16.2

Eve moved through the forest like a ghost approaching the town where Ralph had chosen to stop for the night. Her tunic, leggings, and boots had shifted back to normal silver coloring during the jaunt. Before she broke out of the forest, Eve took a long look at the heavens above, connecting to the satellite she had released earlier through its runes.

It seems to be functioning properly. Eve thought before commanding it to create duplicates and then cover the world’s skies. A network to watch over the globe and communicate efficiently, get!

She had to detour around the town’s forested edge a few times, removing groups of mercenaries. The satellite had picked them out quite easily with heat detection. It was clear from the numbers of mercenaries involved that money was not a problem for Luvec and his backers. She left the bodies where they fell as a message.

Using her Storage, Eve looted everything that could be converted into coin. Armor, weapons, clothing, and even utilities such as frying pans made their way into her hands. She spared nothing, taking it all and leaving only cooling corpses behind.

Rings and jewelry were well known as the common way mercenaries kept their cash in a more liquid form. It was one of the reasons she had crafted her own gear of rings, bracelets, and earrings. They made her look like a successful mercenary, which was also a warning to those willing to look to avoid trouble. For mercenary mages, they would be able to clearly see that everything was enchanted.

Eve knew that such clarity was why she hadn’t fought any mercenary mages yet. They took one look at the moving mass of enchanted gear, mana, and speed before escaping. Either that or these groups were too poor to hire mages but rich enough to wear plate armor.

No, the magic users aren’t stupid around here. Eve thought, standing in the blood pools of her latest victims. I’ve seen quite a few tracks leading away. The mages have likely fled to report failure.

It wasn’t like any employer would be able to gainsay them with the rest of their mercenary band dead. In point of fact, any mages would likely spin a story of unbeatable enemy strength for their own survival. Allowing such a story to spread would drastically drop the enemy’s ability to commission more attacks. Powerful mercenaries wouldn’t have interest in taking a contract that could lead them straight into hell.

For those that aren’t smart enough, though, I’ll need to continue cleaning up. Eve thought, moving swiftly through the forest as she finally started heading directly to the town. Eventually, even the most ignorant will hesitate to attack the future Duchess if all those that previously attempted such are dead.

Eve was under no illusions that this would completely stop all attempts on Charlotte. Once it was clear that brute force wouldn’t work, the enemy, Luvec, or his backers would likely move to more quiet methods. She expected them to try exotic poisons first and, if that didn’t work, move on to magical curses. While traveling outside of the College, Charlotte didn’t have the same insulation from those types of attacks.

After all, if a Duke’s daughter died from bad food in the College, word would get around. A school where high-ranking children could be casually murdered wouldn’t exist for long. Even if they were in decline, the Royals would doubtless have no trouble rallying the nobles. They would do it easily, especially if the College handed them such a clear-cut excuse. It was highly likely afterward that the cake known as the College would be divided as spoils. That was why Eve suspected Charlotte’s current enemies couldn’t strike easily within the College of Warlocks.

Eve had seen Luvec sitting with the High Council in the Praetor’s secret room earlier. That event provided quite a bit of context to the current situation. She didn’t doubt that both sides, the College and Luvec, were working towards a single end, but that didn’t mean they were doing so in complete synchronicity. Professor Swift and Bloodwood were ample evidence that the College had far-reaching plans of its own. While killing Charlotte was the goal of Luvec’s faction, it wasn’t necessarily more than a step in the grander scheme for the school’s leadership.

Wheels within wheels. Eve thought as she came in sight of the town wall. Rather fun to watch, I must admit.

Entering the town took only a few moments of her time before a truth orb. After verifying that she was a guard for a previous party that had entered, a token of temporary admission was granted. The strict system in place to prevent intruders was impressive. Rather than attempt to keep everything out, Eve noted the runic spell structure covering the town focused on identification instead.

Presumably, they identified the intruders and then sent someone to clean the problem up. Eve could feel multiple Tier Three mana signatures throughout the town. A quick check with her satellite verified that around eighteen individuals at Tier three were in the area.

Eve subtracted those in her own party, arriving at a respectable number of fifteen. Further checking found they were split into two parts of the town. Unsurprisingly the majority of the eight were inside this world’s version of an adventuring guild. The other seven were clearly within the guard barracks for the town.

No wonder the mercenaries are outside the town. Eve thought, locating the inn Ralph had chosen with a few quick inquiries. No matter how you slice it, attacking the town would be nothing short of a suicide pact. Even worse, it could lead trackers down the trail of who hired the mercenary bands.

Eve tabled the future problems as she entered the warm light of the inn’s lobby. It was clearly an upscale establishment from the clothing of the young woman attending to the front counter. Crystal lamps running off mana lit up the entire room with a bright light. Eve saw two small sofas and an aside chair surrounding a miniature table. The furniture set appeared as if they were conducting troop movements. Reinforcing the concept of military might was a fantastically done piece of battle artwork on the small tabletop.

