"That girl is staring at you, Arte…" August chuckled, nudging Artemis.
Artemis turned to face the entrance of the garden, watching as several strangely-dressed figures entered, drawing the attention of the party-goers. Amongst them, a shorter girl had seemingly been enthralled when she caught sight of the Consort and the King.
She had a head of messy blonde hair that fell past her shoulders, and eyes as blue as the sky they saw in August's illusion. Unlike the others she traveled with, she wore simple clothes, a buttoned-up white shirt with the sleeves rolled up, and an emerald-green skirt that fell to her boots.
Then, another group made their entrance. Several Noblemen and women dressed in fanciful cloaks and dresses walked dutifully past the strangely-dressed group. When the blonde-haired girl caught sight of the new arrivals, her face paled, and she quickly averted her gaze.
She was pulled away by a taller man wearing a crimson coat, and so Artemis never gaged the depth of the woman's interest in him.
"To think that the Summerrichs are here… they never bother to attend anything." August chuckled wryly.
"Which one is that?" Artemis asked, casually pointing out a certain figure in the group. He had long black hair that fell past his jawline, and bright-yellow irises that burned with some sort of confidence or determination. He wore pointed boots and a three-cornered black hat, a bright-silver sword tucked neatly in an ornate sheathe at his side. On the back of his fur-lined cloak, there was a neat patterned crest consisting of a triangle holding a round-bottomed flask in its center.
"That's Clause Summerrich, the current head of the Summerrich family. He's an… interesting figure. The Summerrich family tends to keep to themselves, especially in recent days. Although, I suppose the Patterow and Bonnesseau families have been the same. None of them attended our wedding, after all. It wasn't a shock, nor did I take it as any particular slight, but it was very disappointing."
They watched as the cold Nobleman greeted the Archknights standing at the entrance, personally shaking their hands. They were more than happy to do so, they had been instructed by August to act as genial as they could, no matter who was in attendance.
"Ah, your Grace!" An excited voice suddenly called out from behind. When Artemis spun around to see who had called out to them, he was greeted by a brilliant, exuberant smile.
It was Lieger Sequoia, head of House Sequoia.
"Lord, it is a pleasure to see you again." Artemis bowed slightly as he greeted the head of the Sequoia family. While he acted in a calm manner, he was quite excited to see Lieger. They had not seen each other since they had formed an agreement over the distribution of liquor to the Palace. Since Artemis's end had been handled, this meant only one thing.
This celebration was a prime opportunity to reap his reward!
If he could enlist Lieger's help, he was in a perfect position to make inroads with all of the attending Nobles he had never met before!
"Excuse me, August. I'll find you in a bit." Artemis spoke towards the King.
August nodded his head. "Enjoy yourself, it's supposed to be a pleasant day."
He then turned towards Lieger, frowning. "Don't get him into too much trouble."
As the two walked through the garden, they began to plot out who they would inquire with first.
"Have you met the head of House Summerrich yet?" Leiger asked.
"That cold, unseeming man? I haven't."
Lieger let out a short chuckle. "That is certainly one way to describe him. But the most apt way would be to call him the center of industry."
Artemis was quite confused by this. Wasn't this what many called Lieger himself?
"That isn't you?"
"The mercantile sector, perhaps. But anything I sell is probably invented and manufactured by the Summerrich family. Those fancy teacups and rugs I see around the Palace whenever I visit, the carriages we all ride in, even the clothes we wear. I sold them, but they were manufactured under the watch of Clause Summerrich. You want inroads, your Grace? It starts with House Summerrich."
I see… to think this family was behind so much, to have such an expansive grasp of the Blackbaast's industry… but they did not attend my wedding. Wasn't it the case that they were one of the primary dissidents as to my coronation, then wouldn't tangling with them as a first-step into my inroads be a majour mistake?
Artemis seemed quite addled by this revelation. Meeting Clause Summerrich would either prove to be a great boon, or a complete embarrassment that could collapse any chance he had to improve his House's standing.
