Debauchery of a Soul-Eating Wraith

Chapter 219 : It’s Nice To Meet You

The mood in the Hall changed further.

Ordinarily, Evian hadn't cared for being Astrid's proxy. He had simply seen it as a means to an end —The end being getting into Sacrosanct— but faced with Arlene's expression, he was forced to rethink.

With how much he had heard of the Arcane Church's desire to have Astrid in their ranks, why should he not use it to his advantage? Why should he not take advantage of possibly the only identity within the Martial Temple that the Arcane Church's higher-ups actually cared about?

Suddenly, he was much more than a rude youngster who spoke out of turn and approached one of their own without the slightest bit of decorum. He was now possibly a key— A way to get in contact with Astrid Renan.
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Dolan glowered at Evian and in the realization that all attention was already shifting away from him, even worse when he had just given a powerful introduction of himself, he hurried to salvage the situation in his favor.

"Esteemed Cardinals and Honored Priests and Priestesses, do not pay heed to this fellow. He has a knack for not respecting the order of turn and the fact that he doesn't have any."

Evian rolled his eyes while he stowed his Seal back into his Spatial ring.

"Ha!"

The single sound came suddenly and took many people in the hall by surprise because, at that point, following Dolan's words, silence descended upon the hall, only to now be broken.

The sound came from a man standing at the top of a set of steps that set a platform of the hall above the ground level. Only that man (a Cardinal Priest) along with a select few (also Cardinal Priests/Priestesses) stood on that platform where they discussed among themselves before the arrival of guests.

"I apologize for the outburst," the man said, "I just found the sudden serious mood in the hall to be— amusing.

Come on, why so stiff? Although it might not look like it and might be a muted affair, this IS a party. One in honor and remembrance to the Late Pontiff Agregor, a dear Friend of mine and I must admit it, you all have been mucking it up a bit."

At the end of his words, the man's tone took a dive and there was an almost dangerous look in his red eyes. They seemed to blaze with a strange fire that locked down on both Evian and Dolan right where they stood.

Both felt their bodies heat up simultaneously. It was a one-second flare-up and threatened spontaneous combustion but it was quickly over.

Evian knew immediately that it was a warning. Despite the jovial smile the man still gave, he was ordering them to conduct themselves accordingly. Besides that though, Evian felt something familiar about the Cardinal's scare tactic.

The way his body heated up seemed similar to how his blood had heated up due to Arlene's illusionary spell…

'Wait. Those eyes…' Evian thought as he noticed the Cardinal's red eyes more clearly and then glanced at Arlene's eyes of a similar hue,

'A relation perhaps?'

Whenever he thought though, he knew what was expected of him and gave a small bow,

"I'm sorry for any commotion I might have caused."

"As am I," Dolan said.

"Good," the Cardinal said, "Then we can move on with the night's event. Take care to enjoy yourselves."

That was it for it all.

Conversations resumed like they had never stopped and although no one addressed the Knights in the hall, they still gave them looks because the group continued to stick out like a sore thumb.

Dolan gritted his teeth. With his introduction past and mostly washed from the minds of the Arcanists in the hall, he would have to repeat it likely by going to them one by one and trying to push himself into conversations to try to decipher information they would not easily divulge.

Essentially, he only had this night at it. By the will of His Majesty the King, Dolan could not return with information that would soon be made public anyway. Getting into Sacrosanct was difficult even for the Royal Family and especially for the higher-ups of the Martial Temple so this opportunity was precious.

He looked around, picked targets he felt he could charm while working up his way to the Cardinals, and quickly approached with a bright smile that, admittedly, could put many at ease.

Meanwhile, Evian looked back at Arlene,

"Priestess, until next time," he told her with quite the gentlemanly bow while tipping an imaginary hat, and then he turned around only to find himself unable to take another step.

"Hold," Arlene said before taking a step closer and glaring hard into Evian's face and then letting her eyes roam over his body while taking slow steps around him as though surveying a bull up for purchase.

There was something in those eyes. Evian remembered what he had felt while he was getting mentally attacked— He remembered how he thought his oppressor was hoping for an Eldritch outburst and faced with those piercing red eyes, he knew he was right.

He believed, on some level, that Arlene knew or suspected what he was but probably hadn't decided what to make of it yet. It was probably the only reason she didn't attempt to smite him right that second. An attempt she would likely have succeeded at.

Anyway, after a few more seconds of observation, Arlene showed a face of disapproval,

"Unimpressed."

"A lie, but go on," Evian said with a smile, finding himself still capable of chuckles and levity despite how very bad very quickly things could get. On the bright side, He could move his limbs again now.

Arlene ignored his reply and looked to Daria instead,

"Really, this is it? It is for this this— boy, that you have muted your core principles as a member of the Church?"

"Priestess," Daria said with a sigh and her eyes closed, "This is hardly the place to talk about this."

Arlene paused, still looking Evian over with her red eyes glowering,

"I suppose you're right. Again, I will wait. But do not be mistaken, Evian Stygian, before you are off and back to whence you came, we will discuss your conduct with Daria during her retreat."

"Discuss my conduct?" Evian repeated incredulously. Sounding like he was not sure he had heard right.

Arlene ignored him again,

"Come, Daria, we have much to do," she said and turned to walk away in a sashaying walk that did well to accentuate her hips. A view Evian could not truly indulge in because of the eyes focused on him from all around.

Daria gave him a look that was part warning (that he keep out of trouble) and part longing and to that, Evian mouthed 'Go on. I'll be fine.'

Daria did not seem to believe him but she did turn around and followed Arlene to blend into the small crowd in the hall.

Evian let out a sigh when his view of the two became obstructed by other guests and then, suddenly, Sir Armin was by his side,

"Young Master Evian, I must ask, do you have a Death wish?"

"Not particularly," Evian said.

"By your actions, I have to disagree. Good thinking showing off the Seal though. Lady Astrid's name is the best protection you can get and as her Proxy, you're going to need every bit of it you can get," Armin said.

Evian let out a sigh. Seeing as he had addressed himself as Astrid's Proxy, he wondered if he could still go against it when Armin inevitably called him as such.

"So, who do you want to speak to first?" Armin asked.

"What?" Evian asked, confused.

"You ARE going to speak to the Priests and Cardinals, are you not?" Armin asked.

"Why would I do that?"

"Dolan Karsten is already at it. He's being quite his charming self," Armin said.

"Of course, Dolan is doing it. He's the Ambassador. That's his job," Evian said while walking towards the gathering of Knights who were already filling goblets of wine and downing them in sips to while away time while Dolan did what he was here to do. They did keep a close eye on him though in case he needed their help.

As Evian got closer, Olivia looked up and glared at him. If her looks could kill, Evian was sure he would be obliterated before he could even get to complete that thought.

Naturally, he looked away and tried to find some other part of the hall to make a safe space.

"It's your job too," Armin said.

"What?"

"It's your job to mingle as well. If Lady Astrid was here, she would be working to improve her relations with the Arcanists within this hall and subsequently improve the relations between the Martial Temple and the Arcane Church."

'Considering they're fighting over her, I find that her presence would make improving relations even more difficult,' Evian thought but did not say.

"As her Proxy…" Armin started and Evian groaned.

Fortunately, whatever Armin was going to say, he didn't get to because someone called to Evian right then.

"Hi," said the feminine voice, and Evian turned around to face a beautiful Arcanist dressed in a body-hugging gown that propped up her cleavage so that it gleamed almost in enchanting enticement.

Her face was beautiful. Her brown hair was in curls that fell all around her head and her lips, which were an attractive shade of pink that complemented her skin nicely, were stretched in a small smile,

"Evian Stygian?" She said like it was a question.

"The one and only," Evian said with a hand stretched out, "Hello, Miss…"

"Aren," the beautiful Arcanist said, "Aren Vorden. It's nice to meet you."