"Grandma! Grandma!" Sophie shouted as she entered the penthouse.
As usual, Marie was sitting at one of the tables drinking, this time with a glass of wine.
"Hi! Sophie," her grandmother responded with a smile.
"We passed. Both of us!" Sophie yelled in excitement, running around the room.
"Congrats! I knew both of you would have no trouble with the test." Marie offered her congratulations, though she didn't know how true her words were. She had never seen Alphonse or Sophie in action.
'Maybe just the boy. His potential is already clear,' she thought to herself.
"I imagine you must be tired, but I need a favor from both of you," the grandmother explained. "Many people were waiting for today's results to celebrate. Among them was the Minister of Commerce, who just got his son accepted."
Marie placed three tickets on the table. "He sent us some invitations to the party happening tonight. I would like it if you could accompany us."
"It would be our pleasure, Grandma," Sophie replied with a smile before leaving the room to get ready.
"She seems happy," Marie commented.
"Yes. She's always full of energy," Alphonse explained.
"I have something for you as well," the grandmother said.
"What is it?" the boy asked, curious.
Before Marie could explain, Alphonse managed to catch a few images from his grandmother's mind, understanding in a superficial way what it was.
"I have a task that requires your skills," she began to explain. "When I was younger, I might have done it myself." Marie paused to take a sip of her wine.
"But now, I don't have the same energy," she finished.
Although this was her version of the story, Alphonse could see in her mind that it wasn't entirely the truth. For the first time, he understood what his grandmother's profession had been—she seemed to have been some kind of [Assassin].
Yet, even so, he had managed to slip past her senses the day before. This had tested Marie's abilities, and now she wanted to test Alphonse's skills.
"What's the job?" the boy asked, moving closer to the table and sitting across from her.
"At tonight's party, I need you to slip away from the festivities, find the Minister's office, and get me something I can use to control him," Marie explained. "I don't have anything specific in mind, but I need him to stop interfering with my shipments."
"Understood," Alphonse acknowledged the nature of the request and how it would help the family's business. "But what do I get out of it?"
"A favor for your family?" Marie responded, not expecting him to bite the bait.
"Can I assume this is a test for me?" the boy asked. Without waiting for a response, he continued, "Then I'll ask for my prize."
He took a few seconds to think while also observing the assistants' reactions. They seemed uneasy with the conversation. Marie, on the other hand, appeared to be judging the boy's every move.
"I want to be the heir to the Valois family," the boy declared.
"No chance," Marie responded immediately.
"You don't have any sons. Your option would be to pass it to my mother, which would be the same as passing it to Alexander," the boy argued.
"I could find someone else to inherit the family," Marie explained.
"You could, but that would strip the family of its tradition. You could also find another husband, but it's been fifteen years since Grandpa died. If you had those plans, you would've acted on them by now," Alphonse replied.
"Impossible. You would break the tradition. The Valois only pass their inheritance to women. You not only break that tradition, but no man could ever handle what we've built," Marie said, taking another sip of her wine.
Although her face and voice didn't show it, Alphonse could sense that his grandmother was furious at the mention of making him the heir of the house.
'She's furious, but she hasn't ruled it out. Not completely,' the boy could sense through the connection.
He stood up from the chair and walked until he was face to face with Marie.
"Let's be realistic. Are you going to leave the casino to one of your concubines? To Isabelle? Or worse, Sophie?" Alphonse leaned down to Marie's eye level. "You know I'm the only one capable of taking care of this."
[Mind Influence] Alphonse is trustworthy.
[Mind Influence] Alphonse is powerful.
[Mind Influence] Alphonse should be my heir.
"I'll get the evidence you need. Keep thinking about my proposal," the boy said before leaving the room.
He could tell that Marie was furious, as were her assistants.
'Concubines! That boy...' She was burning with rage over his disrespect in front of her assistants.
Since the day before, Alphonse had been planning what to do with the information he had discovered. But with this opportunity in front of him, he wanted to gain a bit more control over the casino and its influence in the capital.
'This is the first piece I need to protect my family. Not even my grandmother will stop me from achieving that,' the boy thought calmly.
