Lecia had the sense that its words were more than hypothetical.
“Way to go, Arcus...” he muttered to the floor after Joshua had left. His heart was hammering, making his legs tremble like jelly. Apparently the viscount could intimidate him more than he had expected. Even the battlefield hadn’t overwhelmed him this much. He had barely batted an eyelid when surrounded by the Black Panther Cavalry. His encounter with the tremendous Bargue Gruba may have been the exception, but even then he had managed to hide most of his fear response. He supposed it just went to show how deeply rooted his early memories of that man berating and beating him were.
“You’re scared of your dad?” Louise asked.
“I didn’t think I was. I still don’t think I am. The way my body’s reacting, though...is this fear?”
“You stood up to him well. Looks like you’ve really come into your own.”
“I wonder...”
Arcus wasn’t sure that he had been all that dauntless. If only he had been able to see himself from an outside perspective. As it was, he knew only of the weakness he had picked up on, not the part that stood out to third parties. At least that man’s life afforded him a world of experience, as did his fruitful time in combat. But even after all of that, he still felt like he was far off from confronting Joshua.
He was grinding his teeth, frustrated at his own witlessness, when Louise made an exasperated noise.
“Do you ever stop to think about how young you are? I mean, standing up to an oppressive parent at your age... You’ve got to be pretty courageous for that.”
Arcus didn’t know how to respond. Her compliment didn’t cheer him up enough to outweigh the wretchedness he felt.
“That’s the guy who disowned you?” she asked.
“Yes.”
“He looked decent enough to me. What about you?” Her question was addressed to her attendant, a rural lord standing behind her shoulder.
“Although I could not comment on his character, his prestige as head of one of the longest-serving eastern houses shone through, not least in his intimidating air. While we have a powerful enemy in the Gillis Empire, I hear the Raytheft House wages constant battles with our tribal enemies. It was clear to me that the viscount is a man to be feared.”
“Yes, I agree. We’ve seen, too, how he acts when it comes to you, Arcus,” Louise said.
“No doubt that stems from the significance His Lordship places on aether,” her attendant offered.
“Is lacking aether something to be ashamed of? Not that I’m an expert, but most of these magic families all seem the same to me.”
“Magic technology is of vital importance to the kingdom, and so it follows that a high emphasis is placed on aether. Anyone lacking aether might as well not have any redeeming qualities whatsoever.”
The lord was correct. Although Arcus’s aether was pitiful compared to the members of other magic houses, it was closer to average when compared to your garden-variety magician. In fact, one might argue that magic nobles had too much of the stuff. It didn’t make much sense at all to the nonmagic houses, who had no knowledge of the arts.
“Lady Louise, thank you very much for your assistance.” Arcus bowed his head.
“Mm. It has been a while.”
“Yes, My Lady.”
“His Majesty asked me to come keep an eye on you.”
“His Majesty?!”
“That shouldn’t be any surprise to you. You’re always getting into mischief, aren’t you? Anyway, I’m supposed to be stepping in for Crucible whenever he’s tied up.”
Arcus hesitated, although he was genuinely grateful. Shinlu could say the most unnerving things and rarely cut people slack, but he definitely held some level of fondness for the boy. That much was clear from the recent meeting at the Magician’s Guild and the postwar awards ceremony.
“But why did His Majesty select you, My Lady?”
“Having another state magician do it’d cause suspicion, right? You and I fought Nadar together, so it makes sense that I’d want to talk to you.”
“Yes, that’s right. Again, I would like to thank you,” Arcus said. “Is Deet not in attendance today?” He looked around, but could see no sign of his friend.
“He’s holding down the fort. I gave him a little test before heading out here, but he didn’t pass.”
“A test?”
“He’ll be doing a stint at the Institute next year. That should tell you everything you need to know.”
“Oh, um... Are you saying his conduct didn’t meet the necessary standards?”
“That’s exactly what I’m saying. He really did his best—I was going to reward him with dessert, after all—but he still didn’t make the cut. There just wasn’t enough time to get him up to snuff. Though it’s mostly his fault for never bothering to straighten himself out to start with.”
Apparently all the motivation in the world hadn’t been enough for Deet to break his habits. Arcus could remember how he’d struggled just to grapple with paperwork. It was easy to imagine him looking just as soulless after a spell focusing on his manners and conduct.
I still think Deet could get away with being Deet here though, considering his age...
Perhaps the Rustinell family was especially strict when it came to etiquette, which was somewhat ironic, given the wild air its members gave off. Arcus decided not to point this out.
“What sort of dessert were you going to offer him?”
“Nothing in particular. The plan was to drop in on you. You would have been able to put something together, right?”
“Certainly. Although I presume you knew that I might not have been available.”
“Sure, but the point was to motivate him, and it worked. I had Rustinell’s interests at heart, you see.” Louise let out a hearty laugh, not looking the least bit ashamed. She then set her sights on the nearby table. “Is that what I think it is?”
“Soma wine? Yes. I’ve refined the recipe enough that I felt it was worthy of a field test with the guests.”
“Your plans for it have more or less taken shape then, I take it?”
“There are certain restrictions on its sale.”
“I’m not surprised. Regardless, you’d be doing me a big favor if you set some aside for me.”
“I’m sorry?”
“Nothing. Anyway, what were His Majesty’s impressions of it, then?”
“His Majesty expressed anger at me keeping such ‘tasty stuff’ to myself for this long.”