Chapter 71: The Garden
The ballroom had grown warm.
The heat of a thousand bodies, the press of conversation and perfume and enchanted light, had settled over Dominic like a second skin. He’d been navigating the room for hours now, and the weight of it was beginning to show.
Florence had peeled off to circulate, her sharp grin and sharper tongue making her a natural at the game of social warfare. Theresa had remained at his side, quiet and watchful, her golden eyes cataloging every face, every glance, every shift in the room’s invisible currents.
It was Theresa who suggested they approach Lady Vex.
"She’s the head of the Royal Mages’ Collegium," Theresa said quietly. "She has resources. Facilities. Researchers. And she’s powerful enough that I believe she could handle it if something went wrong." She paused. "If we’re going to study the heart, we need help. She’s the only person in this room I’d trust to have the discipline for it."
Dominic considered it. "You want to tell her about the heart."
"I want to tell her we have something. Just enough to open a conversation. If she’s interested, we set terms. If she’s not, we walk away." Theresa’s golden eyes met his. "But we need this, Dominic. The heart isn’t going to research itself, and my resources are limited."
"You’re sure about her?"
"I’m sure she’s our best option."
They crossed the room together. The crowd parted around them, not with the deference shown to Vex, but with a wariness that was almost as good. People were still recalibrating their opinion of the Kane name, and the sight of Dominic approaching the head of the Royal Mages’ Collegium only added to the calculation.
Lady Vex stood in her pool of cold authority, her silver hair catching the chandelier light like frozen water. Her pale eyes tracked their approach without surprise.
"Lord Kane," she said, her voice cool and unhurried. "And the mage whose magical signature doesn’t match any registered academy. This is becoming a pattern."
"I’m a creature of habit," Dominic said.
"Most creatures are." Vex’s gaze shifted to Theresa. "You’ve been watching me, assessing me the way I do a new spell before deciding whether it’s worth casting."
"I’m a scholar," Theresa said. "It’s what I do."
"Then speak, scholar. What is it you want?"
Theresa didn’t flinch. "We have come into possession of something. An object of significant magical complexity. Dangerous, if handled poorly. I’ve begun preliminary research, but my resources are limited." She paused. "I’m looking for a conversation about how such research might be conducted properly. With the right facilities. The right oversight."
Vex was silent for a moment. Her pale eyes moved over Theresa’s face, searching. "You’re being deliberately vague."
"Necessarily vague. The object in question is not something I’d discuss in a ballroom."
"Then why approach me at all?"
"Because you’re the head of the Collegium. You have the resources I lack. And you’re powerful enough that I believe you could handle it if something went wrong." Theresa held her gaze.
The temperature around them seemed to drop by several degrees. Vex’s expression didn’t change, but something shifted behind her eyes.
"You’re either very confident or very foolish," Vex said finally.
"I’m neither. I’m thorough. And I don’t propose things I can’t follow through on."
The silence stretched. Then Vex inclined her head, the smallest possible acknowledgment. "The Collegium maintains research facilities in the upper district. If a conversation were to happen, it would happen there. On my terms. With my people present."
"Of course," Theresa said. "That’s how these things should be done."
Vex turned her attention to Dominic. "Your companion is unusual and interesting. I can’t tell if you chose her or she chose you."
"She chose me," Dominic said. "I just had the good sense to say yes."
Something flickered in Vex’s eyes, the faintest shadow of amusement. "I’ll send word. Don’t keep me waiting." She turned back to her mages, the conversation clearly over.
Dominic and Theresa withdrew. Florence met them at the edge of the crowd, a glass of wine in her hand and a sharp smile on her face.
"That looked productive," she said.
"We’ll see if Vex walks through it," Dominic replied
"She will," Theresa said quietly. "She’s too curious not to."
The heat of the ballroom pressed in again, and Dominic felt the need for air. He turned to Theresa. "I’m going to step outside for a minute."
Theresa nodded.
Dominic slipped through a side arch into a corridor of open stone. The noise of the party faded behind him, replaced by the whisper of wind through leaves. He walked without direction, following a path of pale gravel that wound through a garden unlike any he had seen before.
The flowers here bloomed in colors that belonged to no season. Silver petals that reflected starlight. Vines that glowed faintly blue. Trees with bark like polished obsidian, their leaves whispering in a language that was almost words.
And in the center of it all, sitting on a stone bench beneath a tree of pale gold, was a boy.
He was sixteen, perhaps. Thin, with blonde hair that fell across his forehead and eyes that seemed too large for his face. He wore the simple clothes of a palace servant, but they hung on him as if they belonged to someone else. He was watching Dominic with open curiosity.
"Are you lost?" the boy asked.
"I don’t know yet," Dominic said. "This doesn’t look like the rest of the palace gardens."
"It isn’t. Most people don’t find it." The boy shifted on the bench, making room. "I didn’t think anyone else came here. It’s my favorite spot."
Dominic sat. The stone was warm, as if the tree above them radiated heat. "Why is that?"
"Because no one looks for me here." The boy’s eyes drifted to the flowers. "There are too many people in the palace. Too many eyes. Here, it’s quiet."
They sat in silence for a moment. Then the boy spoke again.
"You’re Lord Kane, aren’t you? The adventurer. I heard the herald."
"Yes, I am."
"I’ve heard other things about you. That your slime breathes lightning." The boy’s eyes sparkled. "Is that true?"
"Wobbly doesn’t breathe lightning," Dominic said. "He absorbs it."
The boy laughed, a quiet, bright sound, as a bell struck softly. "I wish I could see that."
"Maybe you will someday."
The boy’s smile dimmed slightly. "Maybe. If I’m allowed."
