Chapter 59 - The two princesses
After having excused herself from Raimond Abram and the others, Scarlett had mingled with several of the other groups here. None of the conversations she got into were particularly interesting—mostly just basic introductions and her inquiring about and mentioning some potential business ventures Evelyne had asked her to speak about—and she only stayed with one group just long enough that it wouldn't seem completely rude to leave, but she had still probably been at it for well over an hour before determining that it was enough, right about when some of the people had started leaving the garden.
It was a bit earlier than she had originally expected—she was pretty sure there was a decent amount of time left until the ceremony itself—and Allyssa hadn't returned yet, but that didn't matter much. If she were to guess the young Shielder would probably come looking for her soon enough, but, as there was enough time, Scarlett didn't mind exploring the garden some more to find the girl herself.
Her eyes passed over the remaining crowds as she double-checked Allyssa wasn't nearby and had just gotten pulled into a conversation somehow. Although there were a lot fewer nobles here than for the Elysian Proclamation, there were still several faces she recognized from there. She wasn't here anymore, but earlier Scarlett had also seen Princess Regina moving around for a time. She was the only member of the imperial family that Scarlett had spotted though, and the young princess had only interacted with some of the upper-crust nobles that had hung out at the other edge of the fountain.
Not finding any traces of Allyssa, Scarlett was just about to step onto a smaller gravel path that led away from the center area when she heard a voice calling out to her.
"Scarlett."
She turned around to see the woman with glasses from earlier—Livvi—walking up to her with hurried steps.
"Yes. Was there something you wanted?"
Livvi stopped in front of Scarlett, seemingly taking a second to regain her breath. "What's with you today?" she asked with a slight frown. Then she shook her head. "No, never mind. I just wanted to ask if everything was okay."
Scarlett gave the woman a long look. "Okay?"
"Yes," Livvi said with a sure nod. "I've been busy for some time now, so I don't know the latest of what has been transpiring here in the capital, but I have the feeling that something happened. And yesterday when I spoke with my father he seemed annoyed at you for some reason. More than usual, that is. What did you do?"
Scarlett arched an eyebrow. That might have meant more if she knew who this woman's father was.
"There was an incident during the Proclamation ceremony," she said. "I believe some may have taken offense to a few of the words I spoke. It is nothing I am not taking measures to deal with."