Lucilla talked for the rest of lunch and didn't let up for even a moment as they walked, barely pausing to breathe. That woman was a godsend, a treasure trove of salacious information that she had been told to her by Peligran over the years. Peligran apparently was someone who always kept his finger on the pulse of gossip in the kingdom, and if he knew something, then Lucilla knew it within the hour. Both he and Lucilla had lost their family several years ago in quick succession, Peligran's to sickness and Lucilla's to a hunting accident, and they had transformed from casual acquaintances to each other's confidants as they navigated through their grief.

Lucilla's voice faltered as she explained that but before Priscilla could comfort the older woman, Lucilla was moving on with the conversation. Talking seemed to give Lucilla purpose, and the more she spoke, the more confident she became.

Queen Audovera had been a daughter of the previous chancellor of the Oshad Confederacy, Marquess Aliraal. Priscilla recalled that was the name of the chancellor during the Muloian Rebellion and the family had produced a long line of generals, and that was real fucking interesting. Likely a political match, but considering that the current Marquess was making another bid for power within Oshad, it could be interesting to see how that power struggle spilled over into Kavendash. Perhaps the Marquess was moving now because his sister was dead and his nephews and nieces were poised to seize more power, but Priscilla couldn't really be sure as Lucilla didn't know much about the man.

King Rhys was in his fifties and had the personality of an ice given life, cold and unflappable no matter what situation laid before him. Though he had only been twenty, the then Prince Rhys had been one of the driving forces behind the total subjugation of the Muloians when they began to rebel. As the conflict intensified, Rhys solidified his image of being a war hero which helped him to gain popularity with the masses, and then took the throne and married the queen shortly after the rebellion was squashed. He did not get better with age, it sounded like, rarely showing positive emotions unless he was watching someone suffer.

It was said that the king had the ability to see through lies with his azure blue eyes that had been passed down through the generations of Kavendash royalty, which was likely a load of bullshit likely spoonfed to the masses to keep them in line. It was also said that Rhys liked fucking everyone who wasn't his wife, and there had been several young women who have mysteriously disappeared from court after their stomachs grew too large to hide.

Of course, all of the above is what Priscilla extrapolated from Lucilla's words, as the noblewoman was far more hesitant to outright insult the king.

It turned out that the problem of who would inherit daddy dearest's kingdom was quite the hot button topic. When the queen was alive, people believed that it would likely be fifteen year old Prince Wilhem, as the youngest prince was clearly doted upon by his mother and was favored over the eldest Prince Franco. Wilhem was said to be smarter than many of his peers, exchanging essays with professors due to that brilliance but he was rumored to have quite the sharp tongue when people pressed on the subject, so no one knew just who he was corresponding with.

Franco was only seventeen, but he was already known for getting drunk and dodging his tutors at every opportunity because of supposed jealousy of his younger brother. He had not been formally reprimanded or disinherited by the king for his actions, however, and that made others think there was still a chance for Franco's succession. He was the eldest son, after all, and that title did hold some weight amongst those who cared about that sort of thing.

Others still thought that Franco never had a chance of inheriting the Kavendash throne because he hadn't inherited the azure blue eyes of royalty while Wilhem had. Apparently Franco took after his mother with black hair, brown eyes, and considerable height, but had none of her grace or humility, much to everyone's chagrin.

To Priscilla, it sounded like the king hated both his children equally and didn't really involve himself in raising them, even now that his wife was dead.

"Peli was marginally associated with Prince Franco's faction," Lucilla said, stumbling only slightly over her friend's name, "but he thought neither prince was particularly impressive."

"And what about Princess Malina?" Priscilla asked. All she knew about the eldest princess right now was that she was nineteen and though she wasn't the darling of the late Queen Audovera's eyes, she was still favored over Franco.

Lucilla hummed as she thought, a habit that Pricilla was becoming accustomed to and found strangely endearing

"She's quiet," Lucilla said, "though I wouldn't say she's bookish as Prince Wilhem is. Princess Malina does take after King Rhys quite a lot, as they both have blonde hair and those piercing azure eyes and combining that with her mother's height means she stands out in a crowd. But she's always trying to hide behind her curtain of hair, and instead of commanding the room as is her right, she tends to stick to the edges of a crowd."

"Have you met her?"

