Perrin watched as the artificer practically glowed while explaining the distinction between wards for him. Silas was also watching her closely but his attention did not seem to be on her words - Perrin could understand why Kleid seemed a bit defensive around the large man.
Kiava, the focus of their attention, had finished talking and seemed to realize the unaverted interest. A pink blush spread from her cheeks to her ears. "Do you have any questions?" she asked in a small voice.
"That was interesting, thank you," Perrin smiled comfortingly at her. He enjoyed how cute she was when she was distracted from being embarrassed, though she was very fetching colored by a blush too. "Your shop is very nice, congratulations on being ready to open."
"Thank you! I'm getting nervous now that it is approaching. I keep thinking I should have worked at an established shop first to make a name for myself," Kiava confided to them with a small awkward laugh. "Especially because it seems my Artificery isn't common."
"It will be a hit," Silas argued easily, "everyone thinks that Artificery is for big and complex things, like the Obelisk or even the Cool Cabinets. Besides that Artificery isn't very popular in the city so what talents they get generally are needed to learn how to fix and make those large imbuements."
"He's right, these will be very popular, even common Protection Wards aren't typically sold to the public, they are bought by commission. There is no law against selling them in stores though," he paused and wondered why they weren't. "Are they hard to make?"
"Not at all, they probably don't get sold because Artifiers tend to use them as practice, so they didn't think of the value they'd have for everyone," Kiava laughed lightly
"As good a reason as any, now you can make all the money until it becomes a trend," Kleid said with sinister glee. "Then other Artificers will realize they have hurt their bottom line, but by then Whimsical Wards will be where everyone goes!" he cackled.
Perrin, Silas and Kiava all watched him with a mixture of amusement and worry. He collected himself with a cough and a wink.
"Theatrics aside, he has a point," Perrin commented lightly, "are you sure you will be able to handle everything yourself?"
Kiava shook her head. "I won't be that busy at first though?"
"Hmm…." Silas looked apologetic and his smile was hesitant. "So, we talked about your shop in front of the press. We may have been able to curb some of the dating rumors, but I am willing to bet you and your workshop will be mentioned in the tabloids tomorrow."
"Ah." She blinked in apparent surprise.
Perrin laughed, "Being around us can sometimes have its pitfalls, you may want to hire someone to help with customers."
"I will think on that more," she sighed and agreed, "I'm nervous about having a stranger work here, but they will only be strangers for a short time."
"If it will help you feel more confident I can have a Veritas come to help you with hiring," Perrin offered, relieved he found a way to introduce Oren and Kiava without the Artificer thinking he still doubted her integrity.
Because honestly, that was not the case. Perrin believed that she was an innocent bystander in all this. Being a high noble had taught him that one should always try to err on the side of caution though. Especially with the new and fresh burn of Jered's betrayal.
He was actually drafting a proposal to his aunt and the Temple to allow him to employ a Veritas for his estate now that he was essentially the Commissioner of the Guard. He was hopeful, there was precedent with the Temple and his aunt liked him. Then he could hire people for his estate more easily.
"Would that be alright? I thought Veritas were pretty important?" Kiava asked, looking surprised.
"They are, but given the recent act against your life and your connection with someone who works for my household I think it would not be against their calling to ensure you do not hire someone with ill-will," Perrin explained easily, ignoring the suspicious look that Silas and his aide were giving him.
"Then I would appreciate that," Kiava agreed with a smile that lit up her already attractive features charmingly. "Thank you Duke Levast, for the help."
"You're welcome," Perrin nodded, briefly stunned.
"We should head out, it is getting late, lock the door behind us!" Kleid suddenly piped up, unceremoniously ushering the two larger men towards the door, they both allowed it with almost matching dazed expressions in their eyes. "I'll visit you soon, sis, have a good rest!"
Perrin heard Kiava wish them well, sounding confused by the sudden departure especially as they never actually had a drink. When they were on the street they allowed themselves to be pushed for a few more paces before shrugging Kleid off.
"You're more protective than I thought you'd be," Silas commented, watching Kleid's worried frustration.
