Edwin straightened his uniform as he pushed open the door, stepping in ahead of Richard. He wore his bright scarlet dress tunic with golden buttons and black trousers. An engraved band of gold studded with a single large ruby rested on his head as if a crown. A short black cape with a gold trim was clasped around his neck by an elaborate golden broach, a wyvern with a small sapphire for an eye coiling around a crucifix like a snake. From his white belt hung a scabbard with an ornate sword, although in truth the gothic hilted 19th century officer sword was a rather poor fighting weapon if aesthetically pleasing - definitely a weapon expected to be admired rather than used in a full blown battle.

Richard himself faired little better but the lack of pin, cape or band made him look slightly less absurd and more out of time. Being officially here as a bodyguard, he had his sidearm with him; The holster for the weapon sat at his waist, strap secure and weapon unloaded.

In an interesting turn about from what one might expect, while the uniform of the Imperial Guards rank and file was dyed naturally using sinopa for a Venetian red while the dye of an officer's uniform was artificial. Historically, the dye for a CO was cochineal red which was an import from the Americas. Sinopa on the other hand was so named for being prominently traded in Sinop in Asia Minor, long a holding of the Britannians. The traditional industry was thus effectively kept alive by the needs of the guard while the artificial dyes used in the officers uniforms were also produced locally by modern industrial means. The government thus considered it a win-win situation.

"I hate these events." Edwin muttered as he glanced over the guests. There were some more newcomers, it seemed - Athenians amongst them. He knew little about this one and had not met him in spite of the close proximity of their nations - but from Liviana's, the conversation had not been a pleasant one for her.

"They're important all the same..." Richard began to speak but fell silent when he noticed Liviana slap the Athenian. Edwin quickly set off towards the group, determined to prevent the situation from getting any worse.

"Ave, my lady Livina. You look troubled, I pray I can chase it away." He said to her before glancing to Andronikos. He came up with a bluff on the spot, a plan to lure Andronikos away at least for long enough for Liviana to regain her composure - and to prevent it breaking again. The media vultures of the world would pick up this encounter for sure and he wanted to nip any damage in the bud. "My sincerest apologies to everyone for interrupting, I hope you are well today, Ladies Mai and Feerah, Lords Niklas- Alejandro - and Andronikos. Yes, it is good to meet you at last, Athenian, I feel our kingdoms could greatly benefit from talks with each other. Our ties are not what they could be considering our proximity, no? I hold some influence over certain routes that I imagine the Federation would not mind acquiring cheaper and easier access too. Would you care to join me for a talk? We'll rejoin the others quickly, I just wish to put a suggestion to you. I hope you'll forgive me, I understand it is not the place to talk about money but I do feel we could aid each other."