The Wheels Are Rolling

"It's just a shame," Lydia cooed, advising Diane as if it had been requested of her. Diane hadn't even invited her into the room. "Seasons are changing, My Lady, you'll need dresses to match them--"

"You may leave, Lydia." Diane paired her order with a glare-- because holy shit did Lydia stick to her like shit at the bottom of a shoe. She was just looking for information on Lilith, judging by the way she glared at Mina as she left, but good god was she stubborn about it.

As soon as the door closed, Diane sighed. Yes, she had worn the same dresses twice in a row; but it wasn't like she was attending any events. She barely even left the estate, and yet she was still followed by a procession of maids and butlers, allegedly brimming with concern.

Diane wondered how many of them had been paid off by the Emperor. Who knew? Perhaps there were spies in the estate sent by other aristocrats.

"If I may," Mina tried, resuming styling Lilith's hair. She stared at Lilith's face through the mirror, still hesitant to make eye contact. Diane smiled. "Lydia does have a point. People are starting to gossip."

Was that so? Had rumors about Lilith even reached the commoners? It was perfectly possible that they had been leaked out by the estate's staff, as well... "I have my reasons."

"And I trust those, My Lady, but..." she glanced toward the door to Lilith's room, before leaning down to whisper in her ear, "Even your father is starting to express his concern. He mentioned something about making purchases being your 'duty'?"

Ah. Noblesse oblige. Buy things and stimulate the local economy-- it made enough sense, but Diane still needed money in spades.

No, more urgently, she needed an excuse to not spend her money. "Fine. Please tell the butler to invite the Capital's merchants to the Seraphine Estate."

Through the mirror, Diane saw Mina blink in surprise. "All of them? Did you change your mind?"

"Only the finest-- and no," Diane smiled wickedly through the mirror at Mina, and noted how she visibly went pale in response, "I'm just going to confirm what the entire capital is already thinking."

_______

In Diane's hands was a piece of midnight blue silk so soft and scintillating that she wanted to bury her face in it and just revel in the texture. Instead, she tossed it aside and sighed, frowning down at the veritable treasure trove in front of her. "I was so very excited when I heard that the Norvin mercantile company would provide a private showing for me." Diane spread her arms, gesturing at the hoard of silks and jewels strewn around her. "But this is just disappointing, I must admit."

"Lady Seraphine," replied the merchant through gritted teeth-- "These are some of the finest items in all of Etienne; their quality is unparalleled."

Picking up an emerald the size of Lilith's palm, Diane pursed her lips. "Do you think that the royal family would accept an emerald of this quality?" She held it up to the light, and-- hey, actually, it was quite cloudy and scattered. This was an honest-to-goodness poor quality emerald, if Diane wasn't wrong. "This is visibly occluded." She tossed it aside and watched the merchant wince as it clattered on the marble floor of the study.

"I-- I'm so sorry, My Lady, I had no idea--"

"And yet you claimed to have personally combed through every item you brought here yourself?" Diane snapped, and even one of the butlers watching the ordeal flinched. "If you had 'no idea' about this quality issue, how exactly am I to trust that the other items you've brought are acceptable?"

The merchant bowed deeply. "I apologize, Your Grace."

"You 'apologize'?" Diane sat back on her little throne, kicking one leg up to cross them. "That's not an answer-- tell me, Mister Bineau, exacly how much is an apology worth, in your esteemed opinion?"

No answer. The merchant, Mister Bineau, remained silent in his little bow. Yes, this man had underestimated Lilith, that much was clear now. Fine. Diane would give him what he deserved.

"I see your tactic. You present a few half-decent pieces you've stumbled upon, and then toss in this detritus," Diane plucked another jewel from a nearby pile, this time a sapphire. She held it up to the light, and lo and behold: poor quality. She threw it onto the floor in the direction of the merchant. "And expect your idiot clients to not know the difference."

The merchant fell to his knees. "I am so, so sorry for bringing in these low-quality products. My assistant will be fired--"

"Your assistant?" Diane replied, incredulous. This man wouldn't even take responsibility for his own actions. "So you didn't personally comb through these items yourself?" This grilling reminded Diane of her favorite moments in court: when someone's lies fell apart. "The very foundation of business is trust-- and what have you just done, Mister Bineau?"

No answer. "Mister Bineau."

Bineau flinched, bowing so deeply that his forehead touched the floor. This man was groveling. "It-- it seems that I've accidentally betrayed your trust, Madame."

Madame. That was a first. "'Accidentally' is a strong word." Diane paused, gathering her thoughts as she examined her nails. "Fine." She slapped her hand against the wooden arm of her chair, continuing, "I'll be informing father, my fiancé, and my friends about this accident. And know that I will not be buying from the Norvin mercantile group again."

This was a multi-pronged punishment, taking any dreams of potential business with the royal family and crushing them into dust; not to mention destroying their current business with simple word of mouth. Who would ever frequent a business that the Crown Princess herself looked down upon?

Diane had only planned to act like a spoiled brat and refuse to buy anything, truly-- her initial goal was just to spread the rumor that her standards were impossibly high. But how dare this man look down on her? What a vile reminder of Lilith's true social standing.

"Madame, please--" The merchant begged, and Diane stood. She wouldn't tolerate any more of this. "Please, I promise you--"

"You've already broken your promise of 'providing high quality items for my perusal,' Mister Bineau," Diane smiled, quoting his letter verbatim. "This meeting is over."

As Diane left the room, the door slammed shut on quiet weeping. There-- her father would be satisfied.

_______

Several days and several letters after that boisterous merchant's meeting, Diane found herself back again in the Royal Palace, ignoring wave after wave of merchants promising her only the highest quality items and silks.

So the rumors had spread. The only issue was that they'd backfired, and now Lilith had gained fame for her discerning eye.

Ugh. At least an imperial servant spotted her, saving her from the crowd and leading Diane in the opposite direction of the imperial audience hall. Interesting. Instead Diane found herself guided to the greenhouse, an illustrious glass structure at the very center of the palace. It was almost too beautiful to believe-- perfect rows of flowers lined the place, amongst arched trellises of wisteria, coated in morning dew.

At the very center of the building sat a fountain, depicting the statue of a woman smilingly pouring water out from a jug-- the Nescan Goddess, if Diane was right. Beside the fountain was a tea table, with the Crown Prince Theo and Emperor himself sipping tea. It was almost a picturesque sight, if Diane ignored the disgruntled expression on Theo's face.

"Lilith, there you are. Go on, sit," Emperor Gladius D'Etienne ordered, and with only a curtsy and a nod Diane did as she was told. "I have some interesting news for you."

Probably an order to attend the Magic Tower's Academy. Diane had always gotten a kick out of the name-- The Academy. That was what it was, yeah, but even real schools had descriptors to go with them. She imagined the game devs half-dead with exhaustion, not bothering to care naming the location of the whole goddamned plot.

"The 'Magic Tower Sovereign Territory,'" the Emperor began with a smirk, as if the Magic Tower's own existence were a joke to him, "Has opened an academy for magic. Have you heard of it?"

"The Magic Tower's very isolated," Theo added, "So I doubt you'd know about it." Oh, so he was choosing to be a bitch again. Was that this man's entire personality, or did Lilith in particular just awaken that in him, like a sleeper agent?

"I won't claim to know much," Diane replied, accepting a cup of tea and setting it onto her saucer. She wasn't thirsty. "Is that what today is about?"

The Emperor smiled, and Diane could just tell he was analyzing her every move. "It is. This 'Academy'-- which, really, what an unbelievably lazy name for a school. How are people to know which academy they mean?" He sighed. "Anyway. Next month they'll be starting the first semester of the new year."

Aha. "And you want the Crown Prince and Princess to attend," Diane surmised, unsurprised.

Theo stared at her, shocked. Gladius only smiled, a placid expression on his face. "And pray tell, Lilith, why would I ask that of you two?"

Why indeed? Diane had wondered that herself, playing the game, but with a touch of historical context the answer was obvious. "There are two main reasons to have us attend an academy outside of Etienne's formal bounds: the first, for diplomatic purposes." Something about that reason still didn't feel entirely right, but Diane could hardly interrogate the ruler of the Empire about it. "And second..."

This was a large risk to take: the very future of the Etienne Empire hinged on Lilith's and Theo's safety. But great risks could be taken for great rewards, and Gladius wanted something of significant value from the Magic Tower Sovereign Territory. Something more valuable than diplomatic relations, because peace on the continent meant more opportunities for local nobles to grasp for more power-- and even revolt.

No, the Magic Tower was still very much an enemy to Gladius-- a man like him could never take well to losing a massive chunk of his territory to a ragtag group of rebels, and not even thirty years would be enough time to cool that white-hot anger.

The Academy had been established ten years prior, and had started accepting foreign students with magical aptitude immediately-- and from the game, Diane knew that even foreign royalty felt it necessary to learn there.

At its core The Academy was a hub of knowledge that had been banned in Etienne, and said knowledge could be weaponized. "You want us to act as spies and smuggle their research back into Etienne." This had never been covered in the game.

Gladius's smile was slow to stretch wide across his face, revealing his sharp canines. He looked thrilled. "Correct."

Wait-- but how would that even work? Wouldn't the Magic Tower be the first to suspect them? Diane kept her doubts to herself, finally taking a sip of her tea. It was rich and flavorful, as expected from the imperial palace. Something still didn't feel quite right, but... Perhaps the Crown Prince and Princess attending was a symbolic move meant to foster trust.

Trust that could be taken advantage of. "I see," Lilith replied, thinking. This was just an excuse to steal their trade secrets, and weaponize them for war.

Within the context of the game, it didn't make any sense-- the Crown Prince had just fallen in love with the player character. Why would he abandon his duty? There had been a story line about how he'd fallen for the player character due to her gentle demeanor and the way she'd taken care of him, but that...

If Diane wasn't wrong, an entire plot point was that no one else in his life had treated him so gently; not since his mother died.

Was that really all it took?