Edric stared at his reflection in his bedroom. Wearing a red suit, velvet coat and pants. Adjusting his hair again and again with his trembling hands, as he contemplated the night for which they prepared for. It’s finally time for the auction.

  “Relax, Ed . Relax , Ed. There’s still two hours left.” He said to himself. Figured self monologuing would help ease his mind. Mostly had the opposite effect as he starts monologuing the plan out loud.

  “We go there, act high and mighty. When midnight comes, we strike. Now…” He goes through a list of scenarios that might go wrong. Some are realistic, while others are more outlandish and paranoid. Like what if Voyce’s relatives come to the ball, and realize he is a fake.

  In the other room, Aeris sat in the dressing room. With a box of makeup in hand, she puts on makeup. Her dress was custom made, brought in this morning and placed on the bed.

  Kael in his room, is currently sitting on his bed. With a stitching needle in hand, he loosens the waiter's outfit he bought. The sides are too tight to make use for combat.

  The following morning, they went out incognito to buy emergency items- small veils for potion, holders for their weapons. Surprisingly, Aeris had ordered custom holders for all of them. Kael brought a bag filled with unknown items, Edric got stressed of what he planned to do and how on earth he would bring that bag with him.

  Time flies by , Edric exited his room and sat in the living room. He's the first one there, though he isn’t too surprised.

  He tapped his feet constantly while he waited.

  “Relax Ed, it will be fine.” Kael hops down the stairs , as jolly as ever. He wore a large trench coat, under it he wore his disguise and hid his weapons.

  “Where’s your bag? It was quite big.” Edric asked, sizing him up.

  “Magic bag, had a spare.” He opens his coat to reveal a bag. “And the staff folded up. See.” he shows off his staff, now folded and half the size as it was.

  Of course magic bags exist, how convenient. Where does he even get this stuff, perhaps he’s a secret rich kid or maybe a thief. And his staff just happens to fold.

  *Whistle* “Look at that,” Kael whistled as he watched Aeris descend from the stairs.

  Edric went closer, curious on what kind of dress she wore. His eyes widened as he saw her dress- she wore a black dress embroidered in gemstones, a fur scarf on her neck and an embroidered coat on top of that.

  Her hair was extravagant, it was wavy, silky and shining with the light.

  “What?” Aeris asked at the awe struck Edric. “Is it bad?”

  “N-No, you're actually ,” Edric contemplated whether he should say it or not. “Really pretty.” His face goes red in embarrassment.

  Aeris brushed it off with a playful smile, “Let’s go. Make sure your weapons are set.”

  Edric snapped out of the daze, checked his holster and dagger hidden under his clothes.

  “All set, is the carriage here.” Edric said.

  “It’s all ready my sir and madam. ” Kael's voice is comical like a noble carriage driver, bowing in front of the door “Let this humble driver help reach your destination”. The carriage is behind him- it’s colored matte black, slick design and complementing interior.

  Sheesh , does he have to do it like that? God , this is embarrassing.

  Edric feels a shoulder tap, Aeris offers her hand. He grabs it like any nobleman does and helps his lady take a seat. Edric sat at the opposite end.

  “We're starting,” Kael said as kicks the horses to start.

  “Sheesh, where did he even get this ,” Edric looked at Aeris, for a second a tiny smile was there on her face as she saw outside the window. Something felt off to him, it felt like she’s reminiscing about the past - daydreaming.

  Aeris snaped out of her daze, “It's a rental,” she scoffed. “Anyway , it will take some time to reach the ball. So take a nap if you need it.”

  Edric noticed her trying to change the topic, he didn’t pry much into it. After all, even he had his fair share of secrets. Even Kael had a good share of secrets on his own, but that’s what made this tiny group special. For a short while, Edric contemplated on whether he needed to go take revenge on his fragmented past.

  —---

  The carriage creeks down to a stop, Edric and Aeris put on their masks. It was a masquerade ball afterall. They couldn’t exactly advertise an illegal auction now can they.

