Relax. You're good. You're prepared. Everything's under control.

Lucius tapped his foot nervously before taking a deep breath. He checked himself in the glass window of the Secundus dorm's building. His hair was done according to one of the latest style magazines and he was dressed in what Outworlders call a 'suit'--one specifically picked by Margraves for himself.

He had to admit that the ensemble made him look more presentable than he had ever seen himself, even back when Castarossa would make him dress up for etiquette training. The clothes complimented his gray hair, his build, and more importantly, he got it at a discount because of something Margraves called a 'pre-labyrinth dive sale'. While he wasn't much for fashion, he was all for saving gold.

I hope this is enough for me to fit in. No. It better be. The time I spent reading through all those boring magazines was barely even enjoyable. I could've been reading--

"Hello."

Distracted by his thoughts while fidgeting in front of the window, Lucius didn't realize that someone had walked all the way behind him. He looked at the person's reflection at the window first and, for three whole seconds, his breath halted completely. The girl's golden eyes twinkled ever-so-slightly in her reflection, and her resplendent, blonde hair that was usually wild and untamed flowed down through her bosom to her hips. Her clothes looked fantastic as well--a dress that did justice to and accentuated her lithe, athletic body. She looked at him with the shy smile she gave him when they first saw each other, but this time, he couldn't even utter a word back.

"H-hi, Althea," Lucius said, collecting himself with a slight shake of his head before turning around to face the girl. She looked even more breathtaking, he thought to himself. Looking at the girl, he felt something he couldn't quite explain. He'd been acting pretty strange around only this specific girl and he didn't know why. Was there something different about her? He wondered to no avail. Was it because they both bore Ferrian blood? No, that wasn't it either. It was something else, and he wasn't sure he wanted to know exactly what it was.

"Are you not going in yet?" Althea asked, looking right at him with her enchanting, citrine gaze.

"No, not yet," Lucius said, returning the girl's gaze with a practiced smile. "I'm waiting for our entire group so I could introduce them to Maritess myself."

"Oh. Okay."

Althea broke eye contact for a moment, much to Lucius's relief. He didn't know how much longer he could've kept his facade of nonchalance going. He didn't know why, but he'd rather be embarrassed in front of other people than her. An inconceivable and illogical thought, he knew, but the girl somehow had that effect on him.

"Do you like her?" Althea said all of a sudden. This question caught him off-guard, but the girl didn't even look fazed. She looked serious more than anything and was back at looking right at him again.

"What, Maritess?" Lucius said with a wry smile. He didn't know where Althea was going with this, but he could easily tell that his answer was important to her.

"Yes," Althea said. "Do you love her? Are you two together?"

L-Love? That's quite the jump, isn't it?

Watching the girl's half-curious and half-frowning face closely, Lucius answered, "Of course not. She's just a regular client of mine. See, she's been inviting me to her parties for quite some time now so I finally gave in. She's pretty stubborn."

Althea looked at him without a word. Three seconds. Five. Ten. He couldn't help but stare back, her narrowed eyes drawing him in.

What is she up to now? Have I said something that upset her?

"Okay," Althea said, looking quite satisfied as she finally graced him with a full smile that lit up the night. In his eyes, at least.

"Okay? What's this about, may I ask?" Lucius said, his lips drawn to a warm smile by Althea's own.

"Oh, nothing. I just wanted to know," Althea said, now back to her less-curious, cryptic self. "Anyway, what do you think?"

"About what?"

"About me," Althea said before turning side to side, showing off not only her dress but also her curves in a clumsy, yet adorable way that she most probably didn't know herself.

Needless to say, Lucius was stumped. The girl seemed more animated than usual for some reason. Not that he was complaining though. It was quite interesting, actually, seeing another side of her.

"You look gorgeous, Lady Rugiet," Lucius said, realizing his blunder only after the world left his mouth.

C-Curses. Too distracted. My old habit came out again!

Much to his surprise, however, Althea giggled. With a curtsy fit for a noble and a tad-exaggerated graceful tone, she replied, "Why thank you, Sir Lucius." She then continued with a visible blush, "Y-You look quite dashing yourself."

"Thank you," Lucius quickly replied, caught off-guard once again not only after seeing her do a perfect curtsy but after hearing her compliment as well. Two things he wasn't expecting from her at all tonight.

Althea looked at him and smiled. She didn't say anything for a while and instead looked at him with the same, warm smile she had on for a while. It didn't take long for that smile to fade, however, and Lucius almost let slip an expression of disappointment after seeing it go away.

"You should watch out."

Lucius raised a brow. "Excuse me?"

"She's not someone you should court," Althea replied, averting her eyes before rolling a lock of her hair with her finger. "Maritess. If you have feelings for her, I mean."

"C-Court? Why would I--"

"Woah! Look at these celebrities! You two are lookin' hot!"

Before Lucius could explain himself, Tissette and the others finally showed up. Even Orlen, who was dressed in traditional elven attire that didn't change even after three centuries came with the group.

Both Ardred and Mort were dressed in suits that looked strangely like each other, while Tissette was dressed in an elegant, violet dress that stopped only a bit short off the floor. She looked like a completely different person, he thought to himself. Someone, well, not quite 'Tissette-like'.

