Choice of Romance Reboot

[Major Ursa]

Surprised at the Cardinal’s address, the courtesan jumped a little but turned to look at the man with a pleasant smile none the less. It was certain that the man hadn’t heard what they were speaking about, but…‘Confrères’? ‘Colleagues’? Surely, this man wanted something from him. Turning back to the royal couple with a charming smile, with a meaningful bow and scrape, it was made clear that Cecilio was asking to take leave of them. It was only a polite gesture, as he had invaded their private moment, and would have left regardless of whether or not a certain person came looking for him. With this, he set a hand on the Cardinal’s shoulder, and walked back to the inside of the building.

Once they were inside, the courtesan tapped him chin thoughtfully before looking at the younger man with a smile on his face, though his did let go of his arm rather quickly, “What is it that you require, Cardinal?”

[Blue Moon Queen]

Queen Isidora

Her fingers curled around his hand while she sipped from her glass of wine. A soft blush stole across her cheeks at his romantic and playful words. When the ambassadors sat, she put down her glass and smiled warmly. “Good evening, gentlemen. Are you enjoying the festivities?” She figured that attempting to make nice with the ambassadors would be useful. Maybe with some help, her husband wouldn’t be so busy all the time.

[Padriac Muldoon]

Cardinal Padriac forced a smile. "I see you had a disagreement with Ludwig over there." he cocked his head, to see the prince. He then looked back at Cecilio. "I need help with a certain task, but I need someone who doesn't have any..." he leaned in and whispered this in his ear " 'Connections' to King Vito." he leaned back. "Do you understand?"

[julia]

Prince Ludwig

Ludwig looked back over at the warmth that his hand was now cupped around, and smiled at Angelique as her breath carried his name. "Alright... I shall relinquish my rage," Ludwig whispered softly. He then looked at the courtesan, not saying anything more. Then the cardinal approached and caused Ludwig's stomach to churn in warning. He didn't like the look of this man, he looked as though he had a score to settle with someone who had done nothing wrong.

Locking eyes once more with Angelique, he bowed and kissed her hand, looking up through black eyelashes with blue eyes. "My dear Angelique... shall we dance?" he asked, standing back up with his military like straightness and a smile that was filled with ecstasy.

King Vito

The ambassadors nodded, and smiled pleasantly. "We are indeed, Your Highness. And it is an honor to be in your home and your country," they said pleasantly. Vito furrowed his brow, having trouble understanding the men, their words heavy with accent. Added to his own accent, he couldn't understand the ambassadors hardly at all. He looked to his wife with questioning eyes, an eyebrow raised slightly.

[Phreniphorm]

Her eyes examined the Markis closely and she practically felt her soul shudder when disappointment flashed through his sea-colored eyes. Where did that come from, Anya wondered, did I cause it? she couldnt hide the nervouc twitch that began, the tapping of her foot. It was a bad habit that she had, and often made her give off a haughty aura when around people. She clenched the fromt if her gown, gnawing at her lip as Charles. Though the soft smile remained it was easy to tell that her eyes had lost their glow of excitement, and they quickly became shadowed by her bangs. She thought for a moment if she was needed anywhere, maybe for the king or queen, maybe to help out around the servant's housing, but she was all too tired to actually think straight. Her mind finally rested on the king and queen and she turned to Charles,

"I believe I am supposed to wait the king and queen. I do believe they are still in the dining hall." she spoke with a cracked voice, and after releasing the words she pursed her lips. She turned, staring down, back into the dark castle with its stuffy halls and easily dirtied floor. She then turned to Charles, her pale eyes glancing across his entire body before she spoke out once more,

"Shall we go, then?" she asked.

(forgive my bad posts bluh)

(Don't worry, you're doing fine.)

Charles winced inwardly as he noticed her eyes. It was subtle, not anything major, but they lost the shine they had at the beginning of their conversation. Charles couldn't help but feel bad. In fact, he would even say that he felt rotten. He hadn't meant to put the girl in an uncomfortable spot, but it appeared as though he had. Wonderful. I don't even need to try to make people feel discomfort. I will certainly do well here. He said sarcastically to himself. Yes, Anya was still smiling, but it felt hollow to Charles, like she was smiling out of politeness. Not a bad thing, he noted, but still a far cry from the sincere smiles she had on her face earlier. He watched her leave, returning into the palace and only followed when he heard her question. His only response was a nod, he didn't want to make things worse by potentially saying the wrong thing. He followed her through the corridors in silence, keeping a respectful distance behind and tugging at the strap of his carbine. His mind was filled with questions. What would he do next? What exactly had he done wrong? Was there any hope of salvaging the situation?

Looks like I can fight in a battle line, raid a camp and take a hill but yet situations like these stump me. He said to himself and furrowed his brow momentarily as the memories of battles past flooded his mind. He had long since made peace with the fact that he had survived while better men had died, but the memories still pained him.