"Only twice," Lucilla said, "once at a ball hosted in the queen's honor when I greeted the entire royal family alongside Peli. The second time our paths crossed was a few months before the queen died at a smaller gathering meant for female nobility to socialize casually. Princess Malina didn't socialize much with her peers, preferring to keep close to the queen's side, though she still didn't speak much. She…"

Lucilla hesitated for the briefest moments, worrying at her top lip with her teeth, which she hadn't done once during the entire hour of yapping.

"What?" Priscilla asked, pressing for information because she needed to know more about this princess, even though it was all secondhand.

"I don't know why," Lucilla said slowly, "but I had the chance to speak with the princess as we were seated near each other by chance. We didn't speak of anything consequential, as we really don't have much in common and Princess Malina wasn't exactly an enthusiastic conversation partner. I spoke of Prince Franco casually, as I recently met him with Peli at another function. In that moment, I could have sworn that the princess's gaze was just like her father's, with a sharp disdain that was almost palpable like a knife pressed to my throat." Lucilla breathed in shakily, as if trying to fortify herself.

"He's quite the intimidating man, you know," Lucilla continued, "and though I had never been afraid of a girl so young before, I was just as terrified of Malina in that moment as I was of her father. It was gone when I blinked, but I've never been able to forget the way my blood chilled."

"Is there any chance of her taking the throne?" Priscilla asked, tapping her finger as her mind was a whirl with all the new information.

Lucilla hummed again. "It wouldn't be unprecedented, as we have had queens and prince-consorts before, but let's just say that King Rhys is a traditionalist in his views of inheritance."

Ah, so he's a sexist fuck, alright.

Priscilla asked a few more questions about the general state of the royal family, and decided that they sounded highly dysfunctional. A mom that openly favored two children over the other, a father who was detached, and a whole gaggle of kids who weren't well adjusted (not including the bastards who may or may not have been smothered). The only one that sounded tolerable was the crabby scholar. Malina didn't seem bad on paper, but Priscilla didn't particularly want to socialize the one that took the most after a man responsible for a genocide. Lucilla might be a little ditzy, but Priscilla was inclined to trust her instincts. If Priscilla met Malina, she'd keep an open mind, but she was hoping to avoid the royal family the best she could as she tried to save the duchess.

Before Lucilla shared all that, Priscilla only knew two real facts about the Kavendash royal family from TDE. The first was that Wilhem did end up inheriting the throne at a young age, though the details had been vague because Illnyea had been outside of the country at the time.

The second was that one of those secret bastards the king had was one of the most effective assassins for the Church of the Violet Moon and they went by the moniker Nameless (which, yeah, was a useless moniker, but she had found it cool to read at the time because it was so mysterious and intriguing even if they were a bad guy). The only reason that their heritage had been exposed was because of their eyes — the bright and vibrant azure blue that was typically the last thing a victim saw before they died.

Illnyea actually faced off Nameless while she was protecting an elven ambassador. It had been quite the thrilling scene, tension radiating off the page as Illnyea just barely dodged the daggers thrown at her head. She lost a good chunk of her hair before she managed to force Nameless to flee by using a teleportation artifact. Nameless became a thorn in Illnyea's side for the rest of the arc but always managed to sneak away at the last second, having a sort of silent cat and mouse dynamic with Illnyea. They had managed to get under Illnyea's skin in a way that no other enemy had, and Priscilla had been fascinated by the different side of Illnyea Nameless brought out.

They had still been a threat up to the very last published book as Nameless had successfully assassinated a general right underneath Illnyea's nose, leaving the troops aimless on the eve of battle. Sulaiman took charge in his place, but it had been a painful and bloody affair.

Priscilla would just have to be suspicious of any bastards she came across because only a dumbass lowered their guard around someone with the skills to be a world class assassin. Hopefully, Nameless would have already fucked off to the cult (which, considering who their father was, Priscilla could unfortunately understand why they had been tempted by what the cult offered).

Lucilla talked about several of the other high ranking nobles that stayed in the capital all year long and had the most social pull as their caravan decided to rest for the night.

There was a Count Siroth who was the de facto leader of the royal faction, which consisted of nobles that had all played an important role during the Muloian Rebellion, and a Marquess Maneri led the faction of nobles that believed they deserved more power. Most of those associated with marquess were nobles from sections of Kavendash that had been forcibly annexed and assimilated, which made sense why they hated the king. But it wasn't like they had objected to the Muloian's subjugation since they stood to gain as much to gain as the rest of the blue blood, proving themselves to be hypocrites in the worst way.

