Chapter 205: Fool

Ravian did not look away at once, though he realized too late that letting Alexander see his eyes widen was the last thing he should have done. He kept his hand steady on the armrest and took a slow breath as he recalled the words he had heard at the beginning of the meeting; the old man had never mentioned when Lysandra had spoken to him or what exactly she had said about Ravian, leaving him to fill in those blanks himself.

And, fool that he was, he had done exactly that.

The moment he heard her name, he had assumed she had told her grandfather what she knew, then spent the rest of the meeting trying to gauge how much information had reached the man. It had never occurred to him that he might be the only one adding details to a story to which Alexander had contributed no more than a single sentence.

As for the permit, it had lent the old man’s claim more credibility than it deserved; someone who could learn of the project and obtain permission so quickly seemed capable of finding out everything else as well.

’And you let me act on that assumption for two whole hours, you bastard.’

Alexander’s smile narrowed slightly, but the interest in his eyes deepened as Ravian straightened in his seat and said:

"I am curious, my lord, but there’s another question I’d prefer to hear answered first: what exactly did Lysandra tell you about me?"

Alexander raised an eyebrow, then rested his hand on the edge of the table as though he were finally preparing to take part in a conversation worthy of his time.

"I thought you wanted to focus on the next stage and avoid trivial matters," Alexander said, paying no mind to the change in Ravian’s expression. "Have you changed your mind already? Young people really are impulsive these days."

Ignoring Alexander’s remarks and mockery, Ravian focused on what he urgently needed to know to determine his next move, straightening a little further in his seat.

"Don’t misunderstand me, Your Grace. I’m not like the young people you’re talking about," Ravian began, his tone serious. "I’m simply trying to determine whether I’d be repeating things you’ve already heard from Lysandra, or whether you’re waiting for me to start from the beginning."

Patrick’s fingers stilled over the papers he was gathering, his gaze shifting between them, while Charlotte simply leaned back in her chair. The question was no longer just about the construction permit, and both had clearly realized that, even if they did not know why. Both wanted to learn more about Ravian, the mysterious young man who had appeared out of nowhere with a project of this scale.

Alexander regarded Ravian for a moment before replying:

"We can discuss matters concerning my granddaughter once we’ve finished our work, since you’re so concerned about our partners’ time."

It was not an answer, but it gave Ravian what he needed for the moment; the old man had chosen to postpone the conversation rather than mention anything specific in front of the others, and Ravian had no intention of pressing him to change his mind. He was not particularly pleased, but he understood the old man’s intention and did not dare do anything but respect it.

When you were strong enough, you could start and end conversations as you pleased.

Ravian nodded calmly, then returned his gaze to the permit, giving Patrick a chance to take up the conversation again.

"My question still concerns the project, my lord." The Earl drew the document toward him without looking at it as he continued, "I know how valuable this permit is, and I appreciate the time and effort you’ve saved us, but I find it difficult to ignore the fact that information about our work reached outsiders before we even began the process of presenting it to the court."

The earlier bewilderment had left his voice, replaced by the caution Ravian had come to expect whenever the interests of his house were involved. Patrick had no objection to the Grand Duke joining them, but he did not seem prepared to treat the leaking of his secrets as an everyday occurrence simply because the man who had benefited from it was now a partner.

Alexander replied without the slightest change in his relaxed demeanor:

"If you’re thinking of questioning your men, don’t waste your time; no one from this house came to me to sell your secrets."

"That rules out one possibility," the Earl remarked.

"And the one I felt it was most important to reassure you about, Patrick," Alexander said, casting him a brief, knowing glance. "You haven’t changed a bit since I saw you with your father when you were young."

Patrick kept looking at him before lowering his eyes to the document and running his thumb along its edge. He did not seem satisfied, but apparently realized that further questions would not draw a more useful answer from Alexander, and no one here could force him to provide one.

Ravian, meanwhile, found himself even more troubled than before.

The old man had not denied watching them, nor had he claimed the information had reached him by chance; he had merely ruled out betrayal, then casually left every other possibility open for them to stew over in uncertainty.

"Now that we’ve confirmed the permit is in order, I suggest we finish the documents still awaiting our signatures." Charlotte reached for her copy of the agreement, seemingly no longer interested now that the discussion had nothing to do with Ravian’s background, then looked at Patrick and added, "I’m just as curious as you are about how the Grand Duke got ahead of us on this, but I’ll be considerably more annoyed if we spend the rest of the day talking about construction without deciding what we need to do to get it started."

Patrick responded readily, arranging the papers before him and steering the conversation back to site preparations, the workforce, and the initial expenses. It did not take him long to regain his businesslike tone, though the permit remained beside his hand, as if he wanted to keep it in sight until he had finished making sense of it.

Ravian listened to his proposals, then spoke up when the discussion turned to assigning responsibilities for the construction.

"We can arrange for workers and materials at the same time, but I want to review what will be done before the work begins, and any change to the plans must come to me first, however minor it seems to whoever proposes it," Ravian said. "Everything needs to be precise so that a mistake doesn’t go unnoticed and ruin everything we’ve done."

Charlotte looked up from the papers.

"Even if the change saves money?"

"Then I want to know what it will save us and what it will cost us later. If it benefits the project, I’ll approve it, but I won’t accept responsibility for a mistake I only discover after it’s already been built into the structure." Ravian placed particular emphasis on the word "cost."

The Marchioness studied him for a moment, then returned her attention to the agreement.

"That’s an answer I can certainly work with."

Patrick confirmed that this was consistent with his earlier agreement with Ravian, then noted down the points concerning the start of work. Over the next few minutes, Ravian found that focusing on the details helped him regain his composure; here, at least, he knew what he was talking about and did not have to guess at the hidden meaning behind every word he heard.

Alexander intervened only twice, both times on matters concerning ways to ease the administrative process, then let them continue the discussion while he listened with an interest Ravian could not tell was directed at the project or at him personally.

When the papers reached him, Ravian reviewed the final clauses before signing with the name he used in the capital. He set the pen back in its place, then slid the next copy toward Patrick, trying to ignore Alexander’s gaze as it rested momentarily on his signature.

The meeting finally came to an end, and the Earl summoned Shmichael to organize the copies and file the documents, while Charlotte rose after confirming that she would await the list of initial requirements.

Ravian was about to rise as well when he heard Alexander say:

"I’d like to speak to our young partner in private before I leave, Patrick."