The banquet progressed as usual, with only a select few aware of the dangerous undercurrents. Ira was not one of them. Not only did he not care, he had no experience in navigating the diplomatic battlefield. So instead of paying attention to courtly intrigue, Ira, Avery, and Sylun were sitting together at a table eating dinner.

While Avery was far more privy to what occurred in the background, she didn’t see a need to inform Ira just yet, at least not until something noteworthy happened. She had personally decided to kill whoever inspired Dimitri to taunt Ira.

“You think I can get some of that God Steel? I want to make a weapon for Avery.” Ira asked bluntly.

“Of course, Keeper.” Sylun said. “I only ask that you come to personally receive it.”

“Ok...Wait, is there going to be a ceremony or something?” Ira asked with suspicion.

“There are a few minor things planned unless you prefer something more private.” Sylun said considerately.

“I guess minor is fine.” Ira nodded.

The relationship between Ira and the Dark Elves had been growing at an alarming rate to others. Sylun and Saren forewent all matters of status when they interacted with Ira which left a lasting impression on other diplomats. Since the Dark Elves revealed they had unearthed God Steel, everyone had wanted to get close to them, but Ira clearly had the advantage.

The most convenient way to move near them was Ira, the Dark Elves publically regarded him as an important figure, so it was needless to say that he had a great deal of influence. Many were thinking of ways to capitalize on Ira’s standing with the Dark Elves, but Avery’s presence was a huge obstacle.

If some sly person attempted to speak to Ira they would find themselves killed on the spot, at least, that’s what they felt whenever they looked at Avery. To be fair, they were correct, Avery saw those opportunistic individuals as pests and would kill them before they could attempt to drag Ira into something.

The banquet missed one notable presence and that was the Fourth Prince Leonard. He hadn’t even made a brief appearance which caused some worry on the Grenitian side. Although they tripled the security around him, there were times where he would manage to slip away. It just happened that the banquet was one of those times.

The Grenitians were the most sociable since they were receiving a lot of benefits, some skilled talkers went to build some relationships with others. Except for the Elves, the Elves were nearly unapproachable and very withdrawn. They viewed everyone else with some dislike for their destructive tendencies and disregard for nature. Even the food struck a nerve with them as a large portion would definitely go to waste.

Even the Diavol had lightened up a little if only just a little. Since they were at peace with the Grentians, a few went to mingle with them. A large majority remained withdrawn, finding it unbecoming to ignore the threat looming over them.

The doors to the banquet hall opened, revealing the Fourth Prince, multiple gazes drifted over before leaving. The general consensus was that the Fourth Prince was a minor character and other than his relationship with Ira, there wasn’t much else to be gained from him. Of course, there were always those who knew the truth about him.

Leonard looked around before he spotted Ira and subsequently made his way over to him. As he arrived at the table he greeted the Dark Elf Queen with a nod before speaking.

“Ira...Miss Avery, I believe I’ve found the one responsible for instigating Dimitri to insult you during the Colosseum Event and for killing a close friend of mine.” Leonard said.

“Alright...Point him out.” Ira was about to stand when Avery placed a hand on his shoulder and stopped him.

“Explain.” Avery said coldly, the Fourth Prince wasn’t exempt from her decision to kill whoever attempted to use Ira. She even suspected the Prince of sending the Parvian noble, which if true, was already past what could be tolerated in her eyes.

“Lowell, the representative of the Merchant’s Circle is working with the Tel’vians. I’m not sure how far their cooperation goes, but he’s already violated the principle of neutrality.” Leonard revealed.

“Is that true?” Sylun asked with clear anger. She had been alive long enough to witness the creation of the Free City and its meteoric rise. From what she could see, the city had constantly maintained neutrality since it became a problem in the eyes of others.

“I wasn’t there to personally witness it, but someone from the Tel’vian side informed me of this information.” Leonard stated.

“And you’re telling us why?” Avery narrowed her eyes.

“...I thought that you may want to cooperate.” Leonard explained. He had to admit that Avery’s presence was intimidating.

“Cooperate?” Avery started, “I planned to kill the one responsible myself, but now I think I’ll watch how everything plays out.”

