Dorian leaned forward slightly, his eyes shining with an almost unhealthy curiosity.
"I see. Well, this Maxime is certainly admirable."
The rest of the dinner passed in a mixture of tension and forced cordiality, or at least that's how Aveline felt.
At the end, as she was about to leave the room, Dorian rose and bowed slightly.
"Lady Aveline, you're even more fascinating than I imagined. I'm sure we'll form a union that will be... memorable."
Aveline replied with a polite smile before leaving the room.
"Memorable my ass..."
But she kept her thoughts to herself and bowed only slightly in reply.
Reaching the west wing, she found Maxime waiting for her.
"So?" he asked.
Aveline hesitated for a second before answering.
"This guy's definitely not clean-cut, but nothing out of the ordinary happened."
"Besides, the meal was pretty good."
Maxime laughed lightly.
