Gabriel didn’t have to wait very long for the banquet he requested. It was probably a testament of Abigail’s influence, but he received the invitation to the banquet a mere day after he visited her. Naturally, they couldn’t hold the banquet the very next day, they needed to give the various nobles some time to prepare. Still, the date for the banquet was set a mere week after Gabriel visited Abigail so it was clear that it was a rather rushed event.

Gabriel too needed some time to prepare, that was why he had requested that Abigail convince the emperor to not hold the banquet before at least four days had passed. As such, a week was perfect for him to gather what he needed. One of the required items would naturally side with him during the banquet, but he would have to convince or strike a deal with the other two if he wanted a majority vote.

And thus, the day of the banquet swiftly drew near as he was busy connecting all the pieces of the puzzle. And finally, the day arrived, the nobles flocking to the capital in droves to attend the grand banquet. Carriages could be seen on every street, each one decorated as much as each noble house could afford. And naturally, Gabriel was also seated in one such carriage, approaching the Imperial Palace. But he wasn’t alone in the carriage.

“How many of your pieces have you managed to push into place?”

A heavy voice, slow and clearly pronounced, with a tinge of weariness at its edges. A figure clad in a suit as black as the night, adorned with golden and dark blue threads, a dark blue half-cape covering his right shoulder. A scar went across his face, cutting diagonally down just between his eyes. A head full of black hair that had been slicked back neatly, and a pair of striking green eyes that radiated majesty and authority.

Edward De Vritara, the current Dragon Duke of Vritara, was sitting in front of Gabriel with his legs crossed.

“The pieces I can move have all been positioned, so on my end we’re good. Is your puzzle complete?”

Unlike their first meeting, Gabriel’s demeanor was far less servile and humble, his tone more direct and casual. But that was only natural. Back then, they were a duke meeting one of the workers in his mansion, now they were a Duke and a Viscount of War cooperating on a plan.

“Not completely. There were three pieces that proved more resistant than initially expected. I had not expected that the wind and weather from outside had been potent enough to corrode the corners of my own puzzle. It is unfortunate that it ended up as such, yet it is also fortunate that I got the chance to discover the pieces before the rot encroached further upon the puzzle.”

There was a slight furrow between the brows of the duke as he spoke, adding to the few wrinkles that spread across his face. There was still a quiet and subdued drawl to his voice, but Gabriel was sensitive enough to sense the soaring bloodlust that was simmering beneath the placid surface.

“I take it that it’s the first?”

Someone had touched something that they shouldn’t have. But who in the empire would be brave enough to touch something belonging to the Dragon Duke? It wouldn’t be the Emperor, he was too close to Edward to try something that foolish. As such, there should only be one other person. But evidently…

“The Fourth. The Crown Princess has also touched slightly upon one of them. It is a relief that she has not delved very deeply yet, it wouldn’t do anyone any good if she had to get scalded by the hot water.”

The fourth prince, huh. He wasn’t a person that Gabriel gave a lot of thought, he wasn’t very prevalent in any of his memories so Gabriel preferred to focus most of his attention on those he knew would be either useful or threats. But if he dared to touch the people of the Vritara duchy then he was either a foolish man, or secretly capable.

But Abigail was also involved… She also had outside knowledge of this world, just like he did, and she was the Crown Princess of the empire so she should be intimately aware of how dangerous the ducal families actually were. So if she still dared to meddle in their affairs like this then it likely meant that there was something there that she found worth the risk. He’d have to question her later.

“I take it that the missing pieces won’t affect the overall picture?”

Gabriel picked up the teacup that stood at his side, the duke’s carriage was large enough to house a tea station, and stable enough to allow each cup to rest comfortably. He didn’t have a clear picture of the entire Vritara duchy and its vassals, but the duke hadn’t spoken about it so he assumed that the missing pieces wouldn’t prove to be too great of an obstacle.

“No picture is complete if even a single piece is missing, the most discerning eye will always find the fault. Such is doubly true when a second artist is trying to fill in the gaps with their own style.”