"Ah, the one that Peli and I are closest to," Lucilla said, face flushed as she shifted to be a little closer to the fire, "is someone who has the reputation of being a bit of a rake, and he's most popular with the younger generation. He is Viscount Vocrel Bersk, and he's really a nice young man when you get to know him, he can just be… a lot."

Before Priscilla could ask more about Vocrel Bersk and what it meant to be 'a lot,' Kavil ambled over with three large bowls of a meaty soup and several pieces of cheesy bread balanced only semi-precariously.

"I admit," Kavil said as he gingerly passed a bowl and bread to Lucilla, "I have been burning with curiosity about just what you two have been talking about all day. Every time I looked at you, it seemed like you were having the time of your life."

Priscilla chuckled, accepting the bowl with a wide smile.

"Lucilla here has been telling me all about the nobles in the capital," Priscilla said, dipping her bread into the soup and sighing in contentment as she took a bite. Mr. Ordan had used some of the dire deer meat in this soup and somehow managed to make it incredibly tender despite having less than an hour to cook it.

"Oh?" Kavil said, pausing as he sat. He didn't sound hurt at that revelation they were gossiping without him, but there was a lot of significance packed into the syllable that had Priscilla feeling like she needed to clear up a misunderstanding right now.

"So, here's how it all went down," Priscilla said to Kavil, and he glanced up, an eyebrow half cocked in a way that reminded her of Sulaiman. "I was letting Lucilla look at my sketchbook and she liked some of the designs I had made, so I agreed to give her that one and sketch up a few more. She thought I ought to be paid for my work, which I agree because it's damn fine, so I asked for a mentor so I can understand the backwards world that nobles live in. She has also agreed to help solve our issue of getting into events."

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Kavil blinked at the onslaught of words.

"Lucilla," Priscilla continued, glancing to the noblewoman, who was watching Priscilla with an expression that wondered where she was going with this, "Kavil is going to be my partner for this rodeo because he has a type of gentle and adorable aura about him that makes people want to like him, which I'm sure you've already noticed. Between the two of us, I think we appeal to a lot of types of people, so we're going to have to get Kavil up to speed about everything you talked about earlier."

"Oh yes, I can do that," Lucilla said with a nod. "It will be quite easy to declare you both my saviors, one a brave fighter and the other a noble healer."

Priscilla glanced at Kavil with a smile, saying, "I bet you'll charm the pants right off the nobles when you show off your dimples, and have them eating out of the palm of your hand."

The quick retort she was expecting didn't come as Kavil was staring at her. His eyes were a touch too wide, mouth slightly parted, though it turned into a twitching smile when she looked at him.

Kavil coughed, then swallowed, and said, "Maybe, but I think you'll have your fair share of admirers that'll give us a lot more information just because you smiled at them, as I know you'll look stunning in whatever outfit you choose."

The words were heavy with the implication that it may not be just the outfit that made Priscilla look good, and the way he said it so casually like it was a matter of course was…

Do not blush, Priscilla scolded herself as she saw Lucilla's eyebrows twitched upwards at the heartfelt compliment. Priscilla ignored the woman's face as it settled into one of amusement as she glanced between Kavil and Priscilla.

"Thanks," Priscilla said because she couldn't just ignore Kavil when he was being sincere, "I'll make sure you look great too."

Kavil's dimple was on full display as he regained enough confidence to shoot her a sly smile. "I've been looking forward to having you dress me up as you see fit— you've had so much fun dressing up Illnyea that I've gotten a little jealous."

That had been one of the things Priscilla had been looking forward to as well, but hearing Kavil say it aloud with such confidence and trust in her abilities made a sort of strange giddy feeling settle in her stomach.

Nope, Priscilla thought, promptly deciding that if she didn't examine that emotion that she couldn't name it and therefore it did not actually exist.

"I'll take you both to the boutique in the Artisan district I think you'll like," Lucilla said, thankfully picking up the thread of conversation as Priscilla was stunlocked. "Do you know what you'd want to wear?"

"Priscilla says I'd look good in purples or yellows," Kavil said quickly, like he couldn't quite contain his excitement that he was able to share this information, "specifically in what she calls jewel tones. I've been told I should stick to gold if I'm going to wear jewelry. Oh, and that my shoes apparently suck and I need another pair that's more presentable."

That strange feeling twisted again at the realization that Kavil had actually listened every time Priscilla ranted about fashion to him, had committed it so well to memory he could spout it at the drop of the hat. She swallowed, redoubling her efforts to ignore that emotion, which made Asha push a questioning feeling into their bond. Priscilla forced herself to relax so she didn't worry Asha.