He followed Anya in silence for a while longer until he couldn't take it anymore. At the very least, he wanted to apologize. Increasing his pace, he caught up to her and said in a quiet voice, "I...I apologize," He began and swallowed. "For, um, if I caused you any...Discomfort earlier." He looked down as he felt his cheeks heat up in embarrassment. This was not something he had prepared for in any detail whatsoever. "It was...Not my intent. Once again, I, uh, I apologize."

[IntenseInsanity]

They walked in complete silence, to Anya's discontent, but the silence was soon broken when Charles apologized for causing her discomfort. Anya couldn't help but give him a warm smile and a soft nod,

"It is alright, you did nothing wrong, sir." she said in a voice drained of any other emotion but forced happiness. She gave him anger nod before continuing down the hall until they reached the two familiar doors of the dining hall. Anya took her place across the hall, by the wall on the other side, and straightened her back, placing her hands back down in front of her waist. She glanced at Charles once, then flashed him a smile,

"You can go, if you like. I am going to be standing here for a while yet." she explained before returning her unmoving stare to the door, her smile falling into a straight line across her lips. Her orders were to serve, and she would do just that. To stand in a hall and wait for orders was a miniscual task for someone like her. Anya kept her face stone cold, yet she struggled to look forward. Her eyes kept glancing over to Charles with out her realization, and when she did realize a faint blush brushed her cheeks again. Oh no, stupid nonexistent wind.

[Phreniphorm]

Charles could feel the ends of his mouth move up in an involuntary smile and his heart race as he heard Anya's words and saw her smile. Still, he recognized the tone of her voice. It was one he had heard many times before in court, usually spoken by bitter rivals to congratulate their opponents for whatever reason. One of false happiness. In another occasion, Charles would have been rude about it. After all, he wasn't one to be patronized. However, he understood that Anya was just trying to be polite and nice, and there really was no harm in it, even though if she went about it the wrong way. "Thank you, Miss Zhidkova." He said with a nod as they stopped at the doors to the dining hall. "However, I mentioned before that I would prefer it if people were straightforward with me. If you have any gripes about me, please, let me know. I just ask you of that one favour."

Taking his hat off in a polite gesture, he bowed. "And now I have to go. Have a pleasant evening, Miss Zhidkova." He said, gave her a smile and opened the doors to the dining hall by just a crack. He slipped in quietly and quickly made his way through the hall, looking for an empty seat. He spotted one beside the hooded man. His name was Ulric, was it? The Vizier? Regardless of which, Charles recognized him. He was the only person in a hooded cloak, after all. Deciding that sitting beside a familiar face would be better than sitting beside a complete stranger, Charles made a beeline for the seat. He managed to reach it without incident whatsoever and sat down quietly. "Evening, Vizier." He said casually without looking at Ulric. The Royal Couple seemed to be addressing the other ambassadors. Ha. I chose a fine time to return. He said to himself, this time without a hint of sarcasm.

[Major Ursa]

The courtesan’s eyes flickered over the Cardinal’s person. Did he really just ask for…what he thought he had asked for? This man had sharp, serious, scornful eyes. A man in his position had quite a bit of money, any courtesan in this position would be a fool to refuse a request like this. Pulling the man closer, Cecilio’s disposition changed to that of a relaxed courtesan propositioning a client, but the volume of his voice dropped to a harsh whisper that could only be heard between them, “You know I do…is there a secure location where we can discuss this? Did you go to anyone else /with this?”

[Padriac Muldoon]

"Just the Markis, Charles, but he shouldn't be a problem. I'm not required at the meeting, so we can talk outside." He smiled a bit, it was true. As far as King Vito was concerned, The Cardinal wasn't needed in the politics.
"I'll just pay you in advance, as an 'on my honor' to me..." He handed the Courtesan a purse of gold coins. "You'll get the rest once the task is complete." He gestured to a set of large doors. "Shall we?" He then glanced over at Charles, that incompetent imbecile. He scowled at him and turned back to Cecilio.
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Ulric turned to face Charles. "Oh, hello..." he wasn't entirely sure who he was talking to, but the accent made him fairly certain. "And how are you this evening?"

[Blue Moon Queen]

"They said it is an honor being here. They seem quite amicable," Isidora whispered to her husband quickly before continuing to speak with the men. Growing up as the king's daughter meant she had ample practice hearing foreign dignitaries speak. "Perhaps we will be able to have a more private lunch affair with you gentlemen at some point. It is so hard to get any work done in a festive atmosphere as such that surrounds us here." Her face was lit with a beautific smile as she spoke to the men. No one would be able to accuse her of disliking her duties as Queen, at least not from the evidence of her appearance.