The duke sipped his own cup of tea, glancing out through the window next to him. Marion and Francis were riding their own horses on either side of the carriage, one wearing a blank expression while the other had a slight frown at not being allowed in the carriage. The only one missing from their entourage was Alice, but she still had to stay hidden so she would naturally not participate here, she had her own tasks to handle.

“But that will only be true for my picture. I imagine that it will not affect yours too much in the long run. The darkness knows how to be properly careful now.”

The duke put down his cup, his gaze returning to rest on Gabriel. He was just looking at him as he sat there, but it felt almost like needles pierced into Gabriel’s flesh, a pricking sensation spreading across his body. Dukes… They were difficult people to deal with. At least this one wasn’t his enemy for the moment.

“This is a matter that concerns my wife, I will not allow a few missing pieces to affect the outcome I desire.”

Still, Gabriel had encountered pressure like this a few times back in his previous life so he was able to maintain his own placid smile. The duke looked at him for a few more seconds, seemingly trying to understand Gabriel.

“Indulge my idle curiosity, if you may. For what reason did you choose that child?”

It was a question Gabriel had been asked once in the past, by Alice herself, and it was certainly one he hadn’t expected Duke Vritara to ask him. It was a question that could lead one to believe any number of things, but the blank gaze of the duke didn’t betray any of his thoughts.

“There was no real reason. I needed to be used, and she happened to be there. She was just the first to reach for the sword’s hilt.”

It was not a reason that Gabriel was ashamed of, nor was it a reason he saw a particular need to hide. How it all started didn’t matter, it was all about how it would end.

“She would be sad if she heard that.”

Gabriel almost tilted his head when the duke responded, sipping his tea once again. Gabriel didn’t like his blank expression, it was hard to handle people he couldn’t get a proper read on.

“She wasn’t. She simply proclaimed that she would always choose me.”

Gabriel mimicked the duke and drank some tea as he thought back to that day. The sensation of her hands folding behind his neck, the slight curve of her mouth as she locked eyes with him, the warmth of her forehead on his. He could not forget. The corners of his lips moved unconsciously as he thought back, but the duke simply turned his gaze sideways, ending the conversation while looking out the window.

“Then it seems you do not understand other peoples emotions.”

————

The gates in front of the Imperial Palace were packed with carriages, a long line stretching through the streets. Just about every noble in the empire who wasn’t ashamed of themselves had rushed here for the banquet. The invitation called it just a standard banquet, but everyone was able to sense the undercurrents rushing beneath the surface. The death of the Third Prince, the disappearance of Alice De Vritara, the unrest in the Kasarias Kingdom… It would certainly be an eventful banquet.

As Gabriel was riding on the carriage of duke Vritara, he was naturally able to skip the long line in front of the gates and head straight in. The guards had to be left outside, otherwise there would never be enough space for everyone inside. As such, it was only the direct lineage of the Vritara family, as well as him, that entered the palace.

But as they made their way through the garden that served as the entrance, as well as the subsequent hallways of the palace, they received a fair few stares from the minor nobles or guards they passed. The reason was actually exceedingly simple.

Marion and Francis, the two direct descendants and possible inheritors, were walking two steps behind Duke Vritara. And Gabriel? Well he was walking directly next to the duke, the two chatting quietly until they reached the gates that led to the banquet hall.

“Now entering! Duke Edward De Vritara and Viscount of War Gabriel Sakra Indra!”

“Now entering! Princess Marion De Vritara and Prince Francis De Vritara!”

The order of entry was very important to the various nobles so there was no one that missed the different timings of when the people of Vritara entered, it was enough to let a fair few of them draw their own little conclusions.

Gabriel, on the other hand, was a bit more focused on the order of things that he had planned. Well, the title used to announced Marion and Francis also caught his attention. They were known as possible inheritors of a duchy so they were properly announced with the titles of princess and prince, a right Alice was not afforded during the previous investiture. Well, she had been officially recognized as a possible inheritor at that very investiture so she should receive the proper title during her next banquet, it would be something to look forward to.

He blinked twice to clear his mind and shake away they thoughts, focusing on the present.