Lucilla nodded sagely. "We may not be able to afford custom pieces, but I think we could get several outfits fitted for you if we go out on the first day we arrive at the capital. I know of a cobbler to help solve that shoe problem, and of a good jeweler who doesn't try to swindle his customers."

"Sounds great to me," Kavil said, eyes crinkling as his smile grew large before he looked up under those sly lashes of his at Priscilla. "How about it, Priscilla? It's a date?"

This is just teasing, Priscilla told herself, you've dropped plenty of vaguely flirtatious lines before that weren't meant seriously.

"If your definition of a date is a chaperoned one," Priscilla teased back, "then yeah, it's a date."

Lucilla laughed in a lady-like manner as Kavil rolled his eyes, shaking his head.

"But before that," Priscilla continued, "we have to cram a bunch of knowledge into that nogging of yours so you aren't flying blind."

It took most of dinner to give Kavil the quick and dirty explanation, and by the time Lucilla listed the major nobles, Priscilla was itching to make inroads to her main target.

"Are there any other major nobles we should know about?" Priscilla fished casually. "Any that don't fit nicely into any of the other factions? Anyone that might be going through some things at the moment that might be favorable towards our cause?"

Lucilla thought for a moment before her eyes widened as she gasped.

"There is the young Duchess Jencard," Lucilla said, the words tumbling out of her like she couldn't contain them. "She recently lost her parents and older brother to a monster attack which forced her to take up the title — do you think that perhaps they died because of this monster problem?"

Bingo.

"I don't know," Priscilla said, exchanging a glance with Kavil that let him know she definitely thought they did. Kavil's mouth tightened as he dipped his head in acknowledgement. "Have you ever met the now duchess?"

"Vocrel is good friends with her," Lucilla said, sounding dazed at her revelation, "as young Loviisa had often gotten up to trouble with him during the social season. I've only spoken with her in passing but she was a rather passionate young lady, though I don't know how she's been affected by her family's death. I don't even know if she's going to attend the tournament, and if she does, if she'll speak with anyone."

"Was her family associated more with the nobles or the royals?" Kavil asked, just a hair faster than Priscilla could.

"Neither," Lucilla said. "The Jencards were mainly concerned with protecting the northern border, repelling off the monsters and raiders that passed over the border with Ichthor. They didn't have much time to come to the capital due to that, but Loviisa had been an outlier, coming down most summers since she turned fourteen."

Priscilla opened her mouth to ask another question but a shadow fell over her.

Sulaiman was staring down at her, a single eyebrow raised.

"It's time to sleep," he said in a tone that broke no arguments, "and you and Kavil agreed to have first watch tonight."

"You're right," Priscilla said with a sigh.

"I can stay up with you," Lucilla offered hesitantly.

"You should sleep, Miss Lucilla," Kavil said, gently patting her knee. Priscilla wouldn't have rejected her because they had just been getting to the good part, but she respected Kavil's decision. She didn't want to seem too interested in the duchess, it would be better to let the conversation flow naturally.

"We'll talk more tomorrow," Priscilla promised.

Sulaiman waited for Lucilla to get out of earshot, watching the noblewoman with narrowed eyes, before he looked back at Priscilla.

"Did you get the information you wanted?" he asked. Priscilla wasn't surprised that he had picked up the fact she was taking advantage of the gold mine because nothing slipped Sulaiman's notice.

"Not everything," Priscilla said as she stretched, "but it's a good start. Lucilla mentioned a duchess that sounded promising to connect with, but I can't be sure until I actually have to talk with the pretentious fucks."

Kavil snorted at her phrasing, while Sulaiman asked, "A duchess? Do you think it might be related to the duke who Azurin thought was chasing him?"

The wry amusement on Kavil's face froze as Priscilla blinked a few times.

"I don't think so," Priscilla said, tapping her fingers as she thought, "unless Azurin fled really far south as the Jencards live near the northern border."

Sulaiman hummed, crossing his arms. "It's worth considering. Perhaps she would be able to identify the insignia they had."

"What insignia?" Kavil asked, hauling himself to his feet. His jaw was tight, but it wasn't quite anger in his eyes, more like a flinty curiosity that demanded satisfaction right now.

"That totally slipped my mind," Priscilla said, as she had totally forgotten about the Mercenary King pin they had discovered. "While I was fighting Azurin, he called me one of the duke's dogs, so we figured he had gotten into some sort of trouble with them. There was a strange insignia in his belongings that we couldn't identify."

