Wreath of Lilies, Cauldron of Poison

Chapter 198

Prince Elhart's Inappropriate Request

While they were preparing for their trip to Courandhel, Connie called upon Harrison and instructed him to create schools for the people in Courandhel. Schools that should be divided by age groups and taught different things. But most importantly, it should teach them how to read and write. She asked him to allocate the budget and handle it as he saw fit.

Harrison, tired as he was, enthusiastically agreed. With Lady Steelheart as their leader, Greyvault was undergoing a rapid change. And without manpower of adequate qualities, this change would not be able to occur.

When the day to depart came, Connie brought with her ten Grey Ghosts riding on ten horses, two large carriages, and the hidden men of The Silence following closely behind them.

The carriages had the Coat of Arms of the Steelheart family painted upon them.

Back when the painting was done, she looked at the freshly painted heart and sword upon a blue shield, and the two oddly-shaped lions on either side of the shield - a common heraldic sign of a family of Knights – and scoffed under her breath. The Coat of Arms did not evoke any sense of pride in her, and the only thing in her head was to think about how to change it so that she could incorporate centipedes upon the design.

Before heading straight to the Capital, Connie visited the elderly Baron Miller’s territory and gave them a gift of rare Dungeon items to show her appreciation and had a wonderful lunch with the gentleman and his family. The head of the family invited them to stay the night, which she politely refused.

The family understood this. Though they did not let them leave empty handed, giving them a bevy of foodstuffs to enjoy on the road.

Courandhel welcomed Spring with cheer. Though the hint of Winter chill still lingered in the air, the sun was sufficiently warm enough that it did not necessitate heavy coats.

Connie and her people strolled into the Capital without much of a problem. They then headed to a Hotel near the Noble District, as Lihua wanted them to keep the dignity of Connie’s station. Connie could care less, but found it easier to let her do what she wanted.

Lihua settled on a beautiful Hotel named Hotel Downer. A large Hotel with all-white exterior that was almost blinding in its whiteness. Its interior was tastefully crafted to give the eyes a sense of freedom. High vaulted ceilings and a large open lobby with expensive red carpet greeted them as they entered.

Everything was satisfactory in the eyes of Lihua until she attempted to book some rooms.

From the edge of her hearing, Connie heard Lihua shouting.

“Do you know who we are?!”

“Yes. However, we cannot make an exception to the rules. No Beastfolks allowed,” a man with a haughty look who appeared to be the Hotel’s Manager said. He was eyeing Lihua and Akula with visible disgust.

“What? This one doesn’t see any rules like that anywhere!” Lihua said angrily. “Show this one the rules.”

“I’m sorry, but I can't do that…” the Manager said, pointedly refusing to back down.

“It’s okay, Madame. I can stay somewhere else.”

“Don’t you dare!” Lihua raised a finger, stopping Akula from saying anything else.

“Lihua, let’s just leave,” Connie said. She saw that it was getting too heated for her liking. And Lihua was not someone you want getting angry.

“Ugh, this is why Beastfolks are -!“ The Manager started to speak, but immediately backed down when he saw the murder in Lihua’s eyes. “Guards!” He squeaked.

“What’s all the commotion about?” a voice said. When she turned around, Connie saw a Beastfolk with goat horns on his head. Beside him was an acquaintance who gave Illumca her tome. “Sir Edward? Sir Bazit?”

“Good afternoon, Lady Steelheart,” Edward Grothe raised his pointy hat in greeting. “And you, my dear Illumca.”

Illumca nodded at the greeting, showing respect to the Archmage.

“Huut Akkar, Lady Steelheart. Hurgul blessed my luck,” the Beastfolk said as he gave her a solemn bow. And then, Bazit’s eyes fell upon the visage of Lihua, and felt his heart leaped.

“My word,” Bazit said. “Pardon me, Miss. Forgive me if I am too forward, but you are the most breathtaking woman I have ever seen.”

“That is very kind of you,” Lihua instantly calmed down from her earlier rage, gave a coquettish smile and bopped elegantly, causing Bazit to feel like a kid again.

“Sir Bazit,” Connie smiled at this all too familiar scene. “This is my Head Maid, Sui Lihua.”

“You can call this one, Sui.”

“Ehem, Bazit…” Edward coughed awkwardly.

“Sorry, I forgot myself,” the Beastfolk smiled, embarrassed.

