Stephen scratched his cheek and said, "All I know is that the Gloucester family's ancestors were apparently capable people — they took part in the famous Battle of the Broken Oath, and that campaign won the family an earldom."
"But the generations that followed weren't up to much. The family was first squeezed out of the political centre in Luen, and then the title kept being demoted — by the time it passed to my grandfather, all that was left was a barony without even a fiefdom to go with it."
"So from then on, the family could only sustain itself through the law. Fortunately, our Beyonder pathway has always been passed down without interruption — otherwise we'd probably have ended up like that Rafferty Pound, selling off the last of the family property just to make ends meet."
Vincent said, as if in passing, "So what made you eventually go to sea?"
Stephen laughed out loud at that, spreading his arms wide. "For the love of freedom, of course! For the sea! For adventure!"
He paused, then his expression settled into something more open. "Though it also had something to do with my parents dying suddenly. There was nothing left in this city to hold me."
"Has the Gloucester family's estate been sitting empty since then?"
"Not entirely." Stephen shook his head. "There's an old butler — he's been in service to the family since my grandfather was alive. He's practically family to me. He's been looking after the old house all this time, keeping me up to date in letters, and I send him money when I write back."
Then he looked at Vincent squarely and said, "I genuinely cannot fathom why the Moses Ascetic Order would have their eye on my family's ancestral tomb. As I said last night — before yesterday, I had never once set foot there. If you'd like to go and take a look, I'll take you."
"Perhaps another time."
Vincent declined without hesitation. The tomb has a demigod-tier evil spirit inside. I'm not the real Bernadette — what would I be going there for? A nice death? Better to wait for her next swap and let her handle it herself.
He waved the letter. "And as for this letter..."
Stephen immediately looked uneasy. "You wouldn't be asking me to go undercover in the Moses Ascetic Order? The Order isn't limited to the Mystery Pryer pathway, but non-Mystery-Pryer members can never rise above the outermost ring. I'd be useless!"
He muttered under his breath, "Besides... having one Vivian is quite enough."
Vincent waved a hand. "Alright — go wherever you like."
"As you command, Your Majesty!"
Stephen turned on his heel and was gone.
Vincent put the letter away, turning over Stephen's words: undercover... undercover... Could he himself go undercover?
The idea hadn't come from idle fancy. The fracture within the Moses Ascetic Order — if he could genuinely introduce that dissenting faction to one of the Churches, facilitate their cooperation...
But this would need to be discussed with Bernadette, and it was for her to judge the feasibility and risk. For now, the immediate priority was finding a way to collect whatever last weight was needed to tip the Scale into balance, and advance to Sequence 8 as soon as possible.
"Vivian."
Half an hour later, disguised beyond even the recognition of one's own father, Vincent left Caesar's Restaurant.
He spent the better part of the morning moving between several taverns, turning up four or five customers — a swindler, a pauper, a villain among others. But the "transactions" were all too small in value. The Scale stubbornly refused to tip. He was still just short of that final fraction.
This made him realise a problem: as the Scale's requirements grew heavier going forward, ordinary people would never be sufficient targets. He would need clients with either wealth or a respectable Sequence — otherwise, advancement to Sequence 7 would be indefinitely out of reach.
Honestly, at this point I'd rather just go and gather ingredients myself to brew a potion. At least that feels like progress.
Vincent shook his head with a sigh.
Just then — zzzt — the Unseen Servant slipped out of thin air and pressed a letter into his hand. "The little shorty gave you this!"
Little shorty?
That must be Xio. Mind your mouth — you'll get your legs broken if she hears you.
"Madam Natasha — can you come to Viscount Glaint's? There's business!"
"Well, well!"
Vincent grinned ear to ear. Joined yesterday and already drumming up clients today — I really did see something in you, Miss Xio!
He flagged down a passing horse-drawn cab at once and made directly for the North District.
· ·
Viscount Glaint's estate — a sprawling, well-appointed villa.
