Chapter Sixty-Seven

Even sitting, Countess Maye was still taller than her. "I was surprised when my niece delivered your letter with an offer to parley."

Princess Rosaline coming through was unexpected. She'd been distant when they've crossed paths recently since her outburst. But she delivered the letter and Harmony had her meeting at the very public Golden Flower Cafe.

"I felt we should talk. After all, we both want what is best for our dear Prince Adric. There doesn't need to be any conflict between us if we can come to an understanding."

The countess unleashed a predatory smile with weight behind it. An authority-boosted social skill? It hit, but soft enough that Harmony wondered what their difference in authority was. "Oh, we have no conflict or war between us. If there was, I can assure you that it wouldn't last long. Now take a seat, the tea here is excellent."

Lose this battle. Other victories later. There is no point in reminding the countess that the last time they saw each other she had a mass of palace guards, the problem princess with her bow, and was in full plate mail and yet at the end of that it was Harmony who walked out with the prince already stashed away safely. "I look forward to trying it."

The seat she took had an extra cushion Ambrosia placed upon it so the height difference wasn't so bad when sitting.

Maye smiled more like this was some secret victory. This was going to be a long meeting even if it only lasted the length it took to drink the tea. The woman didn't need to accept Harmony's invitation to talk. She's acting like she's the one who set this up, but even in that opportunity could be had.

The server approached.

"Three pots. The black herb, sweet wake, and simple green. Also, a tray of the house's special little cakes." Maye ordered without Harmony's input.

"Thank you for graciously having me, and introducing me to your favorite teas."

"These are not my favorite teas. This is the difference between you and me. These are Addy's favorite teas. Why he should be under your care baffles me." Maye let out a long sigh. "How is my dear boy doing?"

Tea? Ciders, meads, wine, water, and sometimes a share of that blue milk he gets by the jug for Bowe. That gives him gas, but still doesn't avoid it. Not that Maye was lying, but Adric never sought out tea, taking whatever was in the pot when he was at the table. This was the countess's plan?

"Prince Adric is still sleeping with Bowe in the stables recovering from his treatment at the palace tower. They stopped feeding him, except to shove nasty potions down his throat in the days before I brought him out."

"The staff was just being thorough." Maye's voice slipped a little.

"It was torture, and they still haven't reinstated his official status as a prince and access to his funds."

"Overzealous administrators and…"

The tea and cake arrived. Both women took advantage of that to regain their composure. The goal wasn't to antagonize the countess over all her actions.

Black herb true to its name, came out of the pot looking like ink. As interesting as the bouquet was, harmony could see Adric enjoying it because with an overly deep sip, you can create a faux black mustache in your lip. A man-child, but the kind that is supportive and always there for you.

"I didn't know he was being treated so poorly," Maye said softly after a few sips.

"If I thought you and Rosaline knew the extent of what Adric was put through I wouldn't be here. I know to you it seems like I'm a random woman who both offered a miracle cure and ripped him away. But I do what's best for him."

"You say that, yet you're taking him to dangerous places. The Deadwoods tomorrow and don't tell me he won't go with you into these Ascendant Games."

There had been some doubt there, but after climbing Nae's Garden alone, if she was allowed to have friends join her she was going to take it. "He wants to go. You let him go to the Deadwoods several times as a punishment when he was younger and when you thought he was dying. With his experience, he's practically leading the group. As for the Ascendant Games, the hardest part will be him being forced to be away from Bowe."

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"Which he would never do if he was of his right mind." Maye insisted. "I've even asked an expert to come and help me with my case." The countess raised her hand and snapped her fingers.

Who could the countess possibly invite and expect her to listen to?

Reality ripped and split at the seams next to the table. Not delving him. Maekus Von Trell stepped out, his suit still stained from the futile attack, but now he wore it as though it was meant to be that way. Despite him saying he'd be around, he hadn't visited and Harmony had hoped he'd stay gone.

"Ah, Ladies. A pleasure to see you both again." the charter counselor's eyes sparkled with enough mirth that harmony knew this wouldn't go well.

"The pleasure is all mine, counselor.

