[center][h1][b][color=9354FF]Fritz "Ryn" Hendrix[/color][/b][/h1][color=9354FF]Time:[/color] 09:30
[color=9354FF]Location:[/color] Entrance Hall
[color=9354FF]Interaction:[/color] Prince Wulfric [@Silverpaw][/center]
[i]A preliminary survey of the castle confirmed what Ryn feared: Sorian Castle no longer resembled the palace it once was. Entire structures vanished. Rooms that were not destroyed or merged with another room were sealed behind a wall. Some secret passages transformed into servants’ corridors, while some hallways traded places and became hidden. Everything that made Sorian Castle unique was stripped away. Replaced. The palace had become Danrose Castle in almost every aspect. 

Though the map helped them gauge which areas to focus on, when taking account of all the possibilities, they had as much information as they had without the map. The crew was going to have to search every square inch of the place. A time-consuming task that would be difficult to accomplish without raising the alarm bells. They needed time, and summer was too short. 

By the time the first rays of the sun pushed the night’s stars away to herald the start of a new day, the crew had come to a consensus concerning their search. 

First, to expedite the entire process, they needed the cooperation of a castle resident or staff member. Preferably someone who lived in the castle long enough to know the layout by heart and could be swayed to their cause. Considering the high turnover rate alone, Ryn thought it unlikely that anyone would fit the criteria easily. Karleen surprised everyone by saying that she had already found a candidate. Since she was the only one to have seen the maid, Ryn assigned Karleen to recruit her.

Another alternative was to take advantage of the summer gathering. They could suggest an activity that required the guests to explore the castle. They could also narrow it down to a few guests. Lure them to search the castle by enticing them with something they wanted. Whether that be a tangible object or knowledge.

Second, they needed to prepare for the long haul. If they failed to find what they were looking for within the summer, they needed a good excuse to return regularly. The best way to accomplish that was to build an amicable relationship with a member of the royal family or someone who was close to them.

Based on what occurred in the entrance hall, Princess Anastasia and Prince Callum were—unfortunately—not suitable for this. Any friends of theirs were likely to be seen as trouble waiting to happen in the king and queen’s eyes and sent away. This inevitably narrowed prospects down to four, five individuals: King Edin, Queen Alibeth, First Prince Wulfric, Second Prince Auguste, and—as a last resort—Luz, as Lady Lesdeman. Ryn wanted to avoid involving Luz as much as possible, but if it ever came down to it, he’d have no choice but to use her.

Ryn’s top two choices were the woman who evidently did most of the king’s duties and the Heir Apparent.[/i] 

Ryn studied Prince Wulfric, during his own speech and after. He dissected the prince’s body movements and countenance, attempting to discern what the prince wanted the count to see and what slipped through the cracks.

Hidden under the sugared adulation, Ryn laced the words “true ruler” with steel thorns. He wondered if the prince felt it as he fed it to him. As far as Ryn could tell, he did not. If anything, Prince Wulfric seemed unimpressed by the thick layer of sugar. Ryn made a mental note of that and recalibrated. [color=9354FF][i]One more thing the king doesn’t share with his son.[/i][/color] Next time, he would curb the flattery.

A flicker of genuine interest appeared only after the count dangled the information Prince Wulfric tried to pry from his siblings. The one name they did everything within their power to protect, even at their own expense. All their efforts were about to be for naught because one man knew the answer and planned to take advantage of it. 

[color=ab274f]“... You clearly have me at a disadvantage, for [i]I[/i] do not know whom you are referring to.”[/color]

[color=9354FF]“Marek Delronzo, owner of Black Rose, a merchant company,”[/color] Ryn answered plainly. He waited for a moment before continuing, raising his free hand up, [color=9354FF]“though I should emphasize that the source of this information is hearsay. As I have mentioned, I happened to hear about the party at the public library and only by chance. I didn’t make any line of inquiry to ascertain its validity. I trust Your Highness will keep this in mind should you ever decide this is worth looking into.”[/color]

[i]Third, they needed people’s focus away from the palace for as long as possible. The more distractions, the better. Tossing Mr. Delronzo’s name out in the open added to the pile.[/i]

He smiled weakly, [color=9354FF]“I wish I could’ve provided something more concrete. I can only hope this will aid, rather than hinder, your investigation.”[/color] Ryn sketched half a bow. [color=9354FF]“Thank you, Your Highness, for lending an ear.”[/color]

Normally, any conversation would have ended at this point. The count stated that he did not intend to detain the prince for long, and he gave the prince the information he requested. This should have been the most appropriate point to part ways.

