Young Lady Chen had begun sending messages even before the sun came up the next morning, bemoaning her confinement and making sure she wouldn’t be having breakfast alone.
There was no fear of that. With all the guests for her party here she wouldn’t get a calm moment all day unless she went to hide in her room.
Catan and Breckenridge had been warned about the day’s event and planned to stay away from the popular areas for the day. Neither was a big fan of crowds, especially crowds of the filthy rich and their groupies.
Instead, they had ordered room service and then planned to go to the Grav Ball arena for the morning.
“Should we do matching outfits?” Nico asked, holding up a dark gray button-down shirt from Max’s luggage.
“Might as well. You know they are going to make us take photos again, possibly even more than usual, since this is a public venue. If you thought the Nobles were obnoxious, wait until the streamers and influencers get a chance to be seen with the Ruling Family.” Max grumbled.
Nico chose a black kimono with a gray sash and Max wondered where these outfits kept coming from. It was possible she was custom ordering them every morning, but that seemed excessive even for her. She really did seem fond of the local fashion though..
Max looked into her thoughts to see what she was planning to do for the more formal afternoon outfit, but she was busy contemplating how many more places this outfit had to hide weapons than a regular dress.
She had a point, the regular ballgown had no good hiding spots, this style had layers that folded at the front and a wide sash to tuck things in.
Being a full conversion Cyborg, using a metal detector on her was pointless, so she only had to hide them from a pat down.
Not that she would actually need a weapon against anyone here, but it seemed to relax her.
The hallway was packed with guests this morning when they left their room to go for breakfast. The Lord General was saving them a seat at the young couple’s request, so they didn’t have to worry about finding somewhere to sit, but the restaurant was packed and there was a rather long line to get in.
The word that the highest nobles on the planet were present in the restaurant had spread and everyone who wanted to curry favor had rushed down.
“Names for the list please.” The host greeted Max when he got to the door.
“Sir Max and Lady Tarith, with the group of the Lord General Kirkland,” Max told him politely and the host gestured inside.
“This way Sir. Your companions have already arrived.” Dozens of jealous eyes glared at them as they were escorted inside immediately, headed for a private room in the back.
The large table would seat thirty when full, but only a dozen had arrived so far. The room felt rather empty with so few people, but shockingly, the Lord General actually had a date this morning, a frigid looking older woman who had brought her own attendant, a younger man who was standing against the wall waiting to be called on.
The two maids who were assigned to the young couple were against the far wall, watching everyone who entered, while the couple themselves were fidgeting in their seats waiting for everyone to arrive.
“The Majors are here, come sit and tell us a story.” Prince Wushu called happily when he noticed Max enter.
“I know just the one for you. It’s the story of a brave hero named Roger, a first-year academy student who held a Plasma Cannon emplacement against a thousand giant Narsians until reinforcements could arrive.” Max began and a lot of the Nobles looked uncomfortable.
But Max knew his audience well, and the lengthy and highly embellished story of a young Cadet who took a Line Mecha out for the first time and became a hero was a huge hit.
“I heard one of the officers talking about the Ghost of Sigmund Uranium Swamp, do you know that one?” Prince Wushu asked, making Max laugh and Nico turn away to hide her face.
“That one isn’t a breakfast story. Ghost stories are supposed to be saved for late nights, not early mornings.” Max managed to disagree, but not without a smile on his face.
“So you do know it. It must be a good one, but nobody will tell me. Is it a horror story?” The boy asked innocently.
“A very scary one, but it has a happy ending,” Nico told him with a wink, making him giggle.
More people had come in during Max’s story and it was finally time to eat. Max took his seat next to General Kirkland and his date, the frigid woman who turned out to be the Dutchess Kirkland, Lord General Kirkland’s little sister.
They had nothing at all in common, either in appearance or temperament, but the Dutchess informed Max that they shared the same father, though their mothers were different wives, of which he had four.
“Will you retire and have lots of wives, Sir Max? The news says you’re a hero and that’s what heroes do, right?” Prince Wushu asked while the young Lady Chen gave him a look that promised pain at the end of this line of questions.
“I’ll tell you a secret. If you have more than one wife, they will join together to pick on you. It’s better to make one wife really happy so she doesn’t bully you.” Nico whispered to him, just loud enough for those in the seats nearby to hear.
“Lady Tarith is really smart. I don’t want to be bullied.” He nodded, taking her advice as gospel truth, while the Nobles hid their amusement.
Breakfast was brought out, and the itinerary of the day’s events was reviewed. It was mostly just two events: A Garden Party, and an evening masquerade ball.
Both could accommodate the entire population of the hotel, and the staff was prepared for exactly that since everyone loved a good party here.
“Uncle Lu can’t come to the Garden Party, but he wants to see you both later.” Young Lady Chen whispered as they prepared to leave the private room.
It must be Mecha related. She did get grounded for being late because she was in his lab, and that was probably the last time they talked, knowing how obsessed the man was with his work.
As they walked out of the dining room, dozens of cameras were rolling and the streamers had done their intros quietly in advance of meeting the couple who were the talk of the planet today. Everything was set and ready for the highlight of their morning stream, showing off that they were at a restaurant frequented by planetary rulers.
The high society guests were giving their tackiness disgusted looks, but the shock on all the social media stars’ faces when the couple came out happily chatting with Nico and Max, along with Lord General and Dutchess Kirkland, who none of the streamers recognized, was sweet justice to the Nobles.
Dozens of perfectly tanned and manicured stars panicked, unable to introduce the two couples escorting the bride and groom. Even the young couple’s parents had moved away a step, enjoying the chaos they caused among the commoners.
These events were usually very stuffy and formal, with thousands of people sucking up to them, so the chance to play a joke at everyone else’s expense was a rare luxury.
It didn’t take long to get Dutchess Kirkland to open up once they were on the move, though she was very introverted and hid her social anxiety behind her icy demeanor. The secret ended up being storytelling. The Dutchess loved reading and had amassed an enormous library at her home that the kids would be able to access once they got back to Cygnus since she lived in the same city as Prince Wushu.
She also had adopted a dozen large exotic cats, which made an instant friend of Nico, lover of all things furry and deadly.
It was a slow walk out to the Garden, constantly stopping to wave at people while pretending that this was somehow a normal situation, but it was a very comfortable conversation, now that they realized that they all had enough in common to hold one.
