Chapter 20: 20 - Goad

All eyes fell on Vivi following Lord Caldimore’s outburst. She didn’t like being the center of attention, but she’d been put in the spotlight frequently since her arrival in this world. She expected she would need to get used to it.

Temporarily ignoring Caldimore, her gaze slid to Saffra. The boy next to her was clearly affronted at having been grabbed by a spell, but was also watching his father with eager excitement for how this would unfold. Saffra herself had gone pale-faced.

Vivi clamped down on her anger. If this event had only involved her, she wouldn’t have been half as annoyed. But Saffra had been dragged into the middle of it.

She gestured for the girl to join her, and she obeyed, abandoning the plates to scurry over.

“Sorry…” she mumbled.

Vivi bit down on her response. Sorry? For what? As if this was her fault in any way? She would deal with that in a second.

Lord Caldimore had stomped up to Vivi. “You dare assault my son?” he bellowed. “I don’t care whose student or child you are, brat, I will not stand for this.”

Child? Her eye twitched, but she kept a lid on her temper.

“He grabbed my apprentice,” Vivi said, trying to take a moderated tone, but the words came out frosty even to her ears. “I reacted accordingly.”

He seemed taken aback by the word ‘apprentice’, but barreled forward a second later.

“Accordingly? No court in the land would classify what you’ve done as anything but assault by magical force. Against a scion of a noble house, no less. Know your place, child.”

Vivi opened her mouth to say something that would have escalated this beyond any chance for a peaceful resolution, but she was interrupted by laughter—laughter that drew everyone’s attention away from Vivi and Lord Caldimore.

It was the orichalcum-rank, Jasper. She had forgotten about him.

“Oh, don’t mind me,” he said, his mirth clear. “This is gonna be hilarious.” He lifted his wine bottle to his lips, but paused, grimaced, and slowly lowered it. “Then again,” he sighed, “we’re stuck for another ten hours together.”

He tapped a finger against the seat’s armrest before coming to a decision.

Unexpectedly, he faced, of all people, the maid who hovered behind Lord Caldimore’s right shoulder.

“I have to ask,” he said to her. “Why do you do it?”

The maid’s face remained calm and impassive. “Do what, Lord Adventurer?”

“Serve people like him.”

A long, pregnant pause. When she responded, there was a hint of danger in her otherwise polite tone. “I warn you, sir, I will not suffer aspersions cast on my lord’s name.”

“Of course, of course,” he said, rolling his eyes. “I meant no offense. But I do wonder.” He hummed. “If we fought, which of us would win?”

At the seemingly random question, the maid returned a level gaze. Maybe because she didn’t know where he was going. Vivi didn’t, at least.

His smile widened. “It wouldn’t be close, would it?” His eyes flicked to her lapel. Vivi noticed there were two thin pieces of metal pinned there. “I’ve seen your kind before. Second Class. Less than one in ten White Gloves reach that rank. You’re a monster even among those monsters you call peers.”

The maid said nothing. Jasper seemed to be enjoying himself. “If I tried to attack that man.” He gestured at Lord Caldimore with his bottle of wine. “There wouldn’t be much left of me besides a smear afterward. What kind of fortune does it cost to hire you, even for a week?”

Lord Caldimore was apparently done humoring Jasper. “What is the meaning of this?” he demanded. “What are your implications?”

Jasper sighed, his amusement swapping to irritation in an instant. He turned a disdainful look toward the nobleman. “As hilarious as this would be, we have a long ride ahead. Consider this a friendly suggestion, Lord Caldimore. Ask your White Glove what she thinks of this ‘child’ you’ve blindly picked a fight with. She’s a keen woman. I think she’ll have something interesting to say.”

The maid’s gaze turned to Vivi. Those pale blue eyes appraised her with an utterly blank expression. Paying closer attention, though, Vivi noticed how tense she was underneath the elegant poise.

Ah. She supposed a woman from an elite bodyguarding organization was capable of recognizing threats to her client’s health. She wasn’t half as idiotic as the man she was serving.

Lord Barnaby Caldimore’s face reddened, but he wasn’t so rash as to discard an orichalcum-rank adventurer’s advice—however rudely offered.

He stiffly turned to the maid and said, “Explain.”

The maid was quiet for a long time. She didn’t turn and meet Lord Caldimore’s eyes when she finally answered, and that seemed to unnerve the man, the way she kept her gaze locked purely on her potential opponent. As if refusing to allow even a fraction of an opening.