"Of course I'm protective of her, you lout," Kleid snapped back - he and Silas were technically the same rank. "You two are looking at her like she is something sparkly and wonderful and she doesn't even notice! How can I not worry!?"
Perrin saw the genuine concern on his subordinates face and patted his shoulder reassuringly. "If our interest persists she'll eventually notice."
"That…doesn't help at all, my lord." Kleid looked pained. "Can't you just lose interest all together? At least until she's settled in the city?"
"Nope!" Silas disagreed cheerfully, "there will be more competition by then, best to scare off the scum early on."
"I agree with Silas, she is very pretty and powerful, she will attract some of the dregs of the city unless they are pre-emptively scared off," Perrin said as they walked. He had a garriage waiting nearby for him and Kleid, Silas would likely hitch a ride with them.
"Is that why you went out to eat with her, Sir Iaska?" Kleid asked after some thought.
"No, I went out to eat with her because I wanted to go on a date," Silas refuted with a shrug. "It was just an added bonus that we got seen together by someone with a camera."
Kleid looked slightly crestfallen at Silas' honesty. "She probably didn't think of it as a date," he told the other man after a moment.
Perrin felt some sympathy for Kleid, but didn't intercede because nothing he said would reassure his aide. He was confident that Archeus also planned on asking the artificer out - while seeing her with Silas could be dismissed, being spotted next with Archeus would have her face in most tabloids.
"I'm alright with taking it slow, of course, but I maintain my statement: the more people who know I'm interested the less likely unsavory folks will approach," Silas shrugged with a lazy grin. "I am confident that she at least thinks I'm handsome."
Kleid rolled his eyes so hard that Perrin was afraid he would fall backwards. "Of course, she has eyes and a pulse. Say stuff like that around her though and you will be wooing a wall," he scoffed, opening the carriage door for Perrin with a small bow.
"Thank you, Kleid, for the advice," Silas said cheerfully as he followed into the carriage.
"I'm not trying to help you!" Kleid shut the door and sat opposite of the other two men.
"That's enough, both of you. It's pointless to speculate - Miss Kiava will be the one to decide who does and does not woo her, eventually." He added the last word to calm the petulant look on his aide's face. It worked, and Kleid only grumbled for a few more blocks before turning his attention outside.
Perrin gave Sials a quelling look, noticing that he was about to resume teasing his aide. Silas began to pout as well. The duke looked at the both and sighed - why were they acting like kids?
"I put out an advert for staff and we will be holding interviews next week. I think I will bring Oren over to meet Miss Kiava a couple days before then," Perrin broke the brooding silence of the other two. "I'll ask him if he would be willing." Not even a duke could comfortably tell a Veritas what to do.
"If the picture of her and I is in the paper before then he will probably say yes out of curiosity, he is an inquisitive soul after all. He's petitioned the Temple twice to join the City Guard as a detective, but he's just too high ranked for them to be able to do that without some nobles squawking that they are abusing his ability," Silas commented with some sympathy.
…
Oren stared at his royal cousin, trying to hide how hopeful he was. The Princess smiled at him as she sipped the tea the apprentice priest had brought. He was the only royal family member born with any power in almost three hundred years, and as a result many nobles had tried to position him to become the next Emperor over her female cousin. He had fled to the Temple to escape that responsibility.
Since then, all he had been allowed to do was the chants for his guardian deity, and sitting in on Judgements to hone his ability to detect lies; it was boring. Now here sat his royal cousin with a job outside the Temple under his other ducal cousin, a loyalist that would keep away the greedy nobles who still wanted him to be in power. Never mind that he would always know when they were lying.
"I'll do it! Forever!"
The princess laughed. "We still have to get permission."
"If they say no I'll run away," Oren snarled. He did not regret fleeing court politics in favor of the Temple, but priesthood was never one of his aspirations. "The temple officials can't even use me for Judgements because some members of the court still haven't given up their machinations. If I'm with Perrin though, they will leave me alone. I'm not sure if it's him or his friends that scare them."
The princess chuckled schemingly. "It doesn't really matter, we both can use that fear to our advantage."