"Well, if that's the case, do you think you can provide me with better equipment for the Palace's horses…?" Artemis muttered in a disparaging tone. "I nearly fell off of mine on a ride earlier…"
He had grown into the habit of taking his childhood horses, Leist and Harmen, out for rides around the Capital's perimeter. Of course, he was always accompanied by those who moved in the shadows, likely Arcas, who seemed quite suited for tailing him without being seen by most.
But training near-daily with August and the other Archknights in the ways of the blade had proven useful in not only bettering his skill, but his perception. While he couldn't perfectly track Arcas, or even pinpoint his exact location, he could catch signs that he was being followed by him.
Then again, perhaps it was never Arcas that had been following him at all. Perhaps they didn't think a guard of the Archknights was necessary for the Crownless.
The thought made Artemis shiver.
The two quickly found the head of the Summerrich House. It wasn't too hard, such a cold man tended to stray away from the general crowd of gatherings.
Artemis was the first to introduce himself, grabbing the man's attention immediately.
"My name is Artemis, Lord. It's a pleasure to meet with you."
Clause Summerrich first looked towards Lieger, nodding his head. "Lord."
Lieger nodded his head back in greeting. Then, Clause finally turned towards Artemis.
"Your Grace, I was sorry I couldn't attend your wedding. Unfortunately, there were matters that were out of my hands, and the North still snows, even despite the approaching season. Travel is hard, and the Capital is quite far away."
Artemis was confused by such a thing. Why is it that the wedding of the Witch-King, one of the most important events in the entire Blackbaast, was an unnecessary event, but the celebration of a Saint that most Nobles didn't even care for was?
It wasn't as if Artemis minded, it was just odd…
He must not have been burdened by events he could not control this time, I suppose…
Artemis smiled, nodding his head in greeting.
"It's quite alright, Lord Summerrich. Although, it's been noted that you were missed. I hope we can see you attend more events like these."
"I hope so too." He spoke calmly, deeply, reverently. It was almost like he were a preacher in a church, not a Nobleman at a festive event.
Suddenly, Lieger chimed in.
"Lord Summerrich, we were just talking about the state of affairs in regards to the equipment of the horses that pull the Palace's carriages.
"We'll have to talk business another time, Lord Sequioa, I have something to attend to."
Now this certainly struck Lieger as odd, so much so that he glanced over towards Artemis.
Why would the master of all industry deny business with the Palace?
"Certainly." Leiger nodded his head.
"Good day then, Lord, your Grace."
With that, the strange, cold man turned away from the two, disappearing into the crowd.
"What the hell…" Lieger was at a loss. "Sorry, I guess today wasn't a good day. I'll try and set up a meeting in the future. I still owe you greatly."
"Don't worry about it, I'm in no rush." Artemis soothed his troubles.
It was then that they reconvened with August, who had just finished discussing less-than-important matters with other Noblemen of his allegiance.
He grasped Artemis by the hand, ignoring that he might still be imbibed with other business
He was the King, who could demand otherwise?
"Come, I want to show you something."
Artemis nodded his head, blushing. He looked over towards Lieger, waving his goodbyes as August dragged him away.
The two then quickly adjourned to the interior Palace, walking up the flowering steps and past the gate, under the careful watch of the Archknights and House Guard.
At the edge of the garden, Clause Summerrich watched as the two left.
Two other figures stood beside him, sporting strange crests on the back of their coats.
"Did you mark all the Archknights?" Clause spoke coldly to one man.
"They've been equipped with a 'flag', as the Saint suggested."
"Good work, Lord Bonnesseau. Have the newsletters been spread?"
"As far as they could." The head of House Bonnesseau replied. "I lost contact with my greatest distributor, and had to take care of a few loose ends… but nothing should get in the way. It should be fairly easy for people to accept… new rule. What about you, Patterow? Are your soldiers ready?"
The head of House Patterow grinned. "Hundreds. At least one-hundred Spirit Users, two-hundred trained soldiers, and five-hundred Seer Cadets."
"Good." Clause let out a relieved sigh.
He looked towards all the Nobles that had gathered in the garden, a despicable lot.
"Let's begin."