Despite Alice’s desire to make a run for the door the instant the Baron had left, her chance to do so had been quickly dashed from her when the man’s wife had showed up. It was hard to imagine she’d been doing anything but wait for the opportunity to show up.

Tea and snacks had been brought along.

Alice made a show of sipping on the beverage, but her eyes kept turning towards the door in the green room. The scent of wine lingered in the air.

“You must excuse my husband.” The Baroness spoke. Today she had opted to dress with something far less attention grabbing as she had during the presentation.

It was still going for dark themes, but the leather was only present in her boots. Other than those, she wore a pair of dark blue pants, made out of a material that looked similar to denim, but had a sheen to it that made Alice suspect it was silk. The woman’s shirt was akin to a polo, made from the same material and white. Most notably, the woman’s hair had been loosened, black strands of coal that draped their way down her shoulders.

The whole ensemble kept that masculine feel, and it accentuated the woman’s bare neck. No collars or jewelry to be found there even as she wore silver bracelets and hoop earrings.

“Is it odd?” The question startled Alice, she blinked as the Baroness smiled curiously. “My clothes.”

“They… I’m sorry.” Alice quickly shook her head. “It’s not odd, I’m just not used to the style.”

“Too masculine?” There was a sheen within the Baroness’ green eyes, the amusement in her lips perked up. “Ah, I was right.”

“I… Yes, it did strike me as odd.”

With a slight nod, the woman leaned back. “If you’d asked me of my tastes when I was but a little girl, I would’ve told you that I would very much enjoy frills and skirts.”

“Is your style… normal?”

“Yes.” The reply was blunt, but the amusement wasn’t gone. “At least for those that go through the military. Dress code is strict, but it has its reasons.” A twirl of her wrist. “Safety and practicality being the first.”

“Safety?”

“Wouldn’t want a human to be mistaken for a maiden, even at a quick glance.” The woman laughed softly. “The first thing maidens are taught is how to avoid accidentally murdering a commanding officer. After all, as powerful as they are, they are as prone to shock as everyone else.” Her hand made a quick cutting motion. “Some are powerful enough a mere gesture could spell a human’s end.”

The words sent a cold chill down Alice’s spine. Her gaze turned towards Stella, the maiden stood at the corner like a statue, staring at nothing at all and pretending quite convincingly that she wasn’t there.

A slight sigh left the Baroness. “Must be nice to live in a world where you need not worry over such things.”

“We have our own problems.” Alice replied, rolling her eyes and feeling her shoulders relax ever so slightly.

“Such is life, I suppose.” There was a slight twinkle in her eye. “Before we progress through the pleasantries, I believe I heard that you’d come for business?”

The words led Alice to recompose herself quickly, nodding. “Yes, I’d attempted to tell the Baron as much, about Monica, the Tigress, and that was when he… reacted.”

“Understandable, he has been attempting to capture White Claw ever since he found out about the threat she posed to the village. The feral has proven particularly elusive, however.” The Baroness laughed, a chime to her tone. “Judging by his recent bout of frustrations, I’d wager she is proving just as hard to tame.” With her words, the woman’s eyes crinkled ever so slightly. “Pray-tell, why would you be interested in the creature? Revenge?”

Alice almost jumped from her seat. “No! No, no, I…” She quickly shook her head. “You see, my friend Rick had been with her before her capture, and worries over her condition.”

The calm expression on the woman that sat across from her was impossible to decipher. A stony edge had made her features a barrier that prevented any emotions to slip through. “I see.” Her words were smooth and controlled, pulling up the cup to take a long sip of her beverage. Calmly, she set it down, keeping her eyes on Alice. “I’m not sure what you are expecting over the situation, miss Smith, is Rick staking a claim on the Tigress? If so, why is he not here?”

“He’s in the hospital.” Alice replied. “Last I checked he’d yet to be discharged, I think he was to be released today.”

“Hm…” The Baroness calmly put down her cup. “Unfortunately for your friend, the law is rather clear in this regard. Rick was not a citizen of the kingdom, most likely still isn’t. Any stake over capture of White Claw is, thus, void. Especially since laws pertaining to capture are not retroactive.” A simple shrug followed, amusement played on her lips. “He might have hope to a claim if a bond had been formed, but such a thing is impossible without a collar.”

“And if she were bonded, anyway? Kat and Tomas had heard her speak his name before reaching the village. And you must have seen how she reacted back at the auditorium when they called out her name.” Alice hesitate. “Consider it a hypothetical scenario.”

The words made the Baroness’ brows to knit ever so imperceptibly. The woman slowly crossed her arms and leaned further back into the couch, peering into Alice’s eyes and holding her gaze with a cold and calculating expression lingering in her eyes. “Say, hypothetically, that somehow the bond had indeed formed.” She tapped her elbow with a slow beat. “If the bond were still there after he’s gained citizenship, then he would still be unable to own her.”