The layout of the banquet hall was simple, at least at a glance. There were round tables scattered throughout the grand hall, each one seating anywhere between six and twenty people. The distance between each table was neither large nor small, large enough for people to move freely, yet small enough for those on the surrounding tables to speak freely without having to raise their voices.

At the furthest end of the room, just below the golden balcony, was the rectangular table reserved for the Imperial Family. Slightly elevated, three steps higher than the rest of the room, setting them apart even when they were all gathered.

Very few people were currently seated, favoring to walk around and mingle. The servants were constantly moving about with trays of drinks and finger food, subtly setting the mood for the banquet and loosening the lips of the nobles that had already gathered.

“Now entering, Duchess Henrietta Arie Barong! Duke Johan Arie Barong. Prince Arioch Arie Barong!”

Shortly after Gabriel and the Vritara family arrived, the northern ducal family made their entrance. The slight buzz that filled the banquet hall grew a bit louder now, a myriad of gazes turning towards the door. But shortly after…

“Now entering, Sir Michael Woodime! Ser Arlene Woodime! Sir Caine Woodime!”

The eastern family had arrived, fueling the buzz and murmurs that already hung on everyone’s lips. They weren’t an official ducal family, but no one would be so foolish as to treat the Woodime couple and their adopted son as anything less than a ducal family. The nobles knew it, and the Woodime family knew it, which was why their entrance caused such a buzz.

“Now entering! Her Highness the Crown Princess Abigail De Earhart! Her Highness the Empress Dowager Regina De Earhart!”

The nobles in the banquet hall did not get to rest for even a moment as another pair of important names made their entrance shortly after the Woodime family. The undercurrents were flowing and the rumors were already spreading like a plague.

Gabriel eventually strayed from Duke Vritara, sampling the food and drinks while he occasionally chatted with some of the nobles that had already gathered. Abigail met up with Caine, the Empress Dowager sharing a few words with the Woodime family. It all looked normal, the minutes turning to hours as time trickled away. And it was only then, more than a handful of hours later, that the announcers got to speak the next big name.

“Now arriving, Duke Elmar Gaun Sorin! Duchess Aldarin Gaun Sorin! Prince Alastair Gaun Sorin!”

The Sorin family finally made their entrance, sauntering into the banquet hall. But Gabriel could tell. There was a slight pause in their gait just as they entered, just as everyone’s eyes landed on them. They had probably noticed it. The hushed whispers, the inquisitive gazes, the subdued tension that lingered in the air.

What did it mean to be a ducal family? It meant to be just beneath the emperor, so infinitely close to the highest authority in the empire. The privileges they enjoyed were beyond measure, their pride higher than the heavens. So during banquets like this, the ducal families always did the same. They waited until the last moment with making their entrance, only the Imperial family was allowed to arrive later than them.

The Sorin family had upheld this tradition, all the other nobles had arrived in the handful of hours that Gabriel had been here.

So why were the other ducal families already here? Why had the three other great families arrived so early? So close to each other? And why had the Empress Dowager and the Crown Princess showed up so early, separate from the rest of the Imperial family?

The whispers were already running wild, speculations flying so quietly that only those involved could hear them. The air felt thick and heavy, like a sickening sludge that blocked the throat when they tried to breathe. Even the more naive nobles could feel it. Something was going to happen.

“Now announcing, the Imperial Family! His exalted…”

The announcers started to shout loudly, trumpets playing a familiar tune as the Imperial Family started to make their formal entrance. But the words were rather blurred to Gabriel, his gaze quietly surveying the banquet hall.

Vritara, the Dragon of the south. Barong, the Lion of the north. Woodime, the Demon of the east. Sorin, the Phoenix of the west. Earhart, the Eagle of the center.

Gabriel sipped the wine he was holding, he couldn’t even tell what it was actually supposed to taste. All he felt was a dense metallic taste washing over his tongue as the deep red liquid passed down his throat.

The pieces had been gathered, the fuse had been lit. As Alice would have put it, all he had to do now was blow the proverbial horn.