Main Dinning Room

  Veronique was aware that she would be getting a small dose of her usual tea, just to make sure there wouldn’t be any accidents, so she wasn’t surprised when it was served to her.

  However she did notice it was lighter then usual, but didn’t think much of it after all it was a smaller dose then the norm, probably the last she would drink since she had almost nailed down Hover, Mr Doppelganger had said she was at most two sessions away from the Skill getting registered.

  She lightly sipped on on her tea, grateful that the taste was pleasant, as she tried to stay attentive on the conversations around her, even if they were all mostly getting monopolized by one irritated Marques Mercure and the Duke.

  ‘Thinking about it the Marques should have sat next to me, but refused’ Veronique recalled that he had scoffed at the seating when the Banquette had started and was quickly put somewhere else ‘he must be mad cause he ended up sitting away from the podium’ she had thought ‘I wonder if he wanted sit with next to the Prince or little old me was the issue’ both could also be true, but Veronique leaned more on the second possible reasoning, merely because they all seemed to think less of her.

  Veronique kept sipping on her tea, having lost the plot of the conversation sometime when they started blabbing about their achievements of the year, which was usually followed by the other downplaying the accomplishment, something the Marques did far more often then the Duke.

  ‘The Duke and the Marques must be old rivals’ the redhead concluded after observing their dynamic ‘yet I doubt the Marques has any chance of ever upping him, he kind of reminds me of a little kid squawking and jumping to get a toy from an adult’ she hid a giggle with her teacup at the comparison ‘I usually like to cheer for the underdog, but the Marques is an asshole and I doubt he’s even catching half of the jabs Dad is throwing at him’ she took another sip ‘I am surprised he’s even giving him the time of the day’

  “Lady Veronique you remember that piece of advice I gave you” the old Prince suddenly whispered to her

  “Yes my Lord?” Veronique responded in the same low tone

  “The Duke never learned it” he claimed “and you may have already paid the price for it” the seriousness in which he said those words made a shiver go down her back

  ‘What the heck does he mean by that? I just meet the Marques today’ the redhead had thought and was about to question the man but

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  “Oh Duchess Lucretia, you must get me the recipe of this porridge” the Prince had loudly said

  “I will be sure to have our Chef Bernard write it down for you my Lord” the Duchess had answered and from then on the Prince kept talking and Veronique couldn’t find a moment to ask him anything.

  ‘That’s probably because he doesn’t want to answer me’ she supposed ‘are all nobles going to speak to me in riddles or half truths?’ Veronique was a bit irritated ‘well at the least I know I don’t have to expect that from the Marques, he is not subtle at all’ she finished her last of her tea, when she noticed she was being watched.

  Amelia didn’t look happy.

  ‘Damn did I drink it too fast? I thought I had sipped on it for long enough’ Veronique half panicked over it, then another problem arrived in the form of grilled meat.

  Both Mos and Bos were already drooling

  ‘Fuck’ she was already thinking of the worst scenario as they started to lightly whining, but Lucia had taken the initiative to take Mos’s leash and discretely lead him away, Penelope tried to follow her example but Bos wouldn’t bulge and if Kain intervened then he would surely get in trouble for breaking protocol.

  “Heel” Penelope tried to give the command as she had seen the redhead do dozens of times, but the dog followed Veronique’s commands not strangers’s

  ‘Looks like I have no choice’ Bos was inches from causing a disaster as his drool intensified ‘any seconds now and this hungry gremlin will jump on the table and drag poor Penelope with him’

  “Excuse me, my Duke” Veronique had asked loud and clear causing all chatter to die out and pay attention to her

  “Yes Veronique” the Duke addressed her

  “May I be excused to go to the restroom?” she had asked knowing full well it was against the rules for one of the hosts to leave the Banquette but was better then the alternative, the Duke seemed to have understood as his eyes had flickered towards Bos

  “Of course, be back shortly” he agreed

  “I will my Lord” Veronique curtsied and turned taking hold of leash in a way that made it look like as if Penelope was still the one holding it, Kain caught the drift and positioned himself to shield them more from view.

  ‘Oh well, I lost nothing I wasn’t ever going to be popular with those snobs in the first place’ she had thought unaffected as whispers followed her on the way out.

  Corridor, just outside the Main Dinning Room

  Veronique let out a sigh of relief as Lucia and Mos came into sight

  “Can we hide there till the meat is gone?” she had asked as they reached her

  “I-I am afraid n-not Lady Veronique” Lucia had answered

  “Maybe we could lock the dogs somewhere till the party is over?” Penelope suggested uncertainty

  “They know to not demolish our bedroom, but I didn’t try keeping them locked in another room” Veronique killed that suggestion then added “Someone should stay with them to keep them calm, but we all have to be at the Banquette” neither Lucia or Kain could miss their post…and even if Penelope could, she wouldn’t be able to handle the dogs.

  “I have an idea” Kain had suddenly declared, his voice almost startling them all.

  “I still got to get used to you speaking” Penelope had said, holding an hand on her heart, but they all ignored her to listen on Kain’s plan