[Lesley Castle in Aquitian~]
"Oh now you are cheating, Parmalis! How could you know that?" Aymer pretended to be infuriated but was unsuccessful in his charade as he soon started to laugh.
"I did not cheat! You are just terrible at cards. Ce n'est pas ma faute, Monsieur! It is not my fault, right, Phaeln?" the young countess laughed as she turned to her brother, the Marquis, for support.
"I beg you to leave me out of this. I did not accuse you, dearest sister. It is a dispute between you two," Phaeln raised both his hands with a laugh to express his neutrality.
"Mon Dieu! Goodness…you are good for nothing. The Princess shall be on my side…tell the Duke that I am innocent, Téresitte!" Parmalis consoled her lovely sister-in-law.
The Marquise, formerly an Infanta of Cintan, shook her head lightly, shaking the gold ornaments that decorated her elaborate coiffure. Sitting besides her lounging husband, the young Marquise glittered in the balmy sunshine, her gold and silver gown refracting all the light about her so that she glowed luminescent. She looked to her adoring husband who smiled towards her winsomely but was unwilling to be of help in the matter, so she laughed as she continued her work, needling delicate embroidery.
"I am not certain if it is fitting for you to be playing cards entirely, Parmalis. It is really not appropriate for young ladies."
"Please Téresitte, you must be my aide…say that I am innocent and I shall stop playing cards," the young countess pleaded.
"D'accord, okay. My dear Duke, I believe that our Parmalis is innocent," Téresitte tried to express with great gravity and sincerity but betrayed an amused smile.
"Fine! I must admit defeat. You win fairly Parmalis! But isn't it fascinating how she always wins…it is as if she knows what card you possess before you even reveal it," Aymer mused agreeably.
"I do know, Monsieur," Parmalis looked up towards him with her wide clear green gaze, "But it is not from looking at the cards beforehand. I just know. I don't know how."
Aymer laughed amused, but a hint of suspicion lingered. He did not suspect any foul play on her part for her sweet face showed not even a trace of deceit and he believed her wholeheartedly but it unnerved him slightly when she described how she knew the cards innately. It was a dangerous confession to make, especially as she bore that mark, the secret star, and he hoped that no one else suspected her abilities.
Just as Aymer was about to ask the Marquis and the Marquise about their upcoming scheduled honeymoon, they were interrupted by Parmalis's silent vassal, Nuit, who approached them swiftly with a message. The Marquis and the Countess were to present themselves in the Grand Hall to greet the Cardinal Pitti of Turin and his son, Prince Aracelis.
The four entered the receiving hall and proceeded with the formal introductions as the Archduke Lesley and his Archduchess welcomed the austere Cardinal Pitti.
The Pitti family, being relatives both by blood and marriage throughout the centuries to the Emperor, were formerly a powerful political family, back when the Emperor's wife, who always held the title of Marietta, was a Pitti princess. But those days had long disappeared as they were now reduced to being satellite cousins, floating with minor money and influence as their rival cousin houses continued to rise with the influence attained through the Emperor's successive brides. But the Pitti family was a proud clan, maintaining their continued survival through sheer force of will and their refusal to bow to challenges were evident in their physical traits; all of the Pitti men harboring straight, tall figures, even appearing taller than they were due to their habit of canting their chins upwards in defiant arrogance.
This was all present in the current Cardinal Pitti, who was a tall, severe looking man; the long bright scarlet robes uniformed to those of his title only serving to re-establish the solemn harshness of his features. His pale cheeks were ever so slightly hollow, highlighting the high cheeks prominent in his family and his long nose, which peaked just an edge higher than would have been considered handsome, was pinched in the corners in a manner that made it appear that he viewed all in front of him in disdain. All in all he looked unpleasant and he was indeed unhappy with the heraldic position he was being reduced to.
The Cardinal Pitti had been called upon by the Council of the Brotherhood to approach the Lesleys of Aquitian to propose in perhaps initiating an expansive move towards the northern kingdoms that resided beyond the empire, across the sea. Aquitian's location in addition to their famously wealthy treasury and military would be needed to proceed with this expansion.
The Cardinal Pitti knew that he was sent a fool's errand, a set up for failure, as it was well known by all that the Aquitian's were pacifists despite their prepared military and that proposing what essentially was a conquistadorial invasion to the northern countries would be not merely ignored by the Archduke but spark a tiresome lecture on the necessities of checking the Emperor and his court's powers. During his trip to the Aquitian's residence at Lesley Castle, the Cardinal had sighed repeatedly as he cursed his position.
The Lesleys were disliked by all the Cardinals of the Heaven's Court as they held their special privilege not only due to their economic and political influence but also due to their historical leverage in being the descendants of the original Emperor, the first of all. The first Archduke Lesley had been the eldest son of the Emperor and essentially what all had called the "Kingmaker". It was the first Archduke Lesley who had been loved by the people as he saved them from the horrors of war, effectively defeating all the dissenters and invading enemies, and it was his popularity on the battlefield that had united all the disparate states. But despite his popularity, or perhaps due to it, the first Archduke had bowed from the positions and influences of court and set up residence at the furtherest corner of the empire, instead taking upon the mantel of being the warden of the coast, forever doing his part to protect his father the Emperor's Capitol.
And it was this history that the Lesley's maintained their current privilege to. All their separate bearings, traditions and beliefs were filtered from the first Archduke, and it was bitterly honored by the Heaven's Court due to the history laden customs; but it irritated the Capitol nonetheless and the Cardinal Pitti was gravely upset that he was to be the sacrificial lamb in the ongoing tensions between the family and the Holy City.
The Lesleys knew that the Cardinal Pitti had come to discuss diplomatic matters regarding the Holy City and Aquitian but they were surprised to see that he was accompanied by his third son, Prince Aracelis, a precocious and seemingly delicate boy. Being so far from the Capitol and with their disinterest in the matters of the Holy City, the Archduke and Archduchess were not as familiar as they likely should have been about the Cardinals and the royal family. But the little that the Archduke knew of the Cardinal Pitti, he understood that it was unusual for the humorless man to be accompanied by a family member, especially one that was so young and so insignificant. So it was with vague trepidation that he welcomed the Cardinal and his son to Aquitian.