The Battle for Othuven’s independence. As she looked at the table in passing while heading to the front counter, Eve thought. The picture in the College’s library on the subject was clearly by an inferior artist.

Looking up from the coffee table, Eve caught the eye of the woman at the inn’s front counter. “Good evening. I am part of a party that has already taken residence here.”

“Could you provide the name they might be under, please?” the receptionist asked.

“Zienfer,” Eve replied. She waited patiently for the few moments it took the woman to locate her group.

“They are currently on the third floor in rooms 301, 302, and 303.” The receptionist said. Eve accepted a key labeled 303 with grace before placing it into Storage.

“Is the kitchen still open this late?” Eve asked.

“Yes, our dining room is open until midnight. The Rasmuchein Inn believes in providing only the best for our clients!” the receptionist gushed.

“Oh? What a commendable work ethic.” Eve said.

“It’s from our founder. He started the inn chain with only a single inn almost a hundred years ago to this day.” The bubbly woman replied as she entered Eve’s information in the guest ledger.

Moments later, Eve found herself in the dining room after a few directions. The room was different compared to the lobby by a large margin. The lighting in the dining room was soft and gentle, leaving shadows to the imagination. Waiters and waitresses patrolled like a coordinated attack squad moving from one table to the next in their assigned work area.

“Greetings. Do you have a reservation, or would you like to be seated at the bar?” a sharply dressed head waiter asked with a soft voice.

“The bar sounds nice. Are you able to provide the food unprepared so that I might cook it myself?” Eve asked as she followed the man to a comfortable bar booth. Scented wood with a gentle fragrance was polished to a mirror sheen for each table. She took a seat allowing the luxury-level cushions used to display their full worth.

“The Rasmuchein takes pride in providing only the best for our clients.” the server replied with a smile.

“I’ve heard this somewhere before,” Eve said, grinning. She took a moment to converse with the man ordering a recommended combination of vegetables and meat. After the server departed, Eve looked at the extensive collection of large pieces of art on the walls around the bar.

Whoever owns this place has a fascinating collection of art related to the Othuven kingdom. Eve thought as her eyes narrowed. She touched a small corner of the painting nearest her letting her Witch’s Dust sample the piece. The age of these paintings matches the time period painted. I have a suspicion they are all originals.

Before she could ponder further, the lean bird meat, vegetables, and peach tea arrived at her table. Eve crafted a set of cooking utensils out of paper and grilled a meal. She slowly flavored the meat with spices provided by the kitchen.

As a sign of respect, Eve utilized her Ring of Air to prevent the scent of delicious food from exiting her booth. In the same manner, she created a vacuum barrier to stop the heat and sizzle from disturbing other guests. Most didn’t notice anything, but a few guests did glance in Eve’s way. She ignored the other customers eating and continued to cook, flavor, and devour her food.

Once the meal was finished, Eve relaxed back with a sigh of contentment. Witch’s Dust disintegrated her cooking equipment and vaporized the leftover bits. She spent a fraction of the power to clean the plates the uncooked food had arrived on. Immediately after finishing that, a bus boy arrived and soundlessly removed everything. Moments after the plates were cleared away; a waiter dropped by to ask if she would enjoy dessert.

“What’s available?” Eve asked, curious.

“We currently have a Black-Tie Mousse creation or Chef’s Special.” said the waiter.

“Oh?” Eve replied in surprise. “I’ll take the Mousse, please.”

“Excellent, I will have that out for you in a moment.” replied the waiter.

This place reminds me of that chain restaurant. Eve thought, taking the ambiance in once more. Could the person owning the Rasmuchein be from Earth?

Eve shrugged. If there were other people from Earth, it didn’t change things much. As long as they didn’t interfere in her business, she wouldn’t look any deeper. Someone who had the weight to set up a chain of inns and be successful likely wasn’t an idiot. There was no reason for them to bother Eve personally, and even less to cause Charlotte issue.

Eve watched the delicious slice of cake arrive at her table on a small chilled saucer. A cold spoon was placed beside the sugary treat before the waiter bowed slightly and departed. Digging in, Eve allowed the delicious chocolate and cream layers to distract her from the surrounding conversations.

Even though the food was excellent, Eve was more impressed with the underlying spell-work in the dining room. The sound didn’t carry very well, as a very intricate piece of runic work kept almost all the tables and booths muffled. While that might stop others, it didn’t pause Eve even a fraction of a second. She could easily translate all the conversations she bothered to look at with her eyes alone. Lip reading wasn’t exactly rocket science, contrary to what most people might think.