“She sees me as no threat whatsoever,” the maid said calmly. “I would advise against escalating tensions, my lord.”

He was nothing less than dumbfounded at the words. “She’s a gold rank!”

The sound of a palm hitting a face drew everyone’s attention. “This is what I mean,” Jasper exclaimed to the maid. “Why him? You have your choice of assignments, surely. He’s a complete—”

“If you finish that sentence, Lord Adventurer,” the maid interrupted, “there will be no recourse but one. I will not suffer aspersions cast on my lord’s name.”

Even Jasper’s cavalier attitude heeded that warning. His teeth clicked shut. He pursed his lips, obviously unhappy, and nodded stiffly at the woman.

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He did make a show of peeling off his orichalcum-rank badge, summoning a gold-rank one from his inventory and pinning it to his chest. He flourished both hands at the badge, then fell back into his chair with an eye roll.

Lord Caldimore gaped between the three of them. His gaze finally settled on Vivi.

She could see the moment the reality of the situation set in. He was abruptly sweating, the moral outrage disappearing like a switch had been flipped. Vivi suspected he’d just wanted to rant and throw his weight around, more than he was actually offended—though he really had been affronted.

“Does make me wonder what kind of monster you are, though,” Jasper said to Vivi, clearly enjoying the show being put on, “to scare a Glove of the Second Class. What dark crevice did you crawl out of? Heard all sorts of stories like this, mysterious mages showing up out of nowhere.” He took a long swig from his bottle. “Let me guess. Dragon in disguise, come to play with the mortals. What do you think of us so far?”

Vivi could feel Saffra’s wide eyes turn to her, as if genuinely considering the possibility.

She gave an annoyed look to the man and briefly considered whether teleporting him out of the carriage would be an overreaction.

He raised his hands in mock surrender. “Please don’t eat me, Great Serpent Queen. Not in public, at least.” He winked at her. “Behind closed doors is another matter.”

Vivi was impressed at the audacity, if nothing else. Making an actual innuendo gave her the justification she needed. She pulled her staff out, pointed, and cast a spell.

The wine bottle vanished. The man tensed, then relaxed at seeing he wasn’t about to be in a fight.

“I wasn’t done with that.”

“If I were so dangerous, why are you goading me?”

“Mae says I have a death wish. But really, I just like poking bears. It’s fun. Try it sometime.”

“Seems like it could very easily backfire.”

He cracked a lopsided grin. “That’s why it’s fun.”

She shook her head and put him out of mind. Facing Lord Caldimore, she said, “When a young woman attempts to excuse herself, is grabbing her by the arm appropriate behavior?”

His expression soured, and he shot a displeased look at his son, who had gone pale at the preceding exchanges. “That was unbecoming for one of his lineage,” he gritted out, “and I will not contest that fact. Nevertheless, he is young and entitled to some indiscretions. Your reaction was disproportionate.”

Unsurprisingly, there wasn’t much real remorse in his words. He had taken a more levelheaded tone than before, and clearly wasn’t enjoying the confrontation anymore, but his pride—the fact he was being watched by a number of his lackeys—prevented him from backing down entirely.

Vivi wondered how to handle this. Her annoyance had simmered because of Jasper’s interruption. Actually—had that been intentional?

She was still plenty irritated though. But where she’d been ready to put this man into his place, forcefully if need be, now she just wanted it done with. He’d been cowed. He was just trapped by a need to maintain appearances.

“I assure you, my reaction was proportionate,” Vivi said coldly. “Involve my apprentice a second time, and I will show you a response that is not.”

Turning, she pulled Saffra with her to their spot at the far end of the carriage. Lord Caldimore, wisely, did not stop her.

Saffra was on edge when they sat.

Vivi frowned at her. “There’s only one thing you did wrong, and I expect you don’t know what it is.”

Saffra blinked.

“Why did you apologize?”

That wasn’t what she’d expected, clearly, which was the problem in the first place. “What?”

“Why did you apologize? For what?”

“I…it was my fault that…”

“It was your fault?”

“Well…no. But it still happened because of me.”

“You know it didn’t.” Vivi shook her head. “I shouldn’t be scolding. I’m sorry that happened. But don’t blame yourself for things that clearly aren’t your fault. That’s my first rule from master to apprentice.”