“Now it seems that there’s a problem here?” Edward said after a fashion, eyeing the Manager who suddenly felt instant regret. Connie spoke to him about what the man just said.

The old man frowned. “That’s odd. The owner of this Hotel is a chess friend of mine. He has never told me that he dislikes Beastfolks. Perhaps I should confirm it with him?”

When he heard this, the Manager panicked and started to make excuses. However, Edward was adamant in getting to the root of it and called his friend down from the pondering of his recent loss in chess. After a short investigation, they found out that the Manager had been paid by a disgruntled Count who saw a Centaur getting into the Hotel to make an excuse to refuse giving service to her.

Said Noble – who turned out to be a Count from the Noble Faction - was quickly found and was told that his patronage is no longer welcomed for the foreseeable future.

“That’s awfully short-sighted,” Illumca said while she was watching the amusing sight of the Manager being forcefully escorted off the premises by two burly men. “Refusing service to a Duchess.”

“Gold is a very blinding object, Miss Liban. Three piece of Gold Coin is a very tempting bribe to the laymen. And discrimination is a common thing here,” Bazit said with a cursory nod. “Though I agree, the Noble Faction has been getting too daring these days. Perhaps it’s because the leader is losing his grip on his underlings.”

The owner, Marquis Downer, apologized profusely before offering them a free stay at the Hotel. However, Connie said that she was having second thoughts, and would like to think about it more. The man, knowing that he had just offended three Unrestrained Candidates, felt his scalp sweating profusely. Seeing this, Edward took pity on him and asked Connie to forgive him.

After Connie’s assurance that she held him no contempt, the Marquis left, feeling like he had just escaped imminent death.

“Your family have a mansion in the Noble District, if I recall. Why do you need to stay at a Hotel?” Bazit asked after the hullabaloo was done and over with.

“I just don’t feel like meeting the ‘family’. At least, not yet.”

“Oh, I see,” Bazit said, realizing that he should not delve any further.

“In that case, if you are free this evening, would you like to come with us to Prince Elhart’s mansion? I’ve been in the Grasslands for some time and brought with me some rare tobacco I am itching to share with him.”

“I don’t want to intrude.”

“Nonsense! The man would welcome the intrusion!” Bazit said with a jovial grin. “Come, please. You can leave your luggage with your guards. If we leave now, we should make it before he moves on to the fourth course of the day.”

And just as Bazit had said, when they arrived at Prince Elhart’s mansion, they were greeted by no one else than the Prince himself, dressed richly with arms wide open.

“Ah! My friends! Welcome! Welcome! It’s a happy surprise to have you all visit.”

When Bazit saw him standing, his mouth was open so wide you’d think he had broken his jaw.

“You…are standing up, without support?” Bazit said, still in a daze. “How? You said your gout was so painful you can’t even move your leg without feeling like a thousand needles pricking it!”

“Never felt healthier in my life,” he said with a smile. “Now you should see Alrond. That man’s been running himself ragged ever since we started crossing the border. He is basically running two wars by himself at this time.”

He then gestured joyfully at Connie, who was standing next to Bazit.

“That is thanks to this miracle worker standing beside you,” he stepped back and urged them to enter. “Let us not stand here in the cold. Come! Come in everyone!”

The fat Prince beckoned to his butler and ordered. “Get Huber to prepare a feast! And get some of our wines from the cellar! Today, we shall have a small banquet in honor of the Lady in White!”

“The Lady in White?” Connie asked. “Who else is coming?”

“Oh? You didn’t know? It's you!” he guffawed. “It seems we have a lot to talk about!”

The small banquet, as Prince Elhart humbly called it, could have fed a family for days.

The first course was a dizzying array of cured meats and fruits, followed by a soup course of pumpkin soup, sweetened with honey. Baked fish enveloped with delicate pastry and roasted veal came to follow that course. After that the food came with such speed that by the end of the meal, everyone but the Prince was too full to eat anymore. That was, until the dessert was served.

A big slice of apple pie topped with one big dollop of clotted cream and doused with cherry liqueur, which was then set aflame. Sending the sweet scent of ripe cherries wafting to their noses. Connie, who was full, immediately felt her appetite whetted once again.

For some reason, she had grown to like sweet things a bit too much these days.

After dinner, the guests began to talk amongst themselves.

Illumca was nursing her wine while describing with great relish the moment of her triumph against the Deathbound Husk, affected by the alcohol; sparing Edward the details about the background of her personal matters with it.

