Chapter 191
It came out of nowhere.
It was painfully obvious to anyone with the slightest drop of situational awareness that Her Excellency was a novice in the ways of Nobles and Royals.
A few comments laced with sarcasm, openly scowling whenever commerce or politics were brought up, long blinks that betrayed her rolling her eyes- or resisting the urge to do so-, tired sighs whenever a Noble overstayed their presence before her, and short responses accompanied by insipid questions that inevitably killed the conversation no matter how hard the other party tried.
And everyone understood that. Halves are not beings of subtlety. Quite the opposite, actually.
Still, Her Excellency held eye contact, spoke clearly, and treated people as if they were her equals. The last a mindbogglingly wrong notion, but appreciated by most when it came to respectful exchanges.
The circumstances were unfortunate for most. Nobles wanted to introduce themselves and engage in their games with Her Excellency, but she wasn’t told how it worked.
Perhaps she simply didn’t like it.
It was a pleasant surprise for everyone when Lady Dabrak of Riverfield presented herself before Her Excellency and the Halve had a genuine conversation and threw a few jokes. Her Excellency Natasha inquired about Lady Dabrak’s employee, Tay, an Alchemist, and her progress with a few potions the Halve sold.
That got the attention of the other Nobles around the Hall of Dawn.
Halven Items.
The way in which the Nobles’ masquerade of politeness almost broke in a flush of envy was hilarious. If one were to guess, most were cursing Lady Dabrak’s boldness and insolence. Purchasing Halven Items from a newly born Halve could be considered a sacrilegious act worthy of a thousand years of torture under the supervision of Clerics to ensure pain tolerance remained at its lowest.
If the Halve was an empty shell of ignorance, that is.