Yes, I didn't expect it myself, but on the islands everything was somehow too fast and easy. And the country, and the training, even the fact that I've cut a lot of people, they let them go without any pain. And they made an advertisement in "The Prophet", wrote an article about me, where did they get the pictures? Although, I have to admit, I look no less spectacular. I like it.
So I no longer have to try to find a loophole, a crevice where I can get in and put down roots. I've been in a contemplative state lately, reading and practicing a lot and thinking about where to live. I am not going to give up access to the priceless texts of antiquity, and the conditions of buying a large piece of land in France force me to do so.
The alternative — entering someone's local kin and giving them everything along with me — is an even worse option. The third option is to buy a tiny farm, which is not only inadequate for the task, but also for my plans. And after that, years, decades of grinding and chewing out all sorts of preferential treatment, bonuses, incentives, and maybe my grandchildren will start paying off my debts.
Britain solves all my needs and problems at once. I have even been offered to buy more land, but right now I am not sure if I have enough money for the first steps. After that, a little later, I want to cut off more, but for now this is enough.
So today I will show myself for what I am — their equal. Somehow I missed the point that the game I had in mind was ruined at the very beginning. But it would have been nice to play the role of a strange foreign artist who studied something, knows how to do something, but his main passion is art.
Who knew that everything would collapse so suddenly and uncontrollably? I had to follow pure logic: crazy scumbags would be killed quickly, and a calm newcomer to high society wouldn't be tapped and pinned down because he hadn't had time to get bored yet, snobs are like that, they like novelty and entertainment.
Dunois used me? Of course they did! How could they not? It's always like that in the world. Yes, I saw some papers through the astral in Lucy's closed office.
I read reports about me, reports. So what? She has a right to know who she lets into her house, that's fair, I guess. What if some psycho pretends to be quiet and then goes under the knife for a ritual?! For money? Ridiculous!
A woman occupies a post of such importance that there is dozens and hundreds of times more money, but the new authority, positions in domestic politics — it is many times more important. She doesn't take a penny in bribes, but the Internal Security Service has opened up new opportunities for Lucy and her charges.
And that's all — she gave some agents more "quiet" and "clean" tools (wands), which cannot be traced even by the hot trail of natural "exhaust" of the wand, which can be traced in a dozen or two minutes. I didn't know this myself, so the report came as a particular surprise. Hand washes hand.
On the other hand, I was dangerously close to the line where I could be called Dunois's man, and that was BAD. My acquaintance and unexpected friendship with Delacour helped to protect me from such a conclusion.
And Ternier only confirmed it, because if I'd been a Dunois man, the red-haired witch would have been quickly and nicely rebuffed with a few sentences, so she wouldn't have come near me. In short, it's complicated, because politics is always complicated and ugly.
Boisselier. They're good people, honest people, but if my education had gone the normal way, I would have lost my freedom, I'm still a minor. If I took the first option, I got a guardian mentor. And I've already talked about guardianship.
It's hard in life, you can't just burn a person for a crooked eye or bad air. Even magicians don't do that. But you can use etiquette, and that's what I'm going to use tonight.