“Are you not interested in catching the one responsible?” Leonard asked, sending a glance to Ira.

“Listen well, Prince. If you try to incorporate Ira into any of your plans, I will kill you without so much as a second thought. I’ve been quite patient with others these past few days, probably more than I’ve ever been in my entire life, as of now I am at my limit.” Avery replied with complete apathy.

“I…” Leonard was about to start his attempt to convince her, but as he opened his mouth Avery placed a hand on her saber. Due to her status, she was the only one allowed to carry a weapon and no one was willing to question it.

“...I understand.” Leonard said with some unwillingness. He knew if he was to say anything other than that he would be dead in a heartbeat.

“Hmm...Guess nothing can be done, Prince Leonard.” Ira said with a chuckle before he began eating.

“Apologies for interrupting your dinner.” Leonard slightly bowed to Sylun before leaving.

“You remind me so much of Lauren.” Sylun said as she began to reminisce. “When you next see her, could you please give her my regards?” She asked.

Avery nodded in agreement since the Dark Elves were gifting a portion of God Steel, giving her Grandmother a message wasn’t an unreasonable task.

...

Elsewhere, Leonard had to adjust his plans. Without Avery or Ira stepping out, there was a question as to how he would handle Lowell. Exposing his crimes was second priority, Leonard wanted to kill him, but it would no doubt cause a major incident if he took personal action. It looked as if he would have to settle on seeing Lowell lose his position at the very least. That was if he could expose his crimes.

Leonard made his way through the banquet hall and stopped when he stood in front of Lowell who was engaged in a conversation.

“Excuse me for a second…” Lowell made a courteous bow toward an old man before he turned to Leonard. “I’ve been meaning to speak to you, Your Highness.”

“It happens that I also wanted to share some words with you...shall we find a private table?” Leonard asked without revealing his true feelings. It was an incredible task to fight the feelings of disgust from surging up.

“Perfect.” Leonard answered with a cheerful clap.

The two made their way to a section of the room designated for everyone instead of one particular nation.

“I’m curious as to what you wanted to talk to me about?” Leonard started. Since he had the advantage in terms of knowledge, there was no need to rush anything.

“We’ve narrowed down the list of suspects. Our city is quite lax in certain areas, which makes it great, but also allows some...unsavory individuals to make quite a living while also evading capture. It’s likely that the one responsible for what befell you was hired through those underground channels.” Lowell stated. Of course, he was aware that the Prince had made up the story, but playing along was necessary.

“Is that so?” Leonard asked in a sarcastic tone as all pretense began to fade.

“It is...Unless you have a different idea to who the culprit is?” Lowell noticed the immediate shift in body language and tone from the Prince.

“I do have a different idea...We both know that there was no abduction attempt, so let’s stop pretending.” Leonard pulled a silencing stone out of his coat and placed it on the table.

Upon seeing him do so, Lowell’s expression turned smug as he relaxed. “It appears you’ve learned a lot during your time here, Fourth Prince. It’s smart of you to keep this private rather than attempt to bring it to light.”

“I’ve learned that the Merchant’s Circle isn’t as neutral as they pretend to be.” Leonard spat.

“Don’t delude yourself into thinking that it’s possible to maintain an unbiased attitude toward everyone. Until very recently your Kingdom was nothing more than a target in the eyes of others. What if another nation was to attack you before the Summit? Do you think it would be smart to give support to you? Keep in mind you suffered multiple disasters that seem to be slowly increasing in frequency. Now, it may all be the result of coincidence, but to outside eyes, it represents an unstable power base and an opportunity.” Lowell explained relaxed manner.

“No one expects you to be completely impartial, but you’ve gone beyond that. You’re taking an active role in the disagreements between nations and you even seem to be attempting to incite conflict. The Free City has always been regarded as untouchable due to its neutrality and fairness, but if everyone were to find out it would fall in a matter of months.” Leonard countered.

Lowell laughed in a patronizing manner before he shook his head.

“Let me ask you something...Is it just you involved in what’s going on or is it the entire Merchant’s Circle?” Leonard questioned.