Chapter 41: The Grand Duke Visits a Charity (2)

"Your Excellency," she greeted, curtsying deeply as I stepped down. "Thank you for accepting this meeting. I was deeply moved by your kindness toward Lady Celia at the ball."

Lady Celia.

So that was the name of the pale green flower who nearly watered the ambassador with wine.

"I was merely preventing an accident," I said.

"Even so, Your Grace spared her from great embarrassment. Her family, one of our vassals, remains grateful."

"I see."

Her smile faltered slightly.

Didn’t expect that, did you?

Gratitude was useful only until it tried to become obligation.

Abi stepped down behind me, and the gathered group collectively paused.

He smiled at them.

One attendant looked like she forgot how breathing worked.

"Lord Abinatha Konstantin," Lady Marielle said after a second, recovering well. "It is an honor."

"The honor is all yours," Abi replied pleasantly.

I turned to him. But he looked innocent enough to get away with it.

I closed my eyes for the space of a breath.

"No one would know you’re mute if you don’t speak," I murmured.

He smiled wider. Still with that perpetual punch-me-in-the-face subtext.

Lady Marielle laughed lightly, perhaps assuming it was a joke. I was fully aware that it was not. Despite his smile, Abi meant every word. Insulting to the lady it might be. A transcendent being could care less about courtesy and manners.

The head administrator, a round-faced man named Master Hollis, welcomed us with exaggerated warmth.

"Your Excellency, our humble house is blessed by your presence."

"Humble?" I looked at the polished marble entrance, the carved relief, the crystal lamps, and the gold-threaded curtains visible through the open doors. "How ambitious of the word."

Master Hollis blinked. Lady Marielle’s smile stiffened almost imperceptibly.

Abi looked delighted in their discomfort.

The cleric cleared his throat. "All beauty here is thanks to the kindness of our benefactors and is solely dedicated to mercy, Your Excellency."

"I see. Mercy has quite the excellent funding, I suppose."

Silence.

An awkward silence passed broken by a bird chirping somewhere in the garden.

Shameless creature.

Lady Marielle laughed again, smoother this time. "Your Excellency’s wit is as renowned as expected. Shall we enter? The children have prepared a brief greeting."

"How thoughtful of them. Let us not make them wait."

I had no particular hatred for children nor do I have particular liking for them, contrary to what Abi seemed to believe. I simply disliked it when adults arranged children as decorations to soften the eyes of wealthy patrons. It was manipulative in a way that lacked elegance.

Inside, the House of Gentle Mercy smelled of soap, incense, and boiled milk. Clean. Almost too clean. The entrance hall displayed framed donor names along one wall, painted scenes of benevolence on another, and a large prayer alcove at the far end where a small flame burned beneath a symbol of open hands.

Several children waited in neat lines.

It felt to organized. Very uncharacteristic of children.

Their clothes were clean. Their hair combed. Their faces obedient.

Abnormally obedient. The sort you get by employing fear.

I felt my mood cool.

Children in well-run institutions might be disciplined, yes. But this was not discipline. This was anticipation for a show they have to do.

They were waiting to perform correctly.

Spiro had worn the same look when he first arrived.

Something sharp and cold slid beneath my ribs. I aspire to be a villain lord, yes. But children were beyond the realm of my iniquity. Unless they have already strayed. Even then, it was to be expected that an adult would have caused it.

I smiled.

It was a very beautiful smile. That much I’m sure of. But it was far from genuine.

Master Hollis beamed, unaware of the approaching storm. "Children, greet His Excellency."

"Good morning, Your Excellency," the children chorused.

"Good morning," I replied.

A little girl near the end flinched at my voice, not visibly to ordinary observers.

But I saw it, so did Abi. His expression shifted.

Lady Marielle clasped her hands. "They are nervous. It is not every day they meet the Grand Duke of Sonomi."

"Naturally."

I walked past the line slowly. Most children kept their eyes lowered. One boy peeked up, then immediately looked down when an attendant moved behind him.

Ah. So that was how it was.

I stopped before the boy, who had stiffened at his place.

"How old are you?" I asked.

The attendant behind him inhaled.

The boy opened his mouth, then froze.

Master Hollis laughed. "This one is shy, Your Excellency. He is seven."

I did not look away from the boy. "I remember asking the child, not you."