Hesitantly, Saffra gave a slow nod.

Movement in the corner of her eye caught her attention, and Vivi looked over to see a butler carrying two plates.

He cleared his throat. “Sorry to interrupt. These were yours, I believe, my lady?”

Saffra flushed and took them, checking the plates and handing Vivi hers. The butler bowed deeply and left. Vivi and Saffra came to a silent, mutual agreement to put the debacle out of mind.

Vivi looked at the assortment of food. The plate was covered with tiny sandwiches with green filling, golden tarts with white cream and other pastries, assortments of fruit, and pieces of what she assumed was chocolate. Plucking one of the sweets up first, she confirmed the fact: definitely chocolate. A little more bitter than what she was used to, but made of quality ingredients.

“Thank you,” Vivi said, and Saffra dipped her head.

A minute of sampling the food later, Vivi said wryly, “I think we would have been more comfortable in a different carriage. At least we’ll be able to downgrade”—not that it would be a downgrade—”at the next station.”

“It is a bit tense,” Saffra admitted, sneaking a look that was, thankfully, now more amused than worried toward the group of noblemen. The men had reclaimed their seats and were purposefully not looking their way. “If I’m being honest, I—”

Saffra’s hand had been sneaking up to her neck, a habit Vivi had seen a few times, but she froze as her fingers didn’t find the silver chain that usually hung there. Whatever she’d been about to say cut off. She groped around, gaze snapping down in horror.

“What is it?” Vivi asked, though it was hardly difficult to guess.

Saffra ignored her. She dragged her pack over and began tearing through it, panic rising with every item she ripped out.

“Saffra,” Vivi said, but the girl ignored her. Her concern grew. Obviously, the necklace she’d misplaced was more than just something she liked wearing around. “Saffra, calm down.”

She considered stopping her, but let the girl go through her frantic motions. For all Vivi knew, she might actually find it.

Eventually, Saffra sagged into her seat with a shell-shocked expression.

“Where did you see it last?”

“What?” Saffra only then seemed to realize Vivi had been watching the whole event. She didn’t even grow embarrassed—she was too miserable. “I…it should have been…” She bit her lip as she tried to remember. Her eyes squeezed shut in sudden realization. “My room at the Guild. I took it off last night. It must have gotten lost in the sheets, and I didn’t remember to look for it when I woke up.”

Vivi nodded. “Give me a strand of your hair.”

“What?”

She supposed it was a strange request to ask out of nowhere. “For a [Locate Object] spell. I’ll go and retrieve it.”

“…What?” Saffra looked out the nearest window at the blurring landscape beyond. “We’re hours away. By Convoy.”

“It shouldn’t take more than an hour or two.” She had a warp point in Prismarche, naturally, and she could place one right outside the train to reduce how many [Blinks] she needed to catch up. “Hair, please.”

She could wait until they reached the next city, but she worried that something would happen to the necklace in the meantime—perhaps it would be scooped up with the sheets and laundered, ruining it somehow, or maybe be stolen. She had magical solutions for either of those cases, but for an item so clearly important to Saffra, she would rather just go fetch it.

Returning to Prismarche to check in on the dimensional anomaly was worth a trip anyway. Knowing she’d left a city of vulnerable people behind with that thing hanging over their heads made her skin itch. There was no harm in verifying it was still stable—maybe even it was a good thing she’d been given an excuse to go look. Plus, there were the two prisoners. Also worth checking on.

“But how?” Saffra shook her head, probably coming to her own conclusions. “No, it’s fine.” It clearly wasn’t. “You don’t need to do that. I’ve already been so much trouble…”

Vivi gave her a look. “You haven’t been any trouble. And I have my own business that makes the trip worth it. It’s a simple errand.” She held her hand out.

Saffra seemed, if guiltily, immensely relieved. She plucked out some strands of red hair and gave them to Vivi, who stored them in her inventory.

Before [Blinking] out of the Convoy to set a [Warp Anchor] near the tracks, Vivi paused. Her eyes slid over to the disgruntled group of noblemen. They wouldn’t try anything while she was gone, surely, but best to be safe.

“I’m going to put some defensive spells on you, just in case,” Vivi told Saffra. And by that, she meant her highest-tier defensive ones. The full array. The Ashen Hierophant himself would struggle to break through. “And if they try anything, tell them I’ll be back shortly, and very displeased.”