In a bit of fancy, Eve created several Witch Eyes from her dust. Floating them to each table, she multi-tasked observations looking for anything interesting. It was an amusing distraction until the word Charlotte crossed the lips of a table of four.

Eve instantly discarded her lazy attitude refocusing on the information she was receiving. She unobtrusively created a book to read and sipped her tea in rare moments. While she wasn’t a professional spy, it wasn’t hard to cultivate the appearance of a young rich woman relaxing from work. Under the cover of her disguise, Eve identified several tables where names related to her group slipped into conversation.

This is reaching ridiculous levels. Eve thought, her eyes glaring coldly at the fake book’s pages. I suppose it can only be said that the weight of a Duke’s position is equivalent to the effort involved.

The High Council observed in the College of Warlock’s secret room had been rather small, numbering no more than eleven people. According to the College’s library, each of the high nobles had a seat, while the final one was reserved for the Royals. In short, killing Charlotte would be akin to retaining ten percent of the High Council’s power. Each seat allegedly had one vote, including the Royal seat. During times of military crisis, the number of seats grew even smaller, which meant a Duke would hold even more power at such a time.

Justin has the potential to give a great action movie, but I’ll admit Charlotte is developing nicely into a thrilling court intrigue of her own. Eve thought while marking each of the suspicious people with a smidge of Witch’s Dust. I can say with certainty that Justin still has greater potential for entertainment, if only because he can create his own kingdom eventually.

After taking steps to place a few Witch Eyes formed from her dust into the kitchen, Eve decided to depart. She didn’t think there were any issues, but it wouldn’t hurt to check Charlotte, Ralph, and Justin for poison or magical curses. Those three were important enough to warrant her time.

As for the Professors, Eve couldn’t care less.

She had never considered the watchdogs of the College as anything more than substitute teachers at best. When the issue of Charlotte’s legitimacy was finished for good, she would probably take over teaching. Eve could easily teach both children better than the drivel currently being taught by the two professors. She hadn’t heard a word about genetics from Bloodwood, and Swift wasn’t much better.

Eve didn’t consider either professor to be providing anything close to a coherent syllabus. It wouldn’t be much of an issue to explain a few of what she considered the basics. Once she left this world, Nota could probably do some remote teaching through Kudzu’s offshoot.

Actually, Nota would probably love the concept. Eve thought as she left a hefty tip before exiting the dining room. The chance to plunder the information of different worlds outside just the Prison Plane or Tal Mor would be priceless to her.

Stepping back into the lobby, Eve let the book she’d been using as a cover drop and disintegrate into dust. She took a moment to look at the floor plan for the inn before heading to the stairwell. A quick few flights of stairs, and Eve exited into the corridor for the third floor. Luxury carpeting covered the floor, and wood panels lined the walls. The sound was deadened, preventing noises from entering the rooms from the corridor. In the same manner, Eve was certain the rooms had a similar setup to prevent sound from exiting them.

It wasn’t the same as the magical method used in the dining room, but it was effective for the low cost of mundane materials, to be sure. It was the work of moments to locate the room with the number 303 on the door. Eve used the key to unlock the door before sending a Witch Eye inside. Finding only Charlotte reading on her bead with her head turned to the door, Eve entered immediately.

Greetings, future duchess. Eve sent as she closed the door behind her.

Is there a reason we are speaking like this? Charlotte replied with a raised eyebrow.

I found several groups talking about you, Ralph, and the two professors while eating in the dining room. Eve replied, spreading her Witch’s Dust out.

Multiple runes flared along the walls before disintegrating into brief bursts of light. Several other small coin-sized devices followed moments later. Eve snapped her fingers, cleaning all the listening devices up with a twist of power.

“Did any of you consume anything from the Rasmuchein’s food stores?” Eve asked as she moved over to sit on the bed opposite Charlotte.

“No,” Charlotte said, shaking her head in a reaffirming negative. “Ralph doesn’t trust food sources outside of the family’s control. We had trail rations instead.”

“Oh? The professors didn’t avail themselves of the dining room?” Eve said.

“Ralph said they were more than welcome to eat in the dining room,” Charlotte said, smirking.

“As long as they paid for it themselves?” Eve said, returning the girl’s smirk with a smile.

“Exactly,” Charlotte said, putting her book on the nightstand.

“There are no more mercenary groups remaining in the nearby several square kilometers of forest,” Eve said. Charlotte’s eyes widened slightly in shock before she grew calm.

“How many bands were there?” Charlotte asked. Her face grew into a cold mask as Eve explained the numbers, force distribution, and lack of magical might.

“They’ll probably attack in the night,” Charlotte said. “Will you handle them?”

Eve nodded. “One or one thousand, magic or none. The result will be the same.”

“Death?” Charlotte said with a grim tone.

“Death.” Eve echoed the future Duchess.