Excellent, the older teen was the amicable sort, she wouldn’t need to waste both of their time with unnecessary pleasantries, they could get right down to business just as she preferred. Unless specified otherwise, she would continue conversing in her native tongue with her fellow Germanic polymath,
”No apology is necessary, Herr Steiner,” she paused for a brief moment, as if calculating the best words to pick for steering the dialogue to suit her goal,
”I have taken notice of your study in the Polymathy Major of Mesmerology, and while those less informed merely scoffed said major off as nothing more than the art of charlatans, I think otherwise, Herr Steiner.” Franz was able to sense that there was sincerity behind the younger girl’s stoic tone, she really did take him and his studies seriously, much unlike most others. Given the reputation of the Konigsmahne house, the magnitude of praise did not go unnoticed.
”What is scientific progress if not heralded by a mind open to all possibilities? An overly conservative mindset will lead to stagnation and thus, the cessation of progress. So with that said, Herr Steiner, I think it’d be in our best interest to ally ourselves. You’ll need a resourceful patron who’ll take your studies seriously, and we’ll very much welcome a prodigy on our side. What say you?”In her single-minded pursuit of her goal, her purpose, she tunnel-visioned the great hall to just Franz. In Lucretia’s world, there was no one else but him and herself. As such, the fact that a youth from Mughal (and his groupies) was scouting her out remained unnoticed.
“That is a very wise position given the history of your house, Frau Konigsmahne. I take your praise highly.”Franz was not so unobservant. He kept keenly aware of what eyes were on the two. Although he felt relatively safe speaking in German, it was better to be certain of it and stay away from eavesdroppers. Of course, he also didn’t want to make that precaution known to his company, he was just supposed to be a student here after all.
“We should continue this conversation over some food, don’t you agree? I have not eaten since we all got off the ship.”Franz politely motioned her to follow him as he went to a nearby food table which was out of sight from Kalil. Despite making the trip over, Franz did not put much on his plate. Quite simply he wasn’t that hungry.
“Now, back to the matter of allies. Germany and Austria have been famously good allies to one another, particularly during the Futile war. Off the merit of that alone, I would be more than willing to give my allegiance. However, we are no longer at war and we all enjoy a long reign of peace. So I see little reason for the formality of alliances here in Bermuda of all places.” Franz was being dishonest. He was well aware of the continuing tensions and would still appreciate an ally. But throwing around words like that was a quick way to rouse suspicion.
“That is all just semantics though, I would be more than happy to accept. Did you have any projects in mind?”
He accepted her praise, good, very good. This would mean she was progressing nicely toward her goal, ja? There’s no other way to see it. This sense of accomplishment was enough to curl a small smirk at the side of Lucy’s lips, she had always been the type to worship efficiency in all things, including social networking. Yes, what is socialization if not means to an end?
”But I’m not hungry.” Lucy bluntly stated with all the subtlety of a super dreadnought flying over a city, completely oblivious to the lines in-between Franz’s offer. In her mind, this act of gathering food and eating them was an unnecessary distraction. The moment she realized that Franz wasn’t going to change his mind, her little smirk turned into an annoyed frown as she followed after him, perhaps with more gusto than necessary.
As expected, she didn’t procure any food, she wasn’t hungry after all. The white-haired girl (im)patiently waited until Franz was done gathering his food and could
finally continue the conversation,
”I am pleased that you can see reason, indeed our nations come from the same root,” She blinked once when he mentioned of no need for alliances, but visibly relaxed when he made it clear that it was merely semantics, so he’s basically saying yes, wunderbar.
”The project of Mesmerologist Polymathy itself of course,” As always, she went straight to the point,
”Enlighten me with your knowledge, Herr Steiner, provide me with the information so I may convince my family to be your patron.
A house like Konigsmahne desires to know the secrets of Mesmerology. There were two kinds of attitude to Mesmerology, an ignorant disrespect or a desire to know it all. The latter was a key reason Franz kept himself studying this profession. But he found himself only chuckling at this girl’s request for all the information he could provide. Such a thing would take him days to fully explain, and likely months to ensure the subject was understood.
