It took much longer than Yulia expected to settle Allen for the night. Her son had been bursting with energy since the start of their trip and she didn’t know what to blame. It could have been the new and interesting sights. The spring sun, bright blue sky, and green surroundings were enough to keep her in a cheerful mood. She’d never admit it aloud but not all their stops along the road were for her son to frolic in the fields.

It might have been the beds. Victory was not a place where comfort was prioritized. Their mattresses practically felt like wood. As a James, she could afford something with a little more padding but nothing like what was in Lou’s house. She didn’t want to get up in the mornings anymore, despite waking up refreshed and full of energy. If there was one souvenir she brought back from her trip, it was going to be a mattress, even if she had to carry it on her back.

Or it could be the food. She had known the succubus, the one called Geneva, was an incredible cook but had very much underestimated her. Lou made a point of asking the creature to cook food that was “good for children”. Yulia was happy to see that included plenty of fresh vegetables, something of a rarity in the north, and was surprised at how eagerly Allen devoured them.

After every meal, he was practically bouncing with energy. It felt good to see him so healthy, but she worried that he’d throw a fit when it came time to leave Lou and the incredible cooking behind. They couldn’t stay forever.

But her concerns belonged to tomorrow. Tonight was about celebration…and collecting information. She had negotiations to conduct. Perhaps two. While she and her son couldn’t stay in the south, Lou was more than welcome to return to the north. And, seeing as she had just been banned from the Hall and disavowed by the king, Yulia was hopeful about convincing her. She had to do so before the crown realized what kind of talent it was driving away.

If either of her endeavors were going to be successful, she needed more information about her sister-in-law. The kind she couldn’t get asking blunt questions and needed to fish out from the sea of her acquaintances. Something she had done plenty of times before. The biggest complication was navigating the party.

Yulia enjoyed parties. So much so that she’d hosted several in Victory. Through liberal use of her last name, she’d made a dent in the tradition of social gatherings being old men sharing war stories over bad drinks or worried mothers comforting themselves while their children were at war.

Her “garden parties”, something she started to promote the use of ice gardens to give the fort a little color, were a big hit despite her forbidding talk of training, combat, or the campaigns. The women that attended talked about old family recipes, cute stories about their children too young to be concerned with matters of war, the best way to keep furs, and art. They loved it.

Yulia had hoped to spark an interest in developing the north’s culture outside of fighting and it had worked. Unfortunately, her movement was too closely tied to her. They mistakenly thought that her input was needed to make even the slightest progress. Everything from planning, preparing, and realizing the events was placed on her shoulders.

Then, on the day of said events, Yulia was always crowded by the attendees and bombarded with opinions, the women like eager puppies seeking treats. She was a beautiful and charismatic woman. People liked her. They wanted to be around her. They wanted to be her.

Yulia didn’t consider herself a vain person. She was simply aware of herself and her natural advantages. Ignoring the rampant admiration her presence inspired wouldn’t do anyone any good, especially not herself. She’d grown accustomed to the overflowing goodwill of the north. Was even flattered by it.

However, managing it was tiring at times. She hoped that being in the south, where her family’s name was more infamous than venerated, she could enjoy the party like any other guest, with the freedom to snoop and subtly interrogate as she needed.

The house had incredibly good sound insulation. With the door to the guest room closed, Yulia barely heard anything of the party but the moment she opened it, a wave of music and laughter hit her like a blow to the face. She came back to her senses quickly, closing the door before the noise could wake her son, but then she took a moment to simply enjoy the ambiance, closing her eyes as she let the noise wash over her. She could have enjoyed it for hours but left the door after a few minutes. There was nothing sadder than standing on the sidelines while others were having a good time.

Yulia gasped as she entered the welcoming room, spellbound by the show playing out in the middle of the room. She recognized the use of the light affinity, but she’d never seen it used in such a frivolous manner as crafting moving pictures. The light affinity was humanity’s strongest weapon, not something meant for entertainment. Yet, despite the juvenile nature of the magic, there was unquestionable mastery behind it.

A portrait was hard enough to paint, the human face full of detail that went unnoticed until an artist undertook the challenge of replicating it. She imagined doing so with math was several magnitudes more complicated than doing so with paint.

Yet, whoever was creating the show had gone far beyond mere portraits. The people they depicted moved and emoted. The image was somewhat transparent but they and the environment they interacted with were flawless.

There was no sound, but the show was accompanied by music. Earl, the young steward, played a violin at a frantic pace while a handsome man in the show fought a ferocious monster, an injured woman looking on with fear and hope.

“Coo.”

She looked down and found Lou’s imp staring up at her with four bright eyes. A thin glass was carefully held in its tail, and it extended it to her. “Thank you,” she said while plucking the glass from the little servant. She’d tasted the liquors Lou brought to the north and, while they were good, she wasn’t a fan of hard drinks. The glass interested her because the liquid inside was clearly something other than the earthy shroom juice, an appetizing light pink instead of brown. The glass itself was the kind usually used for wine or juice, when children dined at a formal table, so she had high hopes.

She wasn’t disappointed. At the smallest sip, sweet, fruity delight coated her tongue while a warmth pooled in her gut. “Oh, that’s wonderful.”

“Coo!” Unbidden, knowledge of the drink, made by a half-elf of all things using fruits grown by Kierra, slipped into her mind with the comfortable ease of her foot sliding into a well-worn boot. She suddenly knew that the drinks were watered down, there was plenty more at the drinks table, and she also knew what other drinks she might like and what desserts would pair well with them. It happened in the blink of an eye and before she could say anything to the source of the insight, the imp had already scampered off, continuing her duties.

‘Those creatures are terrifying,” she muttered to herself. It wasn’t their mental affinity that unnerved her. Magic was just a tool and could be dangerous whether it was a greater or basic affinity being used. It was their competency that worried her. Against monsters amongst men, she could be assured that they would miss something somewhere, make some mistake she could capitalize on. The thought of having the succubi, who never missed a detail and had unparalleled powers of prediction, turned against her was a nightmare.

Her gaze swept the crowd, unconcerned about the possibly rude gesture since everyone’s attention was focused on the show. It didn’t take long to find Lou or her sister, given they were seated next to each other on one of the couches. And they weren’t alone.

Four other women with strange features also sat with them, the same black ring, a tattoo she thought, signifying they were a group of some sort. She wasn’t surprised to find Lou surrounded by young, beautiful women, their more…exotic features aside.

She was surprised to find Alana in the middle of it, a pretty girl with large, fuzzy ears practically draped over her. It was a far cry from the serious, stoic sister she remembered and she was excited to examine the situation farther, if for no other reason than to tease Alana later, but she had more important matters to attend to first.

Judging from what little she heard, Lou didn’t have a great reputation, but if Yulia was going to help with the negotiations, she needed to know exactly how bad it was. She also needed to know about the guilds, the lord of the city, and the people he governed.

Thankfully, the party had drawn an eclectic crowd from all walks of the city. There was no better group to mine information from. She decided to start with a familiar face, spotting Alyssa standing next to a young man with dark hair who was paying more attention to her than the show and an older man that was amusingly invested in the story, hands balling into fists when the beast knocked the hero to the ground and the hunter had to fend off its snapping teeth with the scabbard of his sword.

Yulia reflexively finger-combed her hair before fixing a pleasant smile to her face and making her way over.