"Where did you get your intel from?" Maren queried, his expression placid and devoid of emotion. After all, one cannot reveal what they truly feel especially in a matter as sensitive as this.

Thankfully, Tania was swift in her responses, and gave extra details even when he did not mention in his question. She was by far the most receptive person ever in his experience in the mentally tolling field of interrogation. "Jonek Jonjej. He used to reside in the beggarly area, where the living conditions are most sordid."

Maren raised an eyebrow. "Why did you answer unasked questions? You know the protocol as well as I do-"

"I'm rushing things along so I can spare you beating up yourself later for asking me these even though it's just your duty. I know you, Maren." Her eyes gazed at him with a softness he rarely received from her.

The truthfulness of her response stung, and he proceeded with the questions taciturnly. "Who did Jonek Jonjej receive the intel from that allowed us all to attend the gala?"

"A lady of high-born status invited him to the ball- her name is Margaret Ollikys."

Margaret Ollikys turned out to be an elderly woman residing in the heart of the upper-class town, who lived with a young daughter, Jania Ollikys, heiress to the Ollikys fortune.

Expectedly, the Ollikys family had ties to the Governors of Excidium- whether it was close or distant, Maren was not sure for certain, but there was another tie that they had was to somebody he never expected.

Nevertheless, now that he had a hidden card in his hands, he was planning to play the game well, and get any information he can get his hands on in order to bring justice to Jonek Jonjej and help the Agency's reputation recover.

He had chosen the identity as a son of a hardworking, well-to-do family, but one that was not so well-known that received a lot of attention. After all, he had to stay under the radar, for if Margaret Ollikys proved to be a gossipy woman, he could put himself and the Agency in trouble that they could not afford.

Margaret Ollikys wouldn't let go of his hand. If she wasn't an important source- the woman who had given the late Jonek Jonjej the intel of the gala- he would have wrenched his hand free from her relenting grasp. This woman is so creepy- does she have a fetish for hands or something? Why does she keep stroking my hand? Help me, somebody, please.

He had come to regret the identity that he had chosen for the moment the surname 'Jonnestrom' left his lips, the old woman would not leave him alone.

"Mother! What are you doing? I am so sorry, Mr..." A young lady who shared the same black curls of Margaret Ollikys's hair came to his rescue.

"I am Ian Jo-"

"Ooh, darling! Look! One of the heirs to the humble Jonnestrom family. I know you haven't heard of them, my dear, but he's Ian Jonnestrom. Mark my words, that family will be up-and-rising soon!" Margaret Ollikys winked at her daughter with an astonishing lack of subtlety, clearly urging her to date him or something.

"Mother..." Jania Ollikys facepalmed herself, and apologised to him. "I am so sorry, Mr Jonnestrom. Let me introduce myself. I am Elairi Ollikys. Forgive my mother, please. She is bordering on senility, and she's a bit doddery these days too. Forgive her for her unchangeable habit of touching hands- when she was younger, my late grandfather apparently told her that a person's hands tells their fate. That's why she does it. She's curious about everyone's fate."

"Ooh, and what a fate he has! So full of t-"

"Mother! Goodness me, your medicine, mother. Did you forget it again?" The girl managed to stop her mother from blabbering further as she escorted her mother into the mansion. To him, the girl said, "I'll have my maid escort you in, Mr Jonnestrom." He was about to object, saying it was not necessary when the girl bellowed, "You here!" to a young maid dressed in a prim uniform, "Escort Mr Jonnestrom to the living room, and don't forget to serve him cream tea."

Before she could leave with her mother however, Maren swiftly stopped her, for he did not have time to waste, let alone enjoy cream tea. "Look, Miss Elairi, thank you for your hospitality, but I am just here to do business with your mother. I don't mind her quirks either. It's important business too." He placed an extra emphasis on the word 'stress', making Jania raise an eyebrow but she turned a blind eye to his strange insistence.

"Very well then. Still, I insist on serving you tea. It'll be rude of me to not even serve a beverage."

After he nodded his consent, Elairi beckoned her maid to serve him and her mother tea, and they soon proceeded with his 'business meeting'.

The moment they were behind closed doors, Maren let out a sigh of relief. He had been worried that if Elairi joined in their conversation, she would suspect him of having an ulterior motive- which he did have- and alert the family's guards on him. While he was more than capable of taking down guards, any display of combat in Ashlar would definitely sound the alarm for Governors as in the upper-class town, any attack on a family residing here meant probable harm to the ever mighty Governors.

"Well, let's get down to business, ma'am. You know, I hear that you're acquainted with the de Allura family."

"Ah, here for gossip, are you?"

"No, no, ma'am. See, the way my family and I do business is by getting a rough idea of our potential clients. We plan on selling more jewels, ma'am, and I just thought that I'd be able to help my family out by doing a share of the work as I should."

