The introduction was brief and straightforward, where no grand festivities were needed. Ushered in by a group of courtiers, Jay went in alone while the rest of the entourage sat outside the throne room. Caligula followed beside Jay. The two were dressed in stark contrast from one another. One wore long robes befitting of a magi or, putting it more negatively, the garb of a mercenary. The other wore attire befitting of a noble, such people would only be seen dead together in public, yet this contrast caused an upheaval in the court.

A long red carpet divided the court in two. Courtiers line the carpet, gathering in their cliques, whispering to one another about the tales they have heard. At the end of the rug, stairs were there, climbing up to a throne. An elderly man sat on the throne. Dressed in a purple tunic befitting a king with a red cape hanging around his shoulder, he stared stoically at the two walking into the room. Another throne room lay beside the man, and an extremely young woman in her twenties sat there. She leaned back, placing her elbow on the armrest, using her hands to support the weight of her head. She seemed disinterested in the whole affair, looking at another section of the court.

“The delegation from the Hanseatic Republic has arrived.” A courtier announced. One of the courtiers left their clique and went beside the king, whispering into his ear. The king still looked forward lifelessly, his eyes still staring at the two newcomers.

“Please kneel before the king.” A courtier went over and sent his request to the two. Caligula looked at Jay, the supposed envoy. Jay looked back at Caligula, seemingly also unsure of what to do.

Caligula sighed and pointed his index finger at himself. He turned to face the courtier and declared,” We shall bow before no king!”

The previous whispers turned into audible conversations. A mixture of admiration and fury reverberated throughout the room. Men barked at the two’s audacity while women shunned them by turning their heads away. Jay seemed taken aback by Caligula’s words, but Caligula just gave him a wry smile.

“We threw out our seventh king and proclaimed ourselves a republic. By the law of nature, all men are equal!” Caligula continued, riling up the court even further. Some of the guards had to step in to stop some of the courtiers from lunging at the two.

“Let me at them! I’ll show them. How dare they insult the one chosen by our gods!” A relatively rabid courtier kept making a fuss, forcing the guards to even drag him out of the room.

The king finally stirred and smiled. His unchanging lifeless eyes looked into the eyes of the two. No hostility could be detected from his eyes, but it was unnerving. He slowly raised his hand, ending all the commotion in the room. The courtiers looked at the king reverently and kept their mouths shut. Some lowered their heads, seemingly ashamed by their actions.

“It’s fine. Tell me, what is the purpose of your visit?” The king finally spoke, causing all eyes to lay at the two. The two young men were staring at each other- Caligula urging Jay to speak up since he already spoke once, while Jay stared angrily at Caligula for ruining everything diplomatically.

“We from the Hanseatic Republic would like to establish relations. We are worried about the ongoing civil war in the Yumalian Empire, and thus they have dispatched me, Jay Famulus Servus, to act as an envoy. Seeing the current perilous situation that the Dominatus Imperium is facing against the Elven Confederacy, the Hanseatic Republic would generously offer protection… for a price.” Jay briefly disclosed his intentions, causing the court to whispers among themselves.

The king rubbed his beard covered chin and began pulling on the grey strands that were rooted there.

“Sounds interesting. I’ll have my ministers settle it.” The monarch nodded.

“To sum it up, you want the Dominatus Imperium to submit under the Hanseatic Republic as a tributary?” The prime minister of the Imperium began our discussions with this rhetorical question. The prime minister, dressed in long ostentatious robes befitting his role of an administrator, was a relatively young man looking to be around his thirties. A little bit chubby due to his high rank in society, he was straightforward and direct.

“That is your interpretation of it. I find that to be very harsh. The Hanseatic Republic is willing to offer its protection to any state that wishes for it. But there needs to be an incentive for us to do so after all.” Jay smoothly replied.

Caligula and Jay sat on one end of the table. Their bodyguards flanked them. Gladio stood there holding a fishbowl. The two bodyguards were having a conversation while Alevanine just in the bowl quietly, watching the scene play out around her.

“So she’s the new plaything that your master bought?” The other bodyguard asked Gladio.

“He claims that she is good warrior stock. And I must admit, he has a good eye. When we found her, she was skinny and scrawny, not exactly good warrior stock. She barely had muscles and had no martial training!” Gladio remarked, and the other bodyguard was awed by his tales. Alevanine felt a little shy due to them discussing her but seemed to be on her best behaviour today.

“I’m going need some time to consider this. But what are the benefits of obtaining this protection? Will the Republic participate in our war against the Elven Confederacy on our side?” The Prime Minister explained, holding a quill in one hand and a piece of parchment in another. He was scribbling some mental notes. He dipped his quill into a small container of ink and continued scribbling on the parchment.

“We will not. However, we will station some troops by your capital. In the case that the Imperium may fall, the Republic will step in and beat back the invaders. We will launch a campaign and end the war decisively. Of course, the Republic will be annoyed if you rely too heavily on us. We would demand more compensation.” Jay clarified.

“And we’ll be able to ship some restricted weaponry meant for our forces to the Imperium. My family would be willing to equip an entire brigade at the same price we sell to the Republic. The condition is that the Imperium can afford them, of course.” Caligula added on.

“The troops by our capital would threaten our sovereignty, wouldn’t it? If we did anything unfavourable to the Republic, will they step in as well? And if we call you into our war, we will turn into a puppet.” The Prime Minister pinpointed some controversial points, recording down the words spoken by the two young men.