"Can I see it?" Kavil asked, insistent.

"I have it with my things," Sulaiman said. "I'll bring it over to you once everyone's asleep — I don't want to risk flashing it around so many strangers."

Kavil nodded sharply.

"I really didn't mean to keep this from you," Priscilla said, fretting only a little bit at the chance that she had hurt Kavil again. "Just, a lot's happened since then, and — "

"I know," Kavil said, letting out a slow breath before deliberately softening himself to smile at her. "You looked just as surprised as I felt when Sulaiman brought it up."

"You really ought to keep better track of your enemy's information in that brain of yours," Sulaiman said, his voice pointed, "because it's details like these that will allow us to find out their true identities."

"Keep on pulling a thread until it all unravels," Kavil said, sounding like he was quoting someone.

"Exactly," Sulaiman said, punctuating the point with a sharp tap of his forefinger on his bicep. "To know how to beat the cult, we must first know who they are so we can discover their weaknesses."

Priscilla raised her hands in surrender. "Okay, okay, I'll make sure to think long and hard about all of our encounters so far to see if there's any other things I've forgotten about."

"Let's do it together," Sulaiman said, eyeing her, "to ensure that nothing else falls through the cracks."

Priscilla rolled her eyes. He was making good points, but Sulaiman was so bossy sometimes, so she muttered only a little petulantly, "Yes, mother."

"I am not your mother," Sulaiman hissed.

"Sulaiman isn't whose mother?" Illnyea asked, popping up from behind Sulaiman. Her hair was half loose from her braid and she had a glaze to her eyes that suggested she had just been doing math for far too long.

"Priscilla's," Kavil said and Illnyea let out a bark of laughter before doubling over, even though it wasn't that funny.

Sulaiman gave Illnyea a side eye and then glared at Priscilla, like this was all her fault. Which, granted, it kind of was, but it probably mostly math's fault because Illnyea's brain was a puddle of mush.

"I can call you father instead?" Priscilla offered innocently, batting her eyelashes.

Sulaiman scowled, his eyes narrowed to dangerous slits. Kavil snorted, though he tried to muffle it, and Illnyea, who had almost finished laughing, had the giggles possess her once more. Sulaiman turned his nose up at all of them, muttering, "Gods forbid I try to be responsible."

"Just what a father would say," Kavil said, failing to keep the laughter from his voice. Sulaiman sighed deeply and pinched the bridge of his eyebrows. But he didn't leave the circle even when Illnyea recovered enough to join in the teasing as well, pointing out that he called her a child just this morning.

"One," Sulaiman said, eyeing Illnyea like he wondered if she had a brain, "I do not have to be a father to call you a child, and two, you were acting like one with the way you literally sat on me until I agreed to braid your hair."

Illnyea had the look on her face that suggested she was totally innocent of such crimes, opening her mouth to protest against those heinous accusations.

"Oi, brat," Arnold said, "if you have enough time to yap, you have enough time to help me sort through these piles of horn before bed."

Illnyea wilted, sighing deeply, but went to help Arnold.

Though she was tempted, Priscilla resisted the urge to tease Sulaiman more, allowing him to show the insignia to Kavil in peace. Kavil stared at it for a long time, turning it over in his hand as he committed the image to memory before he returned it to Sulaiman.

They were both quiet as after they finished setting up Arnold's alarm artifacts, sitting on the edge of the camp.

"The nobles might not know anything about," Kavil said, fidgeting with the edge of his sleeves, "but I'd like to see if we can learn what that insignia represents. I know you said that the cult is behind what happened to my village, that they were targeting me but what if…"

His lips were tight as he trailed off, frustration carved into the furrow of his brows.

What if they attack my family again.

Priscilla wanted so badly to share what she knew, to tell Kavil that the Mercenary King wouldn't be a problem because he was on another continent, plundering artifacts, but just thinking that had her tasting copper.

Instead she said, "I bet we can figure it out, together, and once we do, we'll figure out how to stop them from hurting anyone else."

Kavil smiled, the tension in his shoulders relaxing at Priscilla's false promise, because she knew that the Mercenary King was going to kill many, many more people by the time the year was up.

"So," Kavil said, leaning back, "will you go over all the stuff Lucilla told us? I listened the best I could but she threw a lot of names at us."

Priscilla laughed, "Of course! First up, we have the three kids of the bitch ass king…"

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