The elderly lady nodded her head, patting him with her left hand while she stuffed a scone into her mouth with her other hand. "Yous a good lad, you are. Now, if only Elairi is cappable of having a businesses mind, the family wealth is going to be in good hands," the lady mumbled, making her words somewhat incoherent. "Well, the de Alluras are a selfish lot. They'll do anything to get that extra bit of bloods and gold from the Governors, you see. They even sacrificed their own daughter when she was but of a wee age. Six years old and given to the Governors. God knows where she is."

Maren nearly dropped his cup of tea when she revealed that. Could she be talking about...

"I think her name was Tanny, or was it erm Taia? Ta..."

"Tania."

He received another pat on his shoulder for that. "You've got a good memory, haven't you? That's right, Tania de Allura. Given away at six and told to serve her family till she did. I didn't want that for her, and told Brites to spare the child. But no, fortune mattered more to Brites than her own flesh and blood. If Elairi was Brites' child, she'd likely be married off to a rich old man or suffered the same fate." The old lady chuckled, groaning in pleasure when she ate a cheese stick.

His mouth was set in a grim line. The elderly lady had babbled away crucial bits of information and they were ones that startled him. If Tania knew what Ms. Margaret would say loosely, she would never have brought him to her.

"Now, what business did you want to conduct with me?"

One down, one more to go. But first, the fake business.

"Here are some of our finest jewels, ma'am, amber and aquamarine. We hope you find them to be acceptable." He presented the fake jewels to the old lady, who clapped her hands like a seal when she saw the shiny baubles.

"My, my! How wonderful of you! Bless you!" She leaned forward and planted a fat, sloppy kiss on his cheek.

Damn it. I should have given pearls only instead. She hates pearls. Why the heck did I give her aquamarine and amber? Gosh.

"It's no trouble, I hope that you will invest in the Jonnestrom jewels in the future, ma'am."

"Trust me, I will. You know, these jewels remind me of the time an old, up-and-coming jewelry craftsman sold jewels to us. I once paid him 500 bloods for pearl and sapphire jewelry. Mind you, I hate pearls, but Elairi loves them. She wears those pearl earrings everyday- did you see them on her today?"

"No, I didn't." His voice was hoarse and gruff for he knew that the old craftsman was none other than Jonek Jonjej. What she said next confirmed it.

"It was I who gave him exclusive invitations to the Governors' Gala. Unfortunately, it did not turn out to be a great affair, as we all know by now. Sad business."

Sad business? It's just sad business to you, but for us, it's more than that. It's always more than that. Unable to stay in the room, unable to fake the pretense any longer, Maren cleared his throat and stood up, making his way out.

"Wait, Ian Jonnestrom! I've got something to tell you."

He stopped in his tracks and took a deep breath.

"What is it, ma'am?"

She beckoned him towards her, and when he did, she grabbed and stroked his hands again. "A fate full of twists and turns! Oh my. So much heartbreak here and there. Aphrodite did not bless you at all, dear lad. Oh! Such a curious fate. Aphrodite may not have blessed you, but you Thanatos will do you right when you need him most."

Aphrodite. Thanatos. All of these were mythological Gods, and of course only the upper-class would know of them, for they were the ones who had the most exclusive access to the stories and facts of the world before the 22nd Century. Their collection beat the Agency's too.

"Thank you for telling me, ma'am, but I must go. Goodbye, ma'am." With that, he left.

Tania de Allura.

An enigma. Underestimated. Innocent.

Those were how people used to perceive her as back in the early days where she had manipulated everyone into believing her and her lies. Not now.

Back then, everybody was enchanted by her charisma and wrapped around her finger. But after what Margaret Ollikys had told him, he decided to make a character profile of the true Tania with Alara's help.

He hated seeing his name there, on the profile. He felt conflicted seeing it there in black and white too, and he wasn't sure if it had double-crossed his friend or helped the Agency. After all, regardless of her crimes that she had committed, the profile was full of details that were personal to her.

It'll hurt her when she sees this. But a traitor's sins must never go unpunished, especially when she had willingly let an innocent man be her scapegoat.

Especially when she supported a lawless organisation that kidnapped children to deceive the outside world into believing that Excidium was a safe country. To get others to believe that here is a place where children blossomed and everyone was content with their lives.

Especially when she failed her friends by taking part in the Governors' assignment that caused two of her best friends to breathe their last.

"I'm sorry, Maren," he felt a warm hand on his. Alara's. "But this is for the good of our cause. What we're doing."

"Do you really care about her? Or even cared about her?"

"I used to. She was so congenial and we eventually became comrades." Her tone changed from a thoughtful one to a bitter one. "But after I pieced things together for myself, I no longer cared about her. Tania had made clear and chose to discard any goodwill between us the moment she betrayed us."