As always, it was the venue for one of Glaint's salons — today's theme was music and dancing. Young men and women swayed gently together in the ballroom to the soft strains of a piano.
And if two people caught each other's eye, well — there were other rooms one might retire to for a deeper conversation.
Glaint had always had an eye for this particular dynamic. He organised events like this regularly and had on that account built excellent connections among the younger members of Backlund's aristocracy.
Fors and Xio, once again dressed as servers, were leaning against the wall in a corner. Xio balanced a tray with six or seven cocktails on one hand. Fors was lighting a cigarette and enjoying it thoroughly.
"I'll wager Glaint is sweet on Audrey."
Fors watched Glaint talking animatedly with Audrey and said so.
Xio gave a dismissive sniff. "Every man in Backlund is sweet on Audrey. But word has it the Earl of Halah is hoping to arrange a match with the royal family."
"Who?"
"Some prince called... Edessak, I think?"
"What a pity. From the way Audrey behaves, her interest in the occult runs far deeper than her interest in any prince."
At that moment, Audrey drifted over with a glass of fruit juice in hand. She glanced discreetly around first, then asked, "Has Madam Natasha arrived yet?"
"She should be here shortly."
Xio checked the time. "Miss Audrey, why did you call for us today? Have you run into some difficulty?"
Audrey said, "Mostly to discuss a few things, and to ask whether the 'Broker' might be able to help me with something."
"What sort of help?"
Audrey hesitated for a second or two, then said, "I... want to find a bodyguard. A Beyonder bodyguard."
Fors pressed a hand lightly to Xio's back and nudged her forward. "That you can absolutely leave to Xio — she has bags of experience as a bodyguard."
Xio said flatly, "I am an Arbiter, not a bodyguard."
"Is there money in it?"
"...Yes."
"Then it's all the same!"
Audrey watched the two of them bicker and suddenly laughed. "You two really are the best of friends."
Fors shrugged. "Only because I'm the one making all the concessions."
Xio gave a cold smile. "Someone who hasn't managed to write a hundred words in a day but gets through several dozen cigarettes in that same day, turning the whole flat into a smoke-stained ruin — that person has absolutely no standing to say that sentence."
Fors clutched her chest in a show of injury. "Xio, that was cutting."
Xio glanced into the distance. "She's here."
They all turned. Glaint was approaching with Madam Natasha in tow. Vincent stepped forward and greeted them. "A good afternoon to you, three lovely ladies."
Audrey dipped a small curtsey. "Good afternoon, Madam."
Glaint said, "Come along — I've had a quiet room prepared."
"Much appreciated, Glaint."
"It's my pleasure to be of service."
The group made their way to a sitting room. Once Glaint had seen to the drinks, Audrey caught him just as he was about to leave. "Glaint — what I have to say concerns you as well."
"Oh?"
Feeling everyone's attention on her, Audrey drew a breath and said, "Have any of you heard about Mr. A?"
Fors, Xio, and Glaint all asked in surprise, "What's happened to Mr. A?"
"I came to know through a certain channel that Mr. A is actually the head of the Aurora Order — an evil god organisation. Last week, the Church launched an operation to shut him down, but unfortunately he managed to escape."
"The Aurora Order? An evil god organisation?"
Fors looked blank. Xio's expression immediately turned serious. "I've heard of that organisation — a great deal of the city's terrorist incidents have been connected to them."
"The reason I've called you all here today is to warn you — in the coming weeks, be careful. Careful of the authorities, and careful of Mr. A."
Glaint said, puzzled, "Why should we be careful of Mr. A? What does any of this have to do with us?"
"I'm not certain, either — only that I've heard the Aurora Order are fanatics, and no one can predict what they might do." Audrey bit her lip. "There's something you may not know: the evening of that gathering, Mr. A sent me a note personally, asking whether I had any interest in other pathways' potions. I turned him down."
Xio said in surprise, "So you're worried Mr. A might be angry about the refusal, and even make a move against you? Is... it worth going that far?"
Audrey was slightly at a loss for words. What could she say — because I'm too beautiful?
To be continued…
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