[center][url=https://biblehub.com/matthew/6-4.htm][img]https://i.imgur.com/ze7epWJ.png[/img][/url]
[h1][color=slateblue]An Imperfect Compass Called the Heart[/color][/h1][/center]
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[center][youtube]https://youtu.be/vJuzv8aMzBU[/youtube][/center]

	Xiuyang approached the antique shop with tepid steps. In truth, she didn't expect anything to come of this lead, but the importance of her mission compelled her to search every possibility thoroughly. She entered quietly, walking aimlessly and with directionless eyes, perusing the store. Rather than locating an object of interest, her intention was to speak to the owner. It didn't take long for her fellow Rettanese to take the bait.

	"Ahh, young Miss Solari. I'm pleased to see you take an interest in my humble shop." His beard moved, indicating a smile.

	[color=slateblue]"Good day to you. Do you have this brand?"[/color] She showed the man a drawing of the old diary. [color=slateblue]"It seems to have received a resurgence of popularity lately. Any idea why that might be?"[/color] she asked.

	"Mm." The old man furrowed his brow. "So I've noticed. I do have one of those, yes. It shows its age wonderfully, but its pages are yet blank. That commands a high price... but somehow, I wager the answer to your question is of more value to you."

	Xiuyang hadn't even feigned a smile, but if she had, it would be gone. She narrowed her eyes. Her Torragonese contact had told her to expect the man to be cagey like this. [color=slateblue]"...How much?"[/color] she asked wearily.

	"Give me a good price for it, and I'll tell you what I know," the shrewd businessman replied, refusing to give a figure.

	Xiuyang's eye twitched. In a situation this dire, her cold Solari blood would dictate a stubborn old goat like this be kidnapped and interrogated in some dank basement, but under the watchful eyes of the Zenos? Impossible. Like an automaton, she lifted up her sack of coin and dropped it wholesale on the counter.

	Rather than count the coins, the owner admired each one individually. "Hoho. These are quite old indeed. So much history." He pocketed them with care. "A young couple walked in here some time ago, looking to acquire this old diary." He took it out from behind the counter with gloved hands. "The girl seemed keen on stealing it, but wasn't too clever about it. Of course I was furious, but somehow, I felt compelled to listen to her story. She told me that her mother who had passed away recently had a diary like this one which had gone missing. Now, I don't give much heed to tall tales spun by thieves, but she seemed genuinely distraught."

	[color=slateblue]"What else can you tell me about her? What did she look like?"[/color] Xiuyang replied.

	"Her face was white as the driven snow and strikingly doll-like. