Colette turned to Manon with a grin after the notice of their mission completion came in.
"I'll explain a few more things- particularly who to watch out for." She said, turning over the piece of parchment and writing down names, describing as she went.
"You already know Remy, the Manager, Delores, Stella, and George. There's also Beckham and Terrence who you'll see later tonight up close. I will focus on immediate threats and the interests just in case- just so you are aware of them." She drew a chart titled 'threats' and listed names one by one.
"For now, your biggest threats are the Manager and Remy. Those ones will immediately get you death flags. Angering the staff nuns isn't great- but they're harder to even anger to begin with." Manon nodded along, thinking back to that super burly nun- but realizing she again- couldn't even mention it without exposing herself. She just let Colette continue as she got to the juicer part.
"Aside from Remy, there are 4 other love interests. Luke, Florenti, Antoni, and Rio. the next person you'll meet soon enough is Sir-"
Knock…knock…knock…
Colette and Manon both looked up to see Maria opening the bedroom door, Clare hot on her heels. Her expression was a bit more grim than it had been the last time they'd seen her.
"Come now, the Manager demands every child's presence in the dining hall immediately."
….
Sister Anya was dressed in another habit, this one rather luxurious. It was a royal blue color, made of heavy crushed velvet with gold flowers embroidered on the hem. The same embroidering lined her headpiece, framing her elegant features that were currently set in a stern poker face.
She looked furious.
She stood, regal with her hands clasped at her waist as children were led into the dining hall by their assigned attendants. Colette remembered this scene with such clarity, but usually, Anya would be smiling gently, standing behind the guest seated at the head of the table. In this case, she was still standing behind the seated noble guest, but her demeanor was venomous.
Colette and Manon were both seated at the table somewhere in the middle, with Remy and Beckham the closest to the guest at the end, two seats away. Terrence sat next to Remy, and Colette beside Beckham, followed by Manon. Stella was nowhere to be seen.
The room was eerily quiet, with nothing but the flickering sound of magic candles filling the space. Sister Anya waved her hand, and all the nuns fled the room immediately. Manon shrunk in her seat as the ogre nun from earlier made eye contact with her, the last to leave the room.
But her attention was not lost for long. Anya clapped her white gloved hands together, the silk fabric doing absolutely nothing to dull the booming sound of her brief applause.
"Children…you may have noticed that we are missing a friend." She began, walking closer to the right of the table. Her hand rested on Remy's shoulder, comforting.
"It seems our Stella had bad judgement. She snuck into a room she shouldn't have, injured our poor Remy, and destroyed several magic items before getting herself killed."
Colette and Manon flinched, their gazes meeting Remy's across the table. The boy had a pained expression on his face. And the girls would have eagerly believed he was being genuine, if not for the sly wink he snuck their way as soon as Anya left his side, continuing. Colette let out a quiet breath. Remy covered for her.
[Remy is happy at Colette's relieved expression. He intends to make sure she follows through on their deal as he purposefully got hurt just for the sake of their alibi.]
Colette shook her head to herself. She had no choice but to do so now. Remy was simply too useful an ally.
"Therefore, Stella won't be joining us for the adoption process. Let this be a lesson to all who do not follow directions. It is a shame she died before she could be punished." Anya tutted, finally sitting down directly to the right of the male guest at the end of the table.
"Now…I'd like to introduce you all to our guest. This is Sir Lionel Devereaux of House Devereaux. He is directly related to Marquis Devereaux and is a renowned retired knight."
Finally, as if a thin veil had been listed, the children's eyes gazed over Sir Devereaux.
He was a large man, mostly in height. And as the first adult male most of the children had seen up to this point, he was….terrifying.
All his features were poised in a permanent scowl. His pointed nose like a raven, silver eyes beady and pupils sharp and punctured. His mouth thin and set in a hard line- unable to feign any sort of pleasantry, his cheekbones sallow and rough. His hair was slightly long but perfectly kept, just shy of his shoulders and not in his face. His brows were thick and narrowed, eyes somehow scarier as he scanned the children, like a painting whose eyes followed you. His clothing was all black, a perfectly tailored suit, a titanium cane by his chair.
The man peeled off his leather gloves one finger at a time, setting the garments on the tablecloth.
"It is nice to meet you. You may call me Sir Lionel for now." His voice was abrasive. The type that would make you shoot upwards from your sleep immediately- not wanting to know what would happen if you didn't.
Anya only smiled. But all the children looked frightened. Even Colette who knew what to expect- and even Remy who had seen the adoption process many times. Usually nobles who came to adopt were haughty, annoying, and prissy. They wanted to stomp on you, but with the illusion of grace. Sir Lionel was different. His power was not graceful, it screamed 'threatening'.
"Sir Lionel will be adopting one of you lucky children. His family is very influential. This is a great opportunity, so do not waste it like Stella."
At the sound of her name, Lionel seemed to chuckle menacingly. The smirk that slid onto his thin lips was not mere amusement, but disgust.
"I am glad something so vulgar removed herself before being in my presence." Is what the man said. Remy gulped as he looked down at his hands, suddenly acting like a real child his age. After a few beats of silence, several servants entered the room again, carts of food to serve everyone.