Dominic didn’t ask what he meant. Something in the boy’s tone suggested it wasn’t a question he wanted to answer. Instead, he asked, "Do you play games? Cards perhaps?"
The boy perked up. "Do you know Stones of the white Road?"
"No. But I know a game with dice and a board. I could teach you."
For a while, that was enough. Dominic found a flat rock and a piece of broken branch, scratching out a rough grid in the dirt. He explained the rules, and the boy listened with intense focus, his frail hands steadying the pieces. They played three rounds. The boy won the third, and his face lit up with such genuine delight that Dominic almost forgot where he was.
"I should go," the boy said abruptly, glancing at the sky. "Before they notice I’m gone."
"Will you be in trouble?"
"Probably." He stood, brushing dirt from his clothes. "But it was worth it. Thank you, Lord Kane. This was... this was good."
He turned to run, then hesitated. "If I ever get to see you again, I’ll challenge you to a rematch."
Then he was gone, vanishing through the trees toward the palace, his footsteps fading quickly into the night.
Dominic stayed on the bench a moment longer, watching the spot where the boy had disappeared. Something about the encounter nagged at him. The boy’s clothes, too poor for the palace. His eyes, too bright for his body. The way he moved, as if every step cost him something.
He was still thinking about it when Theresa found him.
She came through the garden like a ghost, her midnight blue coat blending with the shadows. Her golden eyes scanned the space, lingering on the bench where Dominic sat. "I felt you through the bond. You wandered. I was concerned."
"I’m fine. Just needed air." He stood. "I met someone. A boy. Sixteen, maybe. Sickly. He was in the garden alone."
Theresa’s expression flickered. "A boy?"
"He said he was from the palace. But his clothes were too plain." Dominic frowned. "He was sharp, though. Smart. He played like someone who doesn’t get to play often."
Theresa stepped closer, her hand finding his arm. "Dominic. That boy, did he say his name?"
"No. He ran off before I could ask."
Theresa went still.
"What?"
"I felt him through the bond," she said. "Not clearly. Just enough." Her golden eyes narrowed toward the trees where the boy had disappeared. "That was him."
Dominic frowned. "Who?"
"The third SS-rank."
Silence.
"You’re sure?"
"Yes." Theresa’s expression hardened. "There was no mistaking that mana. He wasn’t suppressing it, either. He couldn’t."
Dominic’s mind returned to the boy’s pale face, the way he’d moved as though every step hurt.
"Then why didn’t I sense it?"
"Because you’re comparing what you felt to the other two. Vora’s power was controlled. The other presence at the gate was deliberately concealed." Theresa looked back toward the garden. "That boy is different. His mana, It’s leaking."
Dominic’s expression changed.
"His body can’t contain it."
"Exactly."She lowered her voice. Which means either he’s dangerously unstable..."
Her eyes shifted toward the palace. "...or he’s someone the Crown has gone to extraordinary lengths to keep hidden."
Dominic remembered the boy’s clothes. His fear of being noticed. The way he’d said, "If I’m allowed."
"A prince."
Theresa nodded slowly. "Most likely."
The system pulsed quietly.
```
[Quest Progress: The Capital Has Teeth]
[Objective: Identify one individual whose presence exceeds your current understanding of power.]
[Status: Individual identified. Affiliation unconfirmed.]
[Current GT Tokens: 2,080]
```
They returned to the ballroom together.
The atmosphere had shifted. Florence found them at the entrance, her sharp eyes moving between them. "You were gone a while. And now you both look like you’ve seen a ghost."
"Something like that," Dominic said.
Florence tilted her head. "What did you find out there?"
Dominic didn’t answer. He was watching the raised alcove where the Crown’s representative sat, still hidden behind curtains.
The weight of the capital settled over him like a second skin.
Before he could speak, an aide stepped onto the dais at the center of the ballroom and cleared his throat.
"By request of House Harwick, the following notice is made public: House Harwick intends to petition the Commerce Tribunal for a full investigation into the Caldmore dungeon incident, specifically the tenth-floor expedition that produced the SSS+ mana core. The petition will request testimony from all parties involved, including the consignor, his companions, and any guild officials who authorized the expedition."
Silence. Then a wave of murmurs, rising like a tide.
Across the room, Dominic saw him. Hector Harwick, standing at the edge of the crowd, watching. His expression cold and satisfied, like a man who’d finally made his opening move.
Dominic understood immediately. The investigation wasn’t about the core. It was about exposure. Testimony meant public scrutiny. Scrutiny meant questions about Theresa and Florence’s origins. About Frank’s backing. About everything Dominic had been trying to protect.
If he refused, he looked guilty. If he complied, he opened himself to discovery.
The trap was elegant.
The system fired one last time.
```
[Hidden Quest Unlocked: The Capital’s Game]
[Objective: Determine why House Harwick is interested in the tenth floor.]
[Warning: The information you currently possess is incomplete.]
[Potential Reward: ??? GT Tokens]
[Additional Reward: Gacha Ticket (Limited)]
[Failure Condition: Allow the truth to become public before you discover it.]
```
Dominic stared at the notification, then looked across the ballroom. Vora was nowhere to be seen. Lady Vex was speaking quietly with her mages, but her eyes flickered toward Dominic with something that might be interest.
Florence appeared at his elbow. "The room’s turning. Some of them are already looking at you differently."
"Let them look."
Theresa’s voice was quiet. "The investigation is a trap, but it’s also an opportunity. Harwick just put the tenth floor in the public eye. Whatever he’s hiding, he’s risking exposure too."
"Then we find out what he’s hiding before the Tribunal does."
Dominic turned toward the exit. The ball wasn’t over, but his part in it was. The real game had just begun.