  “The location has arrived, sir.” Kael said, keeping his tone like a worker.

  It’s finally time, After a deep breath he opens the door. His gaze immediately wandered towards the auction building- the Golden Lotus. Since it's a ball he expected it to be a large manor like the once in tv shows. But it was more of a small mall- it had six stories, the walls were crafted from stone.

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  Those drawing they had while planning did no justice to describe the extravagance.

  It looked handmade and had carvings of various flowers on it. The windows glowed a gold color from the lights . Compared to the surroundings it stuck out like a sore thumb , and probably cost a fortune.

  “Ahem,”

  “Oh right,” Edric offers his hand to Aeris, she walks down gracefully, elegant like a true noble woman.

  “Don’t be awestruck yet,” Her voice is pleasant and delightful unlike the usual cold blunt words.

  She’s really good at this.

  “Then I will be off,” Kael takes the carriage out, and in a few minutes he disappears from sight.

  “Let’s go,” Edric said, linking their arms as he escorted Aeris .

  At the door , two guards in platinum armor stood. Edric hands the invitation to one of them- he checks it going through each line. It’s faint but Edric felt the guard imbuing mana to read the secret text.

  “Have a pleasant evening Sir.” He hands the invitation back, he gestures a waiter from inside. “You too ma’am.”

  They nod and head inside. A waiter wearing a mask greeted them inside.

  “I will show you to your seats.”

  They nodded and started following the waiter. Edric was surprised that even the staff wore masks in white with gold embroidery. He was even more surprised when they entered the main hall.

  In the center was a courtyard of sorts where couples danced, some chairs and tables were placed surrounding yet in a circular shape. He tilted up to see- 6 floors to treat the guests. Each floor increasingly becomes more grander than the previous one.

  Edric stood day dreaming for a moment, Aeris quickly nudged him to his senses.

  “Sorry,” he mouthed to Aeris. He looked in case the waiter got suspicious. Thankfully it didn’t seem that way.

  Their seats were located on the first floor, and the waiter escorted them to their table. He gives a short bow and leaves.

  Edric and Aeris sat at their table which was located near the railing . It had a great view to see the dancing couples , as well as the upper floors.

  “Is it really that surprising?” Aeris frowned, her voice low.

  “Well , I mean look at this. I expected something expensive, sure. But this is way beyond what I imagined. And the budget must be huge.” he said, trying his best to keep his voice low.

  “Budget well spent in other places,” she scoffed.

  Edirc calmed down seeing her serious expression , which isn’t a good sign. “At least our table is more isolated.” He said after observing that the neighboring tables were relatively farther away than the rest. Then again it could be because Voyce didn’t have any noble friends in Magnus.

  Aeris drank her wine, Edric avoided drinking just in case. His tolerance wasn’t the best. Instead he spent his time observing the crowd. There was still time till midnight, he needed something to pass the time.

  He noted the designs of each floor, the upper floors were far more decorated than the rest. It also had fewer guests. He didn’t notice any guards preventing access to each floor but he figured some consequence might happen if barged unknowingly.

  Sheesh, here I thought the division in the slums were bad.

  He then moved on to their attire, the younger ones seemed to have worn outfits based on folklore. He saw a few princes and knights. The older ones didn’t bother wearing something flashy but it still looked expensive.

  He then noted the various social groups forming- older ladies grouped together on floor 3 another group of ladies on floor 5 gossiped among themselves laughing. On the 3rd floor, a group of men - based on their scares and muscles - were soldiers of high position. There were plenty of other groups , but thinking about that was a waste of energy since he didn’t know anybody nor had a reason to mingle . But there was one peculiar thing.

  In the top floor lies a seat akin to a throne which observes all. Edric assumes it’s meant for the host which is the governor - lies vacant.

  What seemed more odd was that no one seemed to care too much about it. He expected the host to give a greeting to his guest right about now, perhaps he was waiting for all the guests to arrive.