“Why?”

“Normal citizens are not qualified to own a maiden as dangerous as a Tigress.” The Baroness replied easily enough. “The only way would be or have been a part of the military, part of the feral-suppression force, or the Hunters.” Scoffing, she shook her head. “But as far as anyone’s concerned, an uncollared bond has not happened within recorded history since the Bloody Wave.”

“The Bloody Wave?”

“A catastrophe from over five hundred years ago. Little is actually known about it, other than very very few humans survived.” She shook her head. “Most things from before that time were lost either to the ferals or the ravages of time. I personally never did have an interest on such things. But I digress.” A slight sigh, nodding her head once. “Now that your question has been answered, would you feel like talking more freely? It has been ages since I’ve had a fellow woman to talk with. And I am sure you are a rather fascinating person to talk to.”

“I doubt that.” Alice quickly reproached.

“Nonsense.” The statement was waved off quite promptly. “You faced off a feral Arachnae, and I heard… Rick… had received a killing blow while fighting the Tigress. Dare I expect your world is filled with warriors?”

“Oh, no, nothing like that, we’ve… haha.” The psychology teacher squirmed a little, laughing uncomfortably. “No, our society has left its warring period… for the most part. Rick and I were only teachers. He’s a chemist, I’m… a bit of a psychology nerd.”

“Psychic?” The Baroness tensed abruptly, the hand moving to caress the bracelet on her left wrist. “So you had powers? The report had mentioned no such thing.”

“No powers, psychology, not… psychic? Wait.” Alice blinked. “Wait, you have… can minds be read?”

The woman nodded, though did not remove her fingers from the silver bracelet. “Certainly, some maidens possess that ability. Our local expert… Irene I believe she was called, is one such individual.”

Alice slumped onto the couch, eyes wide, mind whirling through the possibilities. It felt like a beehive that had been hit by a rock, suddenly everything was starting to buzz. So many arguments, so many theories, hours upon hours tossing and turning and writing. So much ink spent on making assertions and dissertations.

Very suddenly the woman felt a sense of equal parts dread and excitement.

She could imagine the feeling could not be too different to being told one could confirm whether there was a God or not, concrete physical irrefutable proof, by just opening a door.

“You look like a boy his first day of training.” The Baroness laughed softly, bringing Alice back to reality, the psychology teacher blushing furiously as she realized she’d jumped off the couch. “I will make sure Irene is the one to aid your citizenship examination. It seems you would have a great deal of things to ask her.”

“Would you? I, erm, I don’t want to impose.”

The Baroness waved it off. “Nonsense, the citizenship procedure requires truth spells and thought scans, anyway.” There was a little pause, a hesitation on her words, her lips thinning. “In exchange, would you hear a small warning I have to profess?”

“Certainly.”

The stare became cold, her brows lowering. “Join the army.” She raised a finger to speak before Alice could interrupt. “The more I observe you, the clearer it is that you and yours are rather blind to many of the risks our world has in store for human women such as yourself.”

“And… why would you say that?”

“A human woman coming, alone, to a household is generally a sign of… strong show of interest.” The Baroness took her cup back up, a long sip following.

Alice hesitated, turning to look at Stella and then back at the Baroness.

“Maidens, unfortunately, would not count as company.”

“How so?”

The noble woman arched a brow, shifting her focus towards the corner where the pale maiden stood. “Vacate my husband’s property, you’re not welcome here.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Stella shot Alice a worried look, moving towards the door.

It closed with a soft click, one that sent a shiver down Alice’s spine.

“That would be the reason why.” The Baroness took another long sip from her cup.

“And your husband…”

“Only held the best intentions, I’m sure.” The response was a snap, barely a moment of hesitation. “I would suggest, however, that if you find yourself being invited, do make sure to bring fellow humans along. That way we can avoid causing a wrong impression.”

Alice nodded numbly.

“I… think I’ve stayed a bit too long.”

“If you feel that way.” The Baroness stood, reaching out to shake Alice’s hand. “Oh, before I forget.” The woman’s grip tightened around Alice’s fingers, her eyes locked on the woman with severity. “Do make sure to make it clear to your… friend, Rick, that this whole issue with White Claw is one better drowned in the river.”

“Excuse me? Drowned?”

The woman hesitated, letting go of Alice’s hand. “Ah, excuse me, it is an expression. Swept under the rug, as the maidens say, left to be forgotten or ignored.” She smiled tightly. “For everyone’s convenience, I mean. I’m sure we can find a way to compensate him for his efforts, however.”

“I’ll… mention it to him.” Her eyes danced on the door.

“I’d expect nothing less, miss Smith.”

Alice could not get out of the manor quickly enough.