[A New Mission is starting: Dinner and a Game]
[Objectives:]
[Pay attention to the manager]
[Pass Sir Lionel's test]
The meal was simple but something much better than what the children were used to. It was roast duck and potatoes, with a side of light soup, baguette, and salad. Each large plate was set in front of the children, the steam swirling from the meat making the children salivate.
Sir Lionel and Sister Anya, however, were given a much more luxurious setup. Each of their dishes were on separate tableware, their duck presented with a red sauce that made Manon miss Thanksgiving dinner in America. Even their utensils were silver while the children used pretty but clearly not as expensive steel forks, spoons, and knives.
"Some of you may have gone through adoption before. However, that was with lower ranking nobles. High ranking nobles have a different….vetting process." Anya began to speak as Lionel ate. The children were frozen as their attendants cut their food for them, unable to move or eat yet. Then, they began to feed them.
Colette had been prepared, knowing that it was customary for noble children in Aetherion to be fed until they learned etiquette. So did Remy. This was because nobles found it unsightly to watch children fumble with their meal manners. Sir Lionel and Sister Anya were no different. But the other children were offput, leaning away from their attendants as they stabbed pieces of duck to feed them.
Maria was at Manon's side as Anya spoke, her expression now somewhat gentle. Manon looked above her head.
[AP: 18]
Maria nodded her head as the fork moved towards the child, a subtle gesture. Manon met her earnest gaze, seeing a firm but pure will in her brown eyes. She hesitantly opened her mouth and ate the food. She didn't regret it.
The duck was tender and juicy, full of flavor. The crispy skin she bit into was perfectly seasoned. Had she not remembered where she was and what she was doing, she might have squealed with joy.
The other children felt much of the same as they followed Colette and Remy's lead, eyes widening in amazement.
But they needed to stay focused. Anya and Lionel's eyes were trained on each child, watching how they composed themselves. Anya had paused her speech until each child collected themselves and looked towards their end of the table once more.
"Please maintain a proper image as you eat, children." She smiled widely, then took a sip of wine a servant had just poured for her. The children ate again, much more tamely, careful about their reactions.
Colette and Remy were the only ones fully at ease or pretending to be, which made Anya nod before she continued.
"High nobles have a personal vetting system. We will be adopting Sir Lionel's method for the duration of his stay here." She spoke again as the children ate, always making sure their attention remained on her.
"The selection shall be…a series of games. After each game, a child will be given a score that may lead to elimination. Since Stella has left us, we will still play a game tonight, but no one will be eliminated immediately. The final child will be selected after a game on the 3rd day in the late afternoon so that Sir Lionel may leave with one of you before nightfall."
Colette had been ready to leave the tutorial since the incident with Stella, but she now had a bigger issue. She had to find a way to make sure Manon was taken with her or taken by another noble house and quickly. She already had a few ideas up her sleeve, but she would need to use this new reality to her advantage and try to get closer to Sir Lionel than what is typically possible. As her eyes scanned over the adults at the end of the table, she caught herself smiling in glee.
[Sister Anya's AP is now high enough to view her True Intent.]
[Sister Anya believes Colette would do well as a placeholder.]
It was strange that her actual intention did not fully come through, but Colette assumed it was because she was still contemplating it. But…placeholder? What was that supposed to mean? She made a mental note to circle back to that wording. She once again wished she could see thoughts specifically pertaining to Manon to assist her friend better and protect her just as her mission laid out.
She was aware from the original game that Manon ended up being a top contender due to her pitifulness and natural affinity to learn etiquette. However, the Manager had always despised the child until the end of the adoption process, and the player playing Colette often had to get Manon out of situations. Colette had a growing worry that perhaps this may not be the case this time.
Still, some things could not change, and Colette followed Sir Lionel's gaze, landing right on Manon, who was taking her last bite of duck, trying her best to hide how much she loved it. He was already watching, already contemplating. The original Manon had been different- so Colette needed to know what about her was drawing his attention- if it correlated to her behavior or if there were different aspects? Should she have Manon act more or less like the original?
"Tonight's test will begin right away." Sister Anya stood up once more. Colette had no idea when she had eaten as her plates were empty. It was one of the details that always eluded her in the game. She and the other children watched as Anya stood behind and to the right of Sir Lionel as the servants cleared and cleaned the tables quickly.
Soon, the dining table was stripped bare, new lidded silver trays being placed in front of each child.
The children all looked at each other, confused. Colette looked at Manon, making eye contact for the split second Sir Lionel's eyes weren't on the brunette girl. Once she had Manon's attention, she held her gaze strongly. Manon stared at her with wide eyes, feeling like the redhead was attempting to send her a mental message she was not locking down.
But Colette knew what she was doing. She knew her old friend very well despite what they'd been through. She knew all she needed to do was make sure she was as confused as possible before this test began.
Colette snapped her head back to directly face Terrence in the seat across from her. The dark haired olive skinned boy was reaching forward himself to remove the silver lid from the platter tray until Anya clapped her hands, making the boy flinch as she glared at his attendant.
"Choose." It came from the older adult male. The word was the type of command that made the children want to immediately comply or immediately freeze. Sir Lionel's dark tone was something that demanded people listen. Anya's was sickeningly sweet, though, and a few seconds later after no one moved a muscle, she spoke.
"Remy. Go ahead. Choose."