“Nur Ar-Rahu. What a terrifying Spell. Oh, to think that one of the ancient spells lost to time has now been revived and used in actual battle. It is most wonderful! Do you think you can show it in the Academy? It will be great for our research!”

“How much Mana did you use? And what of its effect?” the man asked enthusiastically.

On the other side of the room, Martell was playing his Guqin while Lihua danced alongside the melody. Bazit watched the performance with rapt attention. “Beautiful. Absolutely beautiful,” Bazit murmured. Though whether he was complimenting the performance or the woman herself, only he knew. Behind them, Akula and Nick had started a card game in which the loser had to drink a glass of wine every time one of them lost. As there were only two of them and the game was very simple, they had to drink every few minutes and were positively sloshed by the fiftieth game.

“I did not think that my actions would have such an effect,” Connie said when Elhart told her about the name Lady in White.

“It is said that they started calling you that when the people in the city heard about you working with the Healers and Alchemists while always wearing that robe.”

“Why white though? My robe has got black centipedes on it.”

“Well, Lady in Centipede Robe hardly sound appealing for a healer.”

“Hm, you’re not wrong,” Connie sipped on her wine. The amber liquid tasted slightly of salt and pine resin.

“Quite so,” the man sipped his wine noisily. He tapped the arm of his chair a few times, cocking his head as if he wanted to say something. . “Do you know about a new disease that the Hero called the Infidelity Disease?”

“I’ve heard rumors, but I don’t know much.”

“It has been prevalent in the high society these days. It’s creating quite the buzz here and has been destroying a lot of the Nobles’ marital harmony. Most of those who suffered this disease reported of itchiness of the skin, and sores of the nethers. Alchemists have been trying to cure this sickness, but it seems that the best they can do is relieve the symptoms.”

“Why are you telling me this, Prince Elhart?”

“Because you might have a way to cure them. Your achievements in Greyvault in healing the Daydreamers was nothing short of miraculous. So, when I saw you today, I thought that perhaps…you might be able to do something about it.”

“Uh huh. You do realize that you’re asking me to find a cure for sexual disease?” Connie said unabashedly.

“When you put it like that…”

Connie waved his concern off with a grin. “Alright, what’s in it for you? I don’t think you’re the kind who’ll contract that disease. So why is it really?”

The fat Prince put down his wine and wrapped his fingers together. “You see, most of those who contracted it often frequent from the houses of ill-repute. And that disease has now spread to most of them. It’s gotten so bad that it’s starting to put a dent in the Kingdom’s treasury.”

“Brothels, you mean?” She stated unabashedly.

“Yes. Sad though it is, these houses of ill-repute are one of our Kingdom’s pillars of economy. In many of the more prevalent houses, spending a night with one of their coveted lead ladies would cost more than ten times the annual wage of an average clerk. That doesn’t even count the jewelries and expensive dresses needed to gain their favour. And all these things added up to sizable taxes.”

“Huh,” Connie raised an eyebrow upon this info. “I thought that courtesans are not highly regarded in Calendia.”

“Normal Courtesans, maybe. But about ten years ago, a woman had started a movement which raised the class of Courtesans. By allowing them to learn skills like theatre, singing, and dancing. Some of them now could even give a few of the members of the Theatre a run for their money.”

“That’s a fascinating story. And who is this woman who managed to do all that?”

“Sadly, she disappeared as mysteriously as when she arrived. But there was a name that they used to call her. The Woman.”

“I would’ve liked to meet her,” Connie paused giving his request a thought. “Hmm. But still, a young woman of my position visiting a brothel?” Connie shook her head lightly. “Surely you agree how inappropriate that sounds. People will talk.”

There was a hint of disappointment in Prince Elhart’s face when he heard her answer. “I understand that this is a very inappropriate request. Please forget what I said.”

“They will talk quite viciously,” Connie continued. “If I go there as myself, that is.”

“…Sorry?”

“If they are indeed as cultured as you said, it will be interesting to visit.”

“You…are willing to do it?”

“I’m not promising anything, but I will have a look. I am interested in this disease. It will also be easier for me as a young woman to check on other women compared to men.”

After stating her willingness to visit the brothels, Elhart offered her to stay in one of his properties nearby instead of staying in a Hotel. Connie accepted the offer and decided that if she wanted to check on the brothel, she might as well do it soon.

Only one thing that she just realized.

She didn’t know how Illumca would react if she confessed that she wanted to go to a brothel.