The hall fell quiet.

The boy’s fingers trembled.

"Seven, I’m seven," he whispered.

"What is your name?"

"Mil."

"Mil what?"

He swallowed. "Just Mil, Your Excellency."

Just Mil. How familiar.

Spiro had no name before I gave him one.

My smile remained. Inside, something unpleasant stirred even more violently.

"Do you study?"

"Yes, Your Excellency."

"What do you study?"

"I study letters. Sometimes numbers and prayers. We are also taught manners."

"What about maps?"

His eyes flickered with confusion. "No, Your Excellency."

"Do you like maps?"

He hesitated, then nodded faintly.

"Then you should learn them."

Master Hollis interjected smoothly. "Of course, Your Excellency. We provide appropriate education according to each child’s station and future placement."

Future placement. What a clean phrase.

The kind of phrase one used in place of sale, transfer, labor, or disposal. A cruel euphemism.

I turned to him, "And what future placement does Mil have?"

"That would depend on his assessment, sire."

"Assessment?"

"We assess the children’s temperament, aptitude, spiritual compatibility, health, and sponsor interest."

Sponsor interest. How lovely.

Lady Marielle moved in gracefully. "Many children here are eventually placed with suitable families or apprenticeships. It gives them a chance at life they might not otherwise have if left on their own devices."

"I see."

My gaze moved to the donor wall.

House Rouvier was listed prominently. There were several temple branches as well. A merchant guild, along with a handful of smaller noble names.

And there, near the lower portion, half-hidden behind a decorative flower arrangement, was a recently added donor plaque.

Leeds Foundation. Proprietor: Edric Leeds.

Very careless of them. Or was it confidence?

I walked toward the wall and paused before it.

Lady Marielle noticed where I was looking. "We are grateful to many benefactors."

"I’m sure that is the case."

Abi came to stand beside me. His voice was low enough that only I heard. "This place smells like the cleric from yesterday."

"I am aware."

"It is stronger here, that smell."

"I know."

"Also, there is a space below."

I kept my face pleasant.

Of course there was. Another basement, huh?

This city was infested with them. I almost want to think it was a requirement for every building.

Master Hollis gestured toward a sitting room. "Your Excellency, perhaps we may take tea while you and Lady Marielle converse? It would be more comfortable."

"Tea would be agreeable."

As we walked, I observed the halls. The children dispersed under the guidance of attendants. Some moved toward classrooms while the others toward a side corridor locked with a silver latch. The lock was subtle but it was reinforced by mana.

For children? It was a tad bit excessive.

For prisoners? This would be insufficient, if one expected Sonomi.

The sitting room was tastefully arranged. Lady Marielle sat across from me, while Abi chose to remain standing near the window. Master Hollis and the cleric took positions nearby, like ornaments pretending not to listen.

Tea was served but I did not drink it.

Lady Marielle noticed.

"I hope the tea is to your liking, Your Excellency."

"I prefer them made with familiar preparations."

"A wise precaution."

"It’s all from experience."

She smiled. "The Capital must be exhausting for one accustomed to Sonomi."

"Exhausting is a generous word."

"And yet Your Excellency seems to have adapted quickly. In only a few days, you have become the center of every conversation."

"That sounds like a failing of the Capital’s imagination, not mine."

"Or it is proof of Your Excellency’s influence."

"Influence is only useful if it moves something."

Her eyes sharpened slightly. "And what would Your Excellency like to move?"

There it was. Gratitude was absent from her tone.

Assessment.

Lady Marielle was not merely here to thank me. She wanted to know what my appearance at her charity meant. Whether I had noticed something. Whether I suspected anything. And whether I could be managed.

How brave and foolish.

"I personally dislike stagnant things," I said. "Be it people, institutions, empires, and even charities."

Her smile did not falter. Barely.

"Why even charities?"

"Some charities rot when left wild and uninspected. The name remains trustworthy while the inside spoils."

Master Hollis shifted. The cleric’s fingers tightened around his sleeve.

Lady Marielle placed her cup down with exquisite calm. "That quite a harsh observation."

"I am merely stating a common place circumstance."

Her gaze lifted to mine.

She cracked a bit too quickly.

"It would be most unfortunate," I continued, "if a house built on mercy began misplacing children."