“Such a vivid imagination. Nonetheless, the Republic has no interest in intervening with governments of those under protection. I’ll give you a couple of days to think it over carefully. I still have to finish the mission given out by the Senate.” Jay ended the conversation by leaving his seat. Caligula and the bodyguards followed behind him, leaving the Prime Minister sitting alone with his thoughts.

“I’m sorry my family was unable to block this motion in the Senate on your behalf. Nonetheless, maybe you were the perfect fit for this role. I think you’ll do a much better job than me.” Caligula chatted with Jay as they left the palace. They got into the same carriage and began talking along the way.

“No. Famulus Servus has been passing through too many motions. The other families would be wary of our growing influence, so one of us would have been affected. I was just the unlucky sacrifice. Heh.” Jay chuckled.

“Regarding the shark companion with you, isn’t that one of the Sea People?” Caligula asked as he looked into the fishbowl, looking at Alevanine, who was looking away from him. Jay nodded, and Caligula continued to observe Alevanine, who was sitting motionlessly in the tank. He quickly lost interest and looked out the carriage windows.

The carriage suddenly stopped in front of a villa in the inner-city town. “It seemed the carriage has arrived at my lodgings. I’ll have to go now. Perhaps we can catch up another time. See you.” Caligula bid goodbye, leaving the carriage with his bodyguard.

“Take us to the nearest jewellery store.” Jay directed the coachman, receiving a simple nod. With a simple thrusting of the reins, the coach set of to its next destination.

In front of a huge villa, an extravagant store attracted the eyes of all who passed by. Panels of glass, a rare good in these times, dotted the walls. They displayed valuable wares through these panels. One could work their entire life trying to buy one of these but never obtain them with simple, honest hard work. The bright shiny objects attracted many matriarchs of the household into the establishment. Many of them wore jewellery with different designs from the one on display, intending to purchase more. Salespeople eager to get a cut of the sales eagerly welcomed them in, patronising them as much as they could.

As the relatively simple carriage stopped by in front of the store, Jay got out of it. His attire stood in sharp contrast with his surroundings. Salespeople did not rush out to welcome the customer in as usual. They stood away at a far distance and watched on, sneering the gall of these plebians to dare to enter this establishment. Jay scowled but walked in. Hostile looks were sent his way, indirectly trying to get him to leave. He went to the nearest counter, where a matriarch was currently conversing with one of the staff.

The matriarch took one glance at him and immediately covered her nose, hurriedly walking away. “Damn plebians. Thinking they can go anywhere they want!” She scoffed while strutting away, balancing the immense amount of gold dotting her attire.

“How can I help you today… sir. I doubt you could purchase most of our wares.” The staff gave an annoyed look at him for chasing away his customer. The staff was looking towards the door where some guards stood by, prepared to call them anytime when needed.

Placing a box onto the table, Jay opened it. A simple red sapphire necklace sat amidst piles of hay cushioning it. The piece he extorted from the old woman seemed to have found a suitable place to be examined. “I require this piece to be analysed by one of your masters.” Jay requested, placing a gold coin on the table.

The staff’s eyes opened, baulking at the gold coin sat on the table. He changed his evaluation of the young man before him and began trying to appease him. “I’m sorry, sir. I’ll help you get a master to evaluate it. Please wait for a couple of minutes.” The staff closed the box and picked up the package. He walked into the back of the establishment. Some shouts could be heard from the back, but they quickly quietened down. Jay stood there with Gladio and Alevanine, who finally decided to get out of the fishbowl and walkabout. She covered all her non-human features with a hood and long robes. The strange trio attracted the women’s eyes, surprised that they were not chased away. Rumours began spreading, many kinds of speculations were being thrown about.

“Bastard child of a major noble?”

“Strangers from the Steppe?”

“The delegates from the Hanseatic Republic? Of course, I’m joking, ladies. How could such a great republic send delegates looking like beggars!”

An elderly man came out bearing the box. He seemed troubled, looking around the store to match the customer’s matching description that the other staff gave him. Finding the trio, he quickly came over. He urged the three to follow him to the back of the establishment. The three obliged and followed him. Entering the store’s back, jewel smiths were hard at work moulding gold and bronze into their desired shapes. Some were polishing the gems; others were cutting them to fit the slots of their designs. Men and women were seen working together here.

At a somewhat secluded part of the workshop, the elderly smith returned the box. The box was wrapped with many layers of cloth. It seemed that sapphire was as innocent as it seemed after all.

“The jewel seems to contain a complex mechanism that transmits airwaves to another location. Such a mechanism is rare, and only preeminent, extremely great families in large kingdoms or empires could be able to possess such a mechanism.” The jeweller explained, receiving looks of confusion from the group.

“So, it records sound and sends them to somewhere else? Where is this specific location?” Jay asked.

The elderly jeweller could only shake his head, not intending on revealing anything. “I’m washing my hands of this. You have attracted the eye of a major figure. I will wash my hands of this. Keep the gold coin.” He handed back the gold coin and quickly rushed away. The entire workshop seemed not to have heard the discussion; everything continued as usual. How a strange tension hung in the air, making the foreigners to the workshop feel unwelcomed.

“Well, at least he helped somewhat by wrapping it in so much cloth,” Gladio remarked, picking up the box on Jay’s stead. The trio left the establishment, the women still discussing the strange group even after they left. They got onto their simple carriage and headed for their lodgings.

“Bring us back to the palace.”