Chapter 123 - Books

It was another ten-minute-long dance before anyone noticed that Jien wasn't taking a part in any of the discussions. At first it the adults and the children both thought that he was joining the other group for discussion or perhaps on the dance floor as different pairs would step forward if a song suited their fancy. However, soon enough everyone realized that he was not present, or at least not where everyone else was.It was only after Runa asked the various staff attending to the guests that she learned that Jien had slipped away and was now 'hiding' in a corner that hardly anyone had any visibility of. She couldn't help but sigh, half in relief at having found him and half in frustration because this wasn't how a host should act. She pardoned herself from the current exchange among the adults and made her way briskly but elegantly to the corner that had been pointed out.There, seated on chair with a cup of hot herbal tea at his side was Jien, happily absorbed in his book. A look of utter concentration was in his eyes and a more genuine smile than most she had seen from him this day was playing at his lips. In his hand was a simple, brown, leather-bound book with the title 'Silvios Land of Snow and Silver'.Runa made her way toward Jien while he was absorbed in his reading, not noticing her presence at all amongst the music playing, the guests talking and the manor staff moving about. She made it to his side without any reaction and with a smile that didn't reach her eyes took the book from his hands. "You should be hosting your guests properly." she stated as she closed the book. "I will hold onto this until the end of the evening and then return it to you." With that she offered him her hand to help him stand and lead him back to their guests.Jien sighed before making his way back while being guided, eventually rejoining the children. He spoke with them about a few varying topics before excusing himself saying that he was going to get something to drink. Using this excuse he casually walked to the side of the room with drinks and snacks before veering off course, maintaining a casual pace that nobody picked up. Like this he was able to slip into a different edge of the rather large room and took out a different book.This time he sat on one of the chairs that had been used while they ate dinner. It wasn't the comfiest of options but that didn't bother him as he opened the hard backed book titled 'Harvest Herbs'. This was a book regarding herbs in the southern region of the human domain where the weather was warmer and more tropical due to the sea. He settled in and started reading once more, hoping to be able to burn the remaining time of the dance before heading to his room to sleep for the night.This time it was Mark who noticed Jien was missing after another length of time. With his expertise as a warrior and training in tracking he was able to find Jien rather quickly. Jien had only gotten ten or so pages in before Mark reached out and took the book from his hands. "These events aren't really my cup of tea either, but you have a responsibility to see the event to the end with your guests." Mark stated this with a smile and Jien got up while letting out a sigh. This last part of the event was dragging out and he just wanted to relax and read before heading to bed. Still, Mark had done a lot for him and the least he could do is not put up a fight regarding this.Despite this thought he joined the adult conversation this time for some time. Mark and Runa for the first while were keeping an eye on him to make sure he wouldn't slip away but seeing that he was contributing to their talks they eventually turned their attention back to the topic at hand. Jien stayed as a part of the group for a short while longer before excusing himself to head to the bathroom.Jien did indeed head to the bathroom adjoining to the ballroom, however after doing so he made his way to yet another partially hidden spot. It wasn't as well covered as the previous spots but there was at least a plant or two blocking him from direct view. He took this chance to sit in a slightly older wooden chair that had been in the room since before the event. This was a place where the occasional staff member would take a break.It was here that he took out yet another book, this one titled 'Forging Formations' relating to the theory behind the creation of formations as to better understand how to design custom formations. If one didn't know better, they may have thought that Jien had planned this out from the beginning. He seemed to know of these 'hidden' locations and was always able to escape after a short while to them.This pattern of cat and mouse with the adults seemed to continue in a rotation for a while before Lord Losler himself made a move. He approached his son and simply asked him to return and entertain the guests in one last conversation before they would all call it an evening. Jien accepted without a fight and handed the book in his hand to his father before accompanying him back to the others. As was stated by his father the last conversation was mainly a way of the guests both stating their satisfaction in the event, wishing Jien a happy birthday and stating that they looked forward to having breakfast with them in the morning.After all of the guests bid them farewell the hosts also went their own ways. Jien made his way to his room, where outside his door he noticed a short pile of varying books. It appeared that the adults had made sure that he would have them when he returned. There were eight in total, but after skimming the titles he noticed 'Harvest Herbs' wasn't present in the pile. He figured he would figure out where it was at a later date and picked up the pile of books, entering his room shortly after.