[color=9354FF]“Do you like flowers, Your Highness?”[/color] the count asked. Ryn brought the bundle of flowers in front of him for both of them to appreciate. [color=9354FF]“I think they’re lovely to look at, especially during stressful times.”[/color] He separated the two bouquets and offered the one that was an assortment of flowers and flowering herbs to the prince. The chaotic collection of plants was an affront to flower arrangement and floriography alike. That was not, however, the intent of the bouquet. 

[color=9354FF]“These make excellent floral baths.”[/color] His voice took a more jovial tone, [color=9354FF]“Visually appealing, aromatic, and has destressing effects? It’s quite a bargain.”[/color] Ryn adjusted the bouquet to the side to examine Prince Wulfric, then tried on a grin before properly presenting the gift as court etiquette dictated. [color=9354FF]“Be sure to rest from time to time, Prince Wulfric. A tired man is an inefficient man.”[/color]  

[color=9354FF]“Now if you will excuse me, Your Highness. I would like to deliver these to Her Majesty. After all that has transpired, I believe it’s only fair that she is allowed a moment to enjoy flowers.”[/color]

[hr][hr][center][h1][b][color=DAF6C7]Ríoghnach "Riona"[/color][/b][/h1][color=DAF6C7]Location:[/color] Outside the Castle
[color=DAF6C7]Time:[/color] 09:30
[color=DAF6C7]Interaction:[/color] Leo[@Helo][/center]
Credit where credit’s due. The heir of Stravy surprised the maid by staying relatively calm throughout her tirade. He never interrupted her (though it could be because he was doing his darndest to ignore her), he didn’t physically harm her even as she called him a dunce (maybe he just didn’t want to touch her and catch something), nor did he summon the guards to detain her and follow the same fate as Darryn (or he didn’t want to come off as a weak whiny noble who couldn’t deal with a commoner). So when Lord Smithwood gave Riona a piece of his mind, she extended the same level of courtesy to him. 

That didn’t stop her from rolling her eyes when he touched her shoulder to assert his dominance, though.

He failed to connect the dots between his own actions at the ball and his ruined shoes, but what the future duke said was not entirely incorrect. Yes, she shouldn’t be wasting her time on Lord Smithwood. Yes, it was the Caesonian court, not the Varian court, that was so messed up that anyone without a title could be killed over any petty reason and it’d be acceptable. Yes, if Caesonia’s common folk wanted a better life, they’d have to band together and fight for it. Riona didn’t doubt that they could do it if they set their minds to it. They just needed to get organized.

Lord Smithwood clearly understood that servants wanted to be treated with dignity and respect, which only confused Riona. He knew, but he still didn't treat them that way. Did he want Stravy to follow in Sorian’s footsteps? Shouldn’t the fact that Stravy hasn’t sunk as low as Sorian be exactly why he should take her warning—even his own words—to heart now before it was too late?

When he smiled that stupid, smug smile, Riona saw she changed from an annoying pest that buzzed around Lord Smithwood’s face to a source of entertainment. Given the choice of words, she suspected he pegged her as some kind of freedom fighter. Added to the fact that he had no apparent love for Caesonia, perhaps he thought she would be amusing to watch and useful if she brought havoc to House Danrose.

The maid said nothing, but her eyes narrowed with contempt. Riona stood on one foot and scraped off what was left at the bottom of her boot with her hand. 

Riona gasped, pointing at the hand that touched her shoulder moments ago. [color=DAF6C7]“Milord! Your hand,”[/color] she exclaimed as she snatched it, [color=DAF6C7]“t's filthy!”[/color] Riona wiped off the invisible mess with her sullied hand. [color=DAF6C7]“You must be careful when touching a peasant as you did! You know not where they've been!”[/color] She made sure she “cleaned” both sides of his hand and in between his fingers for extra measure.

[color=DAF6C7]“If you can’t see the parallels between your opinion of lowborns and what’s happening here in this city… then Stravy is screwed.”[/color] Riona mirrored his smile if only to show him how unflattering it was. 

[color=DAF6C7]“Oh!”[/color] She gasped again with the exact same expression as she had before. She stretched her hand toward Lord Smithwood's face. [color=DAF6C7]“I see I’ve missed a spot.”[/color]

That was when Riona heard a familiar voice call out to them.