The city had been beautifully decorated. The white marble walls were already a show of opulence, but all kind of decorative flowers and items had been used to liven up the colors. A festival was taking place on the streets, with all kinds of stalls everywhere.

Ghost stopped reading to observe the festivities with shining eyes. 

"Does it look interesting?" Locke asked with a smile. Ghost nodded.

The carriage was slowly led towards a huge palace right in the center of the city. Seeing the Insignia of Barony Mith, the carriage was directly let into the palace and led to the entryway. 

When Locke and Ghost got down, the valets quickly bowed in respect. They tried putting a rose on Locke's breast pocket, but he stopped them, pointing to a beautiful hibiscus already pinned to the pocket.

"Welcome Baron Mith to the Lum Palace." The valet politely greeted and led Locke through the red carpet into the palace. Under Locke's explanation, Ghost kept a low profile and followed Locke like a servant.

Upon entry, the door guard loudly announced Locke's entrance.

"The palace welcomes Baron Locke Mith!" 

Locke entered the ballroom and walked towards the area he had been told to by the Viscount. There he quickly found Bilary and his son August along with a host of Locke's competing Barons.

"Aah, Baron Mith is finally here!" Viscount Bilary excitedly beckoned the young boy who confidently waltzed to the group.

"Viscount Billary. Young master August. Fellow Barons." Locke bowed respectfully, while Ghost was relegated to a servants area. Some servants tried to interact with her, but she quickly put on a terrifying aura that scared all the servants away.

"Baron Mith, you've been the talk of the Nobility recently. Your rapid reforms of the Barony sure has turned Herish Town into a thriving economy." The viscount praised.

"You are overpraising me, Lord Viscount. I'm merely lucky." Locke smiled.

Soon, the group began to talk to each other, mostly making small talk. The atmosphere was fairly harmonious but Locke could easily sense the tension in the eyes of a few of the more perceptive nobles.

The Viscount Bilary led his group to meet other Viscounts. Locke found that his reputation really did precede him.

"Young man, aren't you planning to begin a family?" One of the Viscounts nudged the young boy. "I have a beautiful daughter."

"I am flattered by your praise." Locke smiled and tactfully shifted the topic. He began talking about certain commodity specialities of the Viscounty.

"Young man, you are clever as you are knowledgeable." The lady Viscountess praised.

"It is my job to do my research." Locke chuckled.

As the day continued, Nobles of higher station began to make their appearance. From Counts, to eventually Marquises and finally other Dukes. The last to finally enter was Duke Lum and his daughter Selestia, the woman of the moment.

Locke's eyes were analyzing the other nobles. To their credit, there was no hint of an atmosphere that the country was on the brink of chaos. The King was on his deathbed, there was a huge disaster taking place in the Mid West and the three Princes would soon enter a proxy conflict. He was lucky to only be a Baron and free from any influence.

Duke Lum and Duke Claithe were two of the most intimidating individuals in the Ballroom. Duke Lum was the strongest mage of the Kingdom, an Archmage. Duke Claithe was one of the strongest warriors in the Kingdom, a Great Knight.

Duke Lum slightly touched his throat with his slim wand. The moment he spoke, his voice echoed throughout the ballroom.

"Ladies and Gentlemen. I am happy that everyone took time of their busy schedules celebrate with my family, the coming of age of my only daughter Selestia." Lum calmly said. "Let the celebrations begin. Let us toast to my daughter!"

All the nobles raised their glasses to toast. Locke was young, but he wasn't out of place at all in the environment. After the toast, the Duke and his daughter would take the effort to individually meet every noble.

As the party went on, Locke and the Viscount got into a discussion in the corner.

"I was able to confirm what you told me. The situation in the Mid West is currently terrible." Viscount Bilary said urgently.

"Oh, I didn't realize you two are aware about the matter!" A third voice interrupted the private conversation of the two.

Marquis Tasmodius. Locke immediately became extremely vigilant. He had to be very careful about every word he spoke next.

"Marquis!" The Viscount almost jumped in shock.

"Viscount Bilary. Baron Mith. I've heard a lot about your recent activities. Your administrative abilities are much cherished." The Marquis was smiling.

"I didn't think the Marquis himself would pay attention to the activities of my humble Barony." Locke replied after a blitz through the possible responses that would be true. From what Locke had learnt, the Marquis can only detect lies. 

The Marquis smile suddenly became wider. Locke immediately understood what happened. The usual response would be I am humbled by your praise or something of that sort. Usually, that is just a perfunctory response among fellow Nobles that might register as a falsehood under the Marquis.

"So, you two were talking about the incident in the Ghone Forest?" The Marquis asked.

"Yes, Lord Marquis." Locke quickly replied. Best to keep it short and sweet, he thought. The Marquis nodded. He turned towards the Viscount. "Please go on. I'd like to hear as well."

The Viscount paled, but continued. "I heard that another platoon of troops was being used to hold in whatever exists inside Ghone Forest. The platoon has also suffered significant losses." The viscount said with some fear.

"Whose troops were they?" Locke asked. Questions could not be judged as true or false.

When the Viscount replied, Locke kept a poker face on. The secondary troops were actually the Second Prince loyalists. Did that mean Prince Factus underestimated whatever was in the pyramid in the forest?

'Looks like all three Princes have suffered significant losses.' Locke thought. 'How are the Five Dukes going to play out their support?'