“You ask for a considerable amount, Frau Konigsmahne. It is certainly too much to disclose here given the time and the amount of people around. For now, I will say that Mesmerology is the study of the mind and how to bend them with applied Formulizations. That in itself would be more than enough to garner the patronage of powerful noble houses, I imagine. Don’t you agree?” Franz left the question open for a bit as he took a small bite of his food.
“However, I am unsure that the patronage of a noble house is very beneficial to me. I have no need for money or access to more academic literature. I struggle to find a way that this collaboration is very beneficial to me.” Franz left a pause for a bit. He knew exactly what he was going to say next, but he wanted it to appear as if he only just thought of the idea.
“There is... one thing. I have heard rumors about an Egoist defect gaining residence in Germany. An Egoist with allegiances to the Occident would be very beneficial to my work. Would the Konigsmahne house be able to provide me with such an Egoist to study? Provided with that, I would have no issue sharing my findings with Germany.”
”Of course, that’d be unfeasible, I’m merely asking just enough to give something to the house, a sort of pitch one would give to a would-be patron.” She certainly wouldn’t go as far as actually taking up the discipline, she had her own studies of Technologism to pursue among other reasons.
Fortunately, it seemed Franz understood that notion and explained just enough… although not nearly enough, she still needed one crucial piece of information,
”Indeed, I agree… assuming that the discipline actually holds tangible, measurable results, can you assure me that it is so, Herr Steiner?” She stared directly into his green eyes, being all ears to his answer of this particular question.
That stare made her following frown all the more obvious, only the truly dense of dense wouldn’t notice that she found his unappreciation of her offer to be frustrating,
”I find that to be highly unlikely, sir. Any aspiring Polymath can benefit greatly from patronages… With a patron, Franz could get all the resources, materials, and assistants he could want, who couldn’t benefit from those? Of course, the fact that his pause was fabricated went right over her head. Regardless, she listened to his offer.
”So, you essentially wish for information, She deduced, taking a moment to think,
”...very well, I’m sure I’m able to procure information for this Egoist defector.” In fact, it was also in her best interest to find out more if this defector was a potential saboteur to Germany, it’d be mutually beneficial to accept.
”I accept your offer, you have my words, as long as I have yours.”
Franz smiled at the way the conversation was progressing. Before, he was unsure if the rumors of the Egoist defect were even true. Now he had one of the most powerful families on his side to find her. Fantastic.
“I assure you, frau Konigsmahne, the discipline of Mesmerology is worthy of respect. Despite the reputation it has received from conmen and frauds, it is far from a madman’s pipedream. I have no trouble in assuring you it holds results.”“As far as your suggestion about patronages, I have long been able to supply myself with enough to conduct my research. But that Egoist, that would be a benefit indeed. I am willing to give my word.”Franz held out his hand waiting for a hand shake of agreement.
Excellent, no unnecessary pussyfooting, no pointless distractions, right straight to the core of the matter, Deutsche Effizienz vom Feinsten.
”Then it is done.” She held out her hand to shake his, returning the gesture of what she did moments ago.
”Now then, if you excuse me, Herr Steiner, I have business to attend.” Letters to write, correspondences to contact, so many important matters to attend now that she had made progress. With that said, Lucretia proceeded to stand up from the table and walked away, leaving Franz to enjoy his meal in peace.
After all this time, she still hadn’t noticed the pipe-smoking youth stalking her, although to be fair, he was somehow wrapped up by a group forming around him.
”Until we meet again, Frau Konigsmahne.”What an odd interaction. Had she really sought out Franz this early in a party just to inquire on his profession then leave abruptly? Perhaps she had a mission like him. Of course, the possibility of other students working for national interests did not escape him. But maybe, he was just overthinking it. Still it wasn’t as if he was disclosing any information he wasn’t comfortable sharing publicly, outside of his interest in the defector. But some risks need to be taken for progress.
Speaking of missions, he had seen a yellow eyed boy during his trip to the food table. As much as he wanted to treat some lady to a dance, it was best he pursued that first.
Finishing his meal was no issue, Franz had only loaded it up with the equivalent of one dumpling anyway. He unnecessarily cleaned around his mouth with a napkin before getting up from his seat. Franz then began making his way toward the boy and his maid.
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