The festival proved a pleasant experience for Samantha. Her mission was terminated early leaving her some downtime until she received her next assignment.
The games were fun and the food was pleasant, slightly reminiscent of home.
Now she found herself among a small crowd observing a peculiar stall, in which a bald man was trying his hand at a game.
Unfortunately, she was already anticipating trouble. The bald man sported a wasp tattoo, one associated with a powerful entity often hired for territorial disputes.
The more the man played, the more violent he became, cursing loudly.
He had two companions, one of whom loudly berated the game on the side.
An old lady, the owner of the stall, just sat on her rocking chair next to the water tank, smiling with her eyes shut.
None of the water being thrown around ever touched her.
The bald man, now completely infuriated retracted his hand from the the water and kicked the glass tank.
"Old geezer, how is this fair? I saw the fish giving the prize to a child just now!" the man approached her menacingly.
In the crowd, some people appeared uncomfortable and whispered amongst themselves. A few started to disperse but many more were attracted by the commotion.
The Old Maiden slowly turned her head to face him, still sitting in her rocking chair with her eyes shut, and nodded wearing her amicable smile.
Not getting the expected response the loud man from the trio, who sported a bareboned mustache, approached.
"Let me guess, only locals get to win? Are you a xenophobe? Do you also hate the empire?"
Still, the old lady didn't react, rocking along with the chair.
Samantha knew it would only escalate from here. They were looking for trouble regardless of the consequences.
Just as she made her way through the crowd a well-dressed young man appeared between the involved.
"You ought to ask permission before petting spirits"
Gasps and whispers spread as the young man was instantly recognized, Young Lord of House Kimsanber.
At this point, the crowd had considerably grown. Samantha held back, opting not to get herself involved.
"Lord Mathias! A pleasure to meet our honored host!" the third, silent member of the trio approached.
He wore a yellow and black gown, with long hair neatly tied in a ponytail.
Lord Mathias however, did not honor the man with a response simply standing beside the water tank, staring at the trio.
"My name is Colle!" the man continued "My friends and I wanted to partake in the festivities. We are just surprised at the treatment we received simply for being imperials."
Colle exaggerated his disbelief at the situation. He wanted this to be a scene, only then would the trio get their paycheck.
"You appear to be mistaken. We are all imperials here." Lord Mathias was terse and cold.
"And are imperials not all equal? Or are some more equal than others?" Collen was not subtle with his insinuation.
"We have no patience for your games. To partake you need permission, without it, you may only spectate. Opposing the rules is opposing House Krimsanber."
Samantha had been at the stall for a while, out of all the stalls this was the only 'free' activity, but not everyone was allowed to play, the owner of the stall had to accept first.
However, she could already imagine the ruckus the trio would make upon being denied the right to play.
"Very well my lord." A creepy smile emerged from Collen's lips, as he bowed towards the old lady.
"Fair Lady, may I partake in this beautiful game of yours?"
The old lady didn't even look at him, slowly shaking her head still rocking her chair.
Collen sighed disappointedly but remained smiling, looking at the mustache man who in turn scratched his head.
"Ooi, what about me?" the old lady shook her head once more.
The creepy smile widened further as the bald man approached the tank and tilted his head menacingly.
"Can I play old hag?"
The old lady didn't react much and simply shook her head again, Collen's smile overtook his demeanor as he approached Lord Mathias.
"Auntie, can I play?" Lord Mathias asked unfazed by the whole situation.
Collen halted surprised by the question, and his eyes widened as he saw the old lady not even sparing a glance at her Lord.
Her head shook.
"Oh my, how frustrating!" Lord Mathias remarked with a smile turning to the trio.
"It appears we are all equal in the old maiden's eyes."
Samantha was dumbfounded. The situation, set up by the trio, was easily handled by the Lord.
Even the crowd, who she thought was tense, just laughed, as if already expecting such an outcome. The mood was friendly and relaxed.
Collen and his thugs failed miserably losing all pretext in the situation, and worse they garnered the attention of House Krimanber.
She couldn't see a single troop or guard but she was sure the interim Lord wouldn't walk around without escort, and part of that escort would probably be relocated to the trio.
"Locals with bonds rarely get permission. He has not played for years apparently." someone next to her said.
She looked to see a young man eating a shrimp skewer. She stepped back in a brief surprise.
"Oh, I apologize Miss Criela. Didn't mean to frighten you."
Samantha's surprise turned into alarm. He recognized her despite her face being completely different.
'His spirit sensitivity was greatly missapraised.'
She quickly recomposed herself.
"Ah, young master Vero. I'm happy today's session didn't take a toll."
Her mission had been peaceful, but nearly caught in her deception, she felt all the previous warnings from her bond firing off.
She just wanted to leave, at least before her deception was fully revealed.
Unfortunately, the worst-case scenario happened.
"Ah, Miss Samantha! It is good to see you again!"
Lord Mathias approached, and he recognized her.
Her true identity.