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[color=skyblue]Location[/color]: Château de La Lune: Dining Room
[color=skyblue]Skills[/color]: N/A
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Tony continued enjoying his steak, listening to the conversations he could hear around him. He couldn’t hear the other end of the table super well with all the other conversations happening, but it sounded like the nominees over there had eked out a few more details about the awards. Apparently people could be nominated either by the community - so, anyone? - or by members of the family. Elenore, as the matriarch, seemed to be the sole decision maker regarding who makes the shortlist. As far he was concerned, this only reinforced his previous assumption that she must be aware of the folder that was left on his desk; if she’d spent an appreciable amount of time curating the shortlist of nominees, surely no one would dare risk her wrath if they were caught meddling with a nominee. This still leaves many unanswered questions, though. Is it a coincidence that she put him on the shortlist and they found that information about him, or could it be that he was shortlisted [i]because[/i] of it? [color=skyblue][i]I [/i]am[i] the most qualified nominee, as far as I can tell, but logically it seems unlikely to be a total coincidence,[/i][/color] he thought.

Now seemed as good a time as any to try to fish for more clues, but it would have to be done carefully. Tony took a sip of wine then turned his attention to Elenore. [color=skyblue]”So, Mrs. La Lune, these awards have been running for many years now. Surely you must have a favorite out of all the previous winners? Perhaps the most successful, or the most charming, or maybe the most unique?”[/color] he asked, trying to ease her into some conversation.

Elenore smiled. It was the smile of someone reminiscing. “There was a young girl who was studying to become a librarian. She was quite skilled at repair of ancient manuscripts. She wrote me a letter a couple of years later telling me she had gotten her dream job at the Library of Congress. She had this light in her eyes when talking about books that was impossible to forget.”

Tony smiled politely in return. So her favorite was one who sounds highly qualified, which boded well for him. Although a small part of his mind wondered if he should be trusting anything she says at face value. There were so many questions he wanted to ask, but he was struggling to think of clever enough ways to ask them without making it obvious what he’s fishing for. [color=skyblue]”She does sound quite remarkable. I’m sure there must have been [i]some[/i] misses over the years as well? A nominee that didn’t quite live up to expectations, or turned out to be not exactly who you thought they were?”[/color] [i]There, that should do it.[/i]

“We have had a few that post nomination, post winning, have failed to live up to expectation. This award isn't supposed to stop people from doing what they love. It is meant to give them breathing room to do it. To excel at it. Hire people that they need to improve or take care of things. Whatever the money can do to help them become better at their chosen career. So many have used the money to be lazy, they stopped having drive. They stopped trying to improve.” She clicks her tongue disapprovingly. “Hopefully, this year's winner proves they know what to do with the windfall.”

Tony nodded, taking another sip of wine. [color=skyblue]”That is some excellent advice, I’m sure we would all do well to remember it,”[/color] he replied. In the back of his mind, though, he was cursing. [i]Damn it, that was too indirect.. she went in the total opposite direction from what I wanted. But I couldn’t be any more direct without giving away what I was looking for. I’m not going to get answers by asking… at least, not from her.[/i]

He turned his attention to the other nearby family members, participating in whatever small talk came his way. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Constance looking at him, slightly raising her glass to him. He returned the small salute in kind, with a subtle smile. At least there would be [i]something[/i] to look forward to tonight.