The ride to the party was uncomfortable. While Sophie was excited to meet new people in the capital, Marie tried to mask her anger, and Alphonse was as calm as usual.
The three of them traveled by carriage to the mansion, a three-story building in the center of Velorian.
As soon as they entered one of the many halls where the party was taking place, Sophie and Alphonse spotted several people who had participated in the Academy exams, as well as some students who had been in the stands.
"Sophie. Be careful. Avoid any trouble, and if someone asks for your hand in marriage, you just need to say you're already committed," Alphonse instructed his sister.
"Of course," she nodded.
Marie overheard the two while greeting some acquaintances from the city.
'Is he really trying to protect her?' the grandmother wondered.
"I'm going to the restroom," Alphonse said.
"Already? We just got here," Sophie asked.
"I forgot to go before we left," the boy explained as he separated himself from the other guests.
He truly walked to the restroom. However, he was never seen leaving.
Once Alphonse confirmed he was alone, he activated his [Shadow Cloak].
'Damn. This consumes a lot of mana. Especially with so few shadows to move through,' the boy complained.
After leaving the restroom, he began sneaking through the corridors, searching for areas with shadows. It was hard to find a place that wasn't illuminated by mana lamps, but even so, he managed to advance until he reached the second floor.
'Where is the office?' he wondered.
There were dozens of rooms, with only one way to find out—he opened them one by one. Some were empty, without any furniture, while others were simple rooms.
But after a few minutes, he finally found it. It was one of the few well-lit rooms, with a large central desk and several scattered rugs.
'Damn, not enough shadows,' Alphonse noted as he stepped into the room. It was one of the few rooms with two lamps turned on.
Even so, he entered.
'I'll worry about that if someone appears,' he thought.
The boy began rummaging through the papers on the desk and some scattered letters.
'Where would I hide something incriminating?' Alphonse tried to put himself in the Minister's shoes.
For a few minutes, he went through the papers. But except for some mentions of trade agreements and maybe minor corruption, there didn't seem to be anything out of the ordinary.
'A safe. He might have one,' the boy thought.
Resuming his search, he looked inside a large cabinet and tried feeling along the walls. But again, he found nothing.
'Damn. It must be in another room,' Alphonse felt trapped until he had a very simple idea. 'What's in the trash?'
There was a small basket with some crumpled papers.
'Useless. Useless. Aha! This is interesting.'
Among the papers in the trash were some exchanged messages between the Minister of Commerce and the Minister of Agriculture. They were planning to favor a guild connected to them to win an imperial contract and prize.
'Not perfect, but it should be enough to shut the Minister up,' the boy thought.
As Alphonse was about to leave the room, he heard footsteps approaching.
'Damn! Damn! Damn!' Alphonse panicked for a moment. But then he spotted one of the mana lamps on the wall. He quickly removed it and stashed it in one of the cabinets.
[Shadow Cloak]
He reactivated the magic just as the door opened.
However, he was stuck. Alphonse was pressed against the wall farthest from the door, the only part of the room with enough darkness to fuel his magic. But to leave, he would have to pass through a very well-lit area and open the door.
'Best to wait,' he calmed himself to avoid making noise.
"Celeste, be quiet. I'll go wherever I want," he heard someone say.
Alphonse couldn't see who was speaking, but he found the best position and peeked out.
A girl with green hair and a black dress entered the room, pulling another girl by the hand.
"P-princess, what if someone finds us?!" Celeste asked, worried.
The princess exuded seduction in her black dress, with several necklaces adorned with sparkling green jewels around her neck. Conversely, Celeste was shorter than the princess, with curly black hair and large glasses. Even with a long, layered dress, it was still noticeable that she was a bit chubby.
"In a party like this, who the hell is going to be in an office?" the princess questioned.
'Me,' Alphonse thought.
"I-I don't..." Before she could finish, the princess interrupted.
"Quiet. I don't want to hear another word."
The princess walked over to the work table and pushed everything under it. She then sat on the table and spread her legs.
"P-princess!" Celeste was startled.
The princess pulled the front of her dress before speaking, "I said quiet. Get on your knees and lick my pussy!"
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