  A quiet sigh escaped his lips. No point dwelling on it now.

  The music changed to a waltz, Edric leaned back on his chair. His gaze shifted to Aeris who grazed her hand on the rim of her glass. Though her face remained unreadable under the masks, he noticed her eyes subtly scanned the crowd. It like she’s searching for someone , perhaps she recognised someone.

  “You guys are an interesting pair,”

  Edric nearly jolted. He turned sharply, so did Aeris. Her fingers instinctively twitching towards her hidden blades.

  “Oh sorry, I should have made some noise,” A woman who looked to be in her late twenties approached them. Unlike the other woman in the hall she wore- a white shirt and pants that resembled a soldier uniform. Except her left sleeve which was covered by an armor piece. Her mask was blue with outlines resembling a bird.

  Aeris, still annoyed, puts on a kind smile, “I’m sorry but I think you got someone else.”

  “Don’t worry. I won’t spoil your little secret.” her voice sounded cunning.

  What does she mean? Who is she?

  “You two seemed interesting so I thought of sparking a conversation.” the woman turned to Edric. “ You there, your girl seems bored, why don’t you take her for a dance?”

  Edirc nodded, was about to speak but got interrupted by Aeris.

  “Oh, I just haven't been feeling well. That’s all.” she said, smiling like a noblewoman.

  “My My, you were always sick when you're young-” she turns to see someone calling for her presence. “ I think it’s my queue to leave.”

  Edric watched her leave . What the hell was that? More importantly does she know Aeris– he turns his attention towards Aeris. Even her mask couldn’t completely hide her anger.

  She calmed down about a quick breather.

  “Hey, if you need to talk. I’m always here.” He said with open arms to comfort her.

  “It’s nothing. She probably mistaken me for someone.” she brushed it off. Drinking her glass, she stared off at the distance.

  I have never seen her lose her cool before… He stared at pairs of young couples on the dance floor. Perhaps I should ask her for a dance. Maybe that could help.

  The thought made him freeze for a bit. It was a ball after all.

  Aeris would probably refuse, but.. A part of him wondered how she would react. Her eyes seemed a bit lonely ever since coming here like she misses something. The woman was even stranger.

  Just who was she? He wondered. A threat or just a passerby…

  “Good sir, your order is here.”

  Edric nearly jolted again ,A waiter placed two plates of food on the table.

  “Excuse me but I didn’t order this–.” his voice clearly annoyed. He looks at the waiter. The posture, the slicked back hair and the smile. Even with a mask he could tell who he is.

  “Kael” he mouthed.

  “Took you long enough,” Kael smirked silently, leaning forward to look more like a servant.

  “How did you get in here so fast?” Edric asked. Aeris looked at him in a curious expression.

  “Simple, just walk with confidence,” he said. “Having a stolen ID also helps. Most importantly.” he turned to Aeris. “Who was that woman? Is she a threat?”

  Kael had overhead the ordeal from afar.

  “She’s nobody,” her tone hinted clearly to drop the topic. “Now, go continue your work. Others will be suspicious “ she places her empty glass on his tray.

  “Shoving me off already,” he frowned before leaving to act his disguise .

  “That guy has some confidence.” he muttered.

  More guests walked in one by one. A bit too many, more than what should be here in Magnus. Which brought another question in Edric's mind? What if they arrived from the outside? Certainly a possibly a few arrived for this auction.

  As time passed by, Edric entertained himself with the various dance performances.

  A group of masked men entered, dressed in dark suits adorned with subtle gold embroidery. Unlike the flamboyant outfits of the aristocrats, their attire was understated but precise, giving off an aura of quiet power. Their body language was very confident and coaky.

  Merchants, maybe? No, not just merchants. Edric noticed how some nobles straightened in their seats, while others whispered behind their hands. A few even stood, offering greetings.Edric glanced again, spotting a subtle insignia stitched onto their suits—a golden lotus.