Lucius looked at Althea for another opportunity to talk, but she seemed back to her old, timid self already. Her lips were pursed as she looked at the others with a small smile. She looked as if she didn't know what to say--her demeanor a far cry from when she was talking to him just a moment ago.

Seeing that Althea wasn't about to speak anytime soon, Lucius decided to carry on with the conversation himself. "Hey, guys. You all look great too, actually."

"I know right?" Mort said, popping his collar with a wide smile before turning to Ardred. "Thanks a lot for copying my look, man. They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. I appreciate it."

Ardred looked at Mort incredulously. "Hey, you're the one who ordered yours in the same clothing store, alright? For all we know, you're the one that's actually trying to imitate me!"

"Alright, not now you two. Please? I just want this night to be perfect!" Tissette said, silencing Ardred and Mort instantly.

"You heard the boss. I'm not going to spend my night babysitting you two. Just so you know, I might actually need this," Orlen said, his face deadpan while scratching his head. "My folks want me to 'make acquaintances with appropriate people for once in your life' and I might just do that here. Man, this is gonna be boring."

"Well, suck it up. This is gonna be a great night for all of us, I just know it," Tissette said, her eyes practically shining as she eyed the other guests that were starting to flock the building one by one.

...

"Maritess, this is--"

"Tissette Carraway, Ardred Savinhail, Mort Kyronhail, Orlen Greenwall, and Rugiet Althea, am I right? I know your friends already, Lucius," Tissette said, her amber eyes observing the five closely. She was in a red floral dress that blatantly showed her curves-- a sight that barely came as a surprise to him. "I believe that this is our first meeting. Welcome to my party, all of you."

"Thank you for having us," Tissette and the others except for Althea said alternately.

Lucius frowned, not liking Maritess's response one bit. The girl had been studying him, as it turns out, but for what purpose? Just how much further was she possibly planning on ingratiating herself in his way? What was her agenda?

"You," Maritess said, looking at Althea. "You look familiar. Have I ever met you before?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Althea said flatly before walking away, leaving him and the others, especially Maritess, surprised.

"Sorry about that. Thea's a bit shy, you see," Tissette said.

Maritess raised her brow before laughing. "No worries. After hosting more parties than I could count, I've seen my share of untalkative people. Sometimes they turn out to be the most entertaining people around," she said before throwing Lucius a furtive glance.

"I sure wish that's true in Thea's case," Tissette said with a wry smile, looking unusually stiff. "W-Well, I better keep her company, I think. Thanks for letting us come here again."

"Again, no worries. After all, any friend of Lucius is a friend of mine," Maritess said with a welcoming smile right before nodding goodbye to Tissette, Mort, and Ardred who left to enjoy themselves altogether.

"Long time no see, Maritess."

"Ah, Orlen. Last we saw each other was in the Duke of Granshelt's party, wasn't it?" Maritess replied. "Good to see you here. Actually, your family has been telling me to--"

Orlen sighed. "I know. Well now I'm here, so be sure to tell them that the next time they contact you."

Maritess nodded, and just like that, Orlen finally headed to where Ardred and Mort went, leaving Lucius with the girl.

"I'm glad you came," Maritess said, beaming as she looked at him. "Well? Not bad isn't it? Oh, and you look more ravishing than usual, by the way."

Lucius looked around the spacious dorm he was already used to roam, but only for cleaning. The lighting was dim and the atmosphere was surreal. He had never been in such a place, and it was a lot different compared to the parties they used to have in Ardred's dorm room. There were a lot more people, for one. Some he recognized more than others.

Speaking of people...

At that moment, his true intent in accepting Maritess's invitation surfaced from the back of his mind. He scanned the room subtly, and it didn't take long for him to find who he was looking for.

There you are.

"It's great, especially since you told me I can bring whoever I like along," Lucius replied with a straight face, ignoring another of Maritess's playful remarks. "Though I have to admit that you knowing who I'm going to bring beforehand seems strange, don't you think?"

Maritess giggled. "Strange? I've been watching you for the past few weeks, Lucius. You've seen how Dario is. You never know what he might do, especially now that he knows he can't touch you specifically, right?"

Lucius contemplated her words for a bit, then nodded. "Very well. But I'm also sure you didn't do it just because of such saintly reasons."

"Well, who knows? Maybe I just wanted your favor so badly," Maritess said with a wink.

Eager to change the flow of the conversation, Lucius said, "Speaking of favors, why don't you do one for me right now? Seems like I'm gonna have a rough time cleaning all this tomorrow myself, after all."

"Eh, isn't that business for you as well?" Tissette said teasingly, but he wasn't budging. "Fine. What do you want? Oh, and nothing too naughty please."

"Why don't you introduce me to some of the people here? There's a lot I don't know," Lucius said without even acknowledging what he just thought he heard, as he was used to Maritess's strange advances by now.

Maritess smiled, but not before offering her hand to him. "It would be my pleasure."

Needing her assistance in this particular thing that was crucial to his plans, Lucius had no choice but to take the girl's hand reluctantly, unaware of Althea looking at both of them from across the room with a blank look on her face.