"Maekus," Harmony greeted him, leaning on informality. How was this man going to mess up her plans?

The staff appeared with a third cup and an extra chair. Maekus took his place and poured himself a cup of the simple green. "Do you know why I chose this outfit today?"

Ah, the kind of question that came with a scripted answer. "To shame me for my mistakes?"

"To remind me not to underestimate you. Which is why I was surprised to hear that you haven't conquered the garden. The sixth and seventh floors shouldn't be a problem for a woman of your talents. And the eighth floor, everyone knows how that one goes."

Countess hid her slight discontent, a low grumble, with a tea cup at the praise from Von Trell.

Often jokingly referred to as the true final floor and chaos incarnate, how Maekus could think the seventh wouldn't be a problem for her was ridiculous. He's also seen Hyacinth and should know how the sixth would be a problem.

This opened up an opportunity that Harmony had on her list for this meeting. [Mana Rotation] surged ready to boost a skill [Keen Investigative Awareness] blended with [Analyze] and threads from her other social skills. While mana isn't directly used by the skills, everything seemed to get some help from it.

"Well, since I received a letter with the queen's acknowledgment, I haven't been dying to take extra risks when at my rate of growth I might never need to conquer Nae's Garden to reach evolution."

Countess Maye's face continued to hold annoyance but held no reaction. Interestingly enough there was a barest and brief narrowing of Maekus's eyes at the mention of the queen.

"Well, good for you." the countess responded with a touch of bitterness. "Many aristocrats would love such recognition." This didn't come with any subtle jabs or awareness of what that might mean.

"I think you'll find there are benefits to completing the dungeon sooner rather than later. If only for more practice after evolution before the games with only ten days left." Maekus responded.

Maye didn't know about the letter, nor how it might have been an attack. That was one weight off of her, and opened up options in this little discussion. Maekus reacted but was too hard to read. It's not like he'd arrived in Naewauld yet at that time.

"That's all good, but I invited the counselor here to talk of Adric since he is under Von Trell's purview while he is around. We've had several talks where he has agreed with me that Adric journeying to the Deadwoods and the Ascendant Games was a risk to him."

Maekus took a bite of one of the cakes and chewed it contemplatively before speaking. "Countess, I fear you are hearing what you wanted out of our conversations. The Deadwoods could be dangerous for Prince Adric if his situation is susceptible to the environment or denizens of the area. For the Ascendant Games, I was theorizing that due to the bond requirements, some of the rewards could significantly affect competitors' bonds. There is a greater danger for Adric I fear you haven't considered."

"What could be a greater danger?" Maye demanded.

"The fact that the Prince and Lady White are so bound together that I suspect that if she died Adric would die with her or become something."

Could Adric become one of the oddities that Max, Tyeler, Rose, Len, and her had been reading about for their trip to the Deadwoods?

"Then order both Harmony and Addy under house arrest so he can be safe!"

That wouldn't work. All that would happen is her unstable authority would slowly kill her and then her nephew.

"That's a bit too close to getting involved in local politics. The tea was lovely, countess. Lady White, I'll be keeping my eyes on you. Farewell." Still seated the man slid through an opening, vanishing from the conversation.

"That…" Maye grumped furiously.

"You want to keep Prince Adric safe, but we need to get stronger to accomplish that. That is why I came to you, and why you accepted this meeting."

"Well, what would you have me do?"

To win, what would the best way to respond be? [Keen Investigative Awareness] helped review her interactions with the countess, brief as they were. Loud, a bit ham-fisted, using size to overcompensate for something. Needs to be right. Needs to be in control. When the skill tried to hint that maybe the two of them weren't so different. Harmony smacked it with a softened version of [Final Silence].

"We all do something a little crazy for people we love. That's why I'm hoping you'll be the bigger person and take over training for Adric for the prince after we get back from the deadwoods. I've been too busy with my own path climbing up Nae's Garden and you'll get to have your hand in making him as prepared as he can be for the games. There's only so many days left and I'll be counting on you."

"I'm listening."

Tea, politics, and arrangements were made.

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