shooting her brother a glare. Realizing that arguing with him would get her nowhere, she decided to change the subject.

She turned her entire body toward the quiet corner where Xavion had been sitting in comfortable silence, watching the siblings bicker like children. Her entire demeanor changed in an instant, turning from an irritated sister into a poor, helpless maiden in need of rescue.

"Prince Xavion," Evelia cooed, turning to him with an excessively sweet smile. "Surely you have more sense than my stubborn brother. You wouldn’t leave a poor, helpless lady to face a banquet full of nobles all by herself, would you? Won’t you accompany me tomorrow evening?"

Xavion, who had been quietly sipping his tea and enjoying the verbal sparring match, blinked, caught entirely off guard by the sudden crossfire. "Ah. Well, I..."

Before Xavion could formulate a polite diplomatic escape route, Evelia clapped her hands together once, feigning immense disappointment and cutting him off mid-syllable. "Oh, see? Even he looks horrified at the prospect of your antisocial behavior, Lioren! Are you seriously planning to abandon me?"

"Don’t you dare drag him into this," Lioren barked, pointing a warning quill at his sister. "He doesn’t need to suffer through Arvandel’s atrocious orchestra and thirty minutes of stale small talk about horse breeding just because you don’t want to endure the evening alone."

"I am not dragging him anywhere," Evelia replied sweetly, turning back to Xavion with wide, pleading eyes. "Will you come with me, Your Highness? Just to keep me from strangling someone before the evening is over?"

Xavion glanced at Lioren before turning back to Evelia. "Wouldn’t my presence be a little troublesome? I wasn’t invited to the banquet, after all."

"Oh, nonsense!" Evelia replied. "You’re Lioren’s fiancé now, which makes you part of House Roscaire. You don’t need a separate invitation to attend a family event. Besides, Duke Arvandel would hardly dare question your presence."

"Would you have a problem if I go, Your Grace?" Xavion asked as he turned to Lioren.

"Why would I? Last I checked, this wasn’t a prison. You’re free to go wherever you please."

Xavion looked from Evelia’s grin to Lioren’s increasingly narrowed eyes. A smile touched the corner of the Ostharian prince’s mouth. "It would be my absolute pleasure, Lady Evelia," Xavion answered. "I would be honored to accompany you."

Evelia beamed, clapping her hands together with genuine delight. "Splendid! Oh, you are quite simply the most wonderful brother-in-law a girl could ask for. Remind me to have Therin engrave that on a plaque."

Lioren dropped his quill onto the table. "Ahem! If His Highness has decided to go, then I suppose I’ll have to make an appearance too."

"You’re remarkably indecisive for a Grand Duke," Evelia teased over her shoulder as she turned toward the door. "Get ready for tomorrow evening, then!"

Her departure left the parlor in sudden silence.

Xavion watched the closed door for a moment before turning his attention back to Lioren. "You don’t actually have to come if you don’t want to, you know."

Lioren looked at him as though he’d just suggested something outrageous. "What are you talking about? Of course I have to go!"

"But you said you had no interest in attending."

"That was before." Lioren straightened in his chair, suddenly looking very serious. "Duke Arvandel was kind enough to invite us. It would be terribly rude to turn him down, wouldn’t it? We should at least show him the respect he deserves."

Lioren considered the matter settled. He was simply fulfilling his duties as the head of House Roscaire. That was all. The fact that he had been ready to avoid the banquet at all costs just a few minutes ago was completely irrelevant. Circumstances changed, and a responsible Grand Duke had to adapt. Besides, what kind of fiancé would he be if he let Xavion attend without him?

Lioren slumped back in his seat, scratching at his temples as he let out a sigh. He looked at Xavion, who was calmly pouring himself another cup of tea as if he hadn’t just happily agreed to spend an entire evening trapped in a room full of nobles with nothing better to do than gossip.

Well. Here we go again. Another bloody party.