56 An Unrefusable Invitation (2/2)
He turned towards the front of the manor and said, ”A guest has come to meet you, Lord Reed. I assume you felt that as well, yes?”
”The Anima wave, right? Who is it? The mailman?” said Reed, entirely uninterested.
”That was Lady Violett, Lord Reed. I am quite familiar with the way she manipulates Anima, you see. I was the one who taught her, so her fluctuations resemble faintly that of my own,” said Arcano.
Reed wanted to groan, but he knew that he couldn't brush her off. He'd have to meet her and at least hear her out. Hopefully, she's just come to visit, thought Reed but he knew better…
”So, what do you think? Pretty nice place, right? Beautiful scenery, too. I loved roaming around the Eternal Forest when I was kid, though Arcano would often try to stop me from exploring too far out…”
Tea time with Violett in her old bedroom had gone as expected. Reed struggled like a newborn calf as he fought to escape the predator that had captured him. She was killing him with love, some would say. Others would say suffocation.
”...…”
”W-What? What's the matter with you, Reed? What's with that face— looking at me like I'm some sort of con-artist,” said Violett as she lovingly violated Reed's personal space. Needless to say, Lacrima quickly corrected that issue the same way she had done with Lu'um.
”Who's this hussy again, boy? One of your exploits? How disappointing. The apple never falls far from the tree, as they say…” Lacrima's scathing evaluation of his gracious benefactor echoed in his head, much to his dismay.
The one who gave me this damn house, so stop zapping her before we get kicked out of it! Reed scratched his head and said, ”Sorry about that, my cloak's got a built-in guard but sometimes, it malfunctions. It's a bit defective in certain aspects since it's an old piece of tech.”
Violett laughed and said, ”It must be an artifact, then. You probably picked it up during your final test, right? Most Mulian artifacts are like that — old pieces of junk that rarely work. Still, the eggheads pay handsomely for them, so it's our job to recover them when we can. If you like artifacts, I could give you some rare ones, if you'd like.”
Reed felt Lacrima's fury in the form of an electric current that traveled down his spine, but he had formed a thin Anima barrier around himself beforehand. He discreetly dispelled the current and ignored her vile comments about Violett and himself.
Ah. Here we go. The bait's been planted, now that she's 'found' something to entice me.
”…I just need you to help me out a bit with something. Nothing dangerous, of course!” said Violett with a charming smile, as if she were trying to sell Reed on an idea.
”And what is it that you need me to do if it doesn't involve killing things? Truth be told, that's all I'm good at. I can't see myself doing well at anything else, so…”
Violett swiftly shook her head and said, ”No, no, no, there's no fighting involved in this job, I assure you. In fact, you don't even need to do anything for this job. All you need to do is show up and attend the ball with me. That's it.”
Reed's eyes narrowed as he said, ”A ball? One of those fancy parties the nobles have? That's the job? Et tu, Violett?”
”Look, I owe a big favor to someone and he said that he'd call it square so long as you attend the next ball he's hosting. I don't know why or how he's gotten information about you, given all the work we've put into hiding your identity, but he's given me his word that he hasn't revealed anything about you. All he wants to do is meet you, from the look of it,” said Violett as she threw a sugar cube in her tea with a thought.
”...…So you want me to meet with this guy? That's all I have to do?” Reed groaned in protest.
I owe her for the damn house. Can't back out. Damn it. And here I thought I wouldn't have to mingle with those damned nobles...
”Please? I'll get you anything you want as a reward, or I can give you something else instead…” she said with a voice sweeter than usual.
A large bolt of lightning shot of Reed's cloak and struck Violett's teacup, shattering it into pieces. Her tea splashed all over her skirt and dress shirt, ruining her clothes.
”.....That wasn't my fault.”
”You are not to bring that damned cloak with you the ball. Am I understood? You bring that cloak to the ball and I'll shred it on the spot. I'll turn the damn thing into confetti.”