[center][h1][color=f26522]Carnatia de Valmont[/color][/h1][/center]
[hr]

Carnatia then watched the others start introducing themselves. Some of them, like Mirielle and Ludvig seem dedicated to the mission. She had expected as much from Mirielle, being a member of the Church, but she was under the impression that Ludvig was more lackadaisical. Though in the end, even if it were lip service, that boded well for the mission, he'll keep up the appearance, if nothing else. Carnatia noted that Ludvig might be a good potential negotiator with the locale. He seemed approachable enough and was—if nothing else—willing to keep up the appearance of virtuous pontificals on a humanitarian mission, that might be effective in gaining the trust of the locales. Furthermore, a pretty face always helped in negotiations. Perhaps not the most egalitarian concept to be kept in mind, but that was the reality of things.

Linceleste York, meanwhile, turned out to be the niece of Paladin Thomas Wayne. Carnatia was even more unsure of bringing her along, given the potential conflict of interest. On one hand, that meant she would be even more dedicated to saving her uncle, on the other hand...that might also make her emotionally compromised, prone to making rash decisions. Well, in the end choosing the personnel for the mission was not her responsibility, that was outside her jurisdiction, so to speak. So she would respect the decision to include York in the mission. At the very least, if her words could be trusted, her skillset could prove to be useful.

[quote=@Mas Bagus]
"Ah, Baronesa Carnatia. It is a rare occurrence indeed to meet a fellow noble in a foreign land. I suppose I should say congratulations to you first. And a heartfelt apology that I was not present during your appointment ceremony."
[/quote]

[color=f26522]"Oh, no, it's quite all right, sir. I'm sure you had your own duties to consider. In any case, it was a ceremony to confer a noble title for a Barony, nothing a Count Household such as yours have to concern themselves with. I do appreciate the gifts from your Household, though. In particular, the exotic coffee beans grown in your fief...Earth Almond, I think they were called? Made for an interesting gift. I admit, I am more familiar with tea than I am with coffee, but coffee is not bad at all. The Horchata de Chufa made from those beans are quite the treat during summer when served ice cold."[/color]

Carnatia had never interacted much with the Friston Household, who governed the Servielle Province in the Southwest, even when she was part of the de Luson Household, given that their lands were somewhat opposite of each other. The de Luson House, being a Ducal family had deep ties to the original families that first made up Westernant and culturally the land they govern was what one would think of quintessential Westernants in demographic and culture. the Servielle Province, meanwhile was a vassal state annexed at one point during Westernant's expansion and was culturally somewhat different from the native of Westernant. They were given a relative degree of autonomy and today, Servielle maintains its own cultural identity under the umbrella of the Kingdom.

Finally, Carnatia approached Amanita, who had hitherto been silent.

[color=f26522]"Pardon me, Miss Amanita? You were the one that supplied tonight's wine, I believe? They seemed to be somewhat similar to botrytized wines such as Sauternes. Were they manufactured through a similar process? I noticed that the wine grapes weren't premium grapes typically used for botrytized wines, nevertheless, the flavour was quite excellent still, if you do not mind me asking, were the grapes specially treated or were special fungi used to induce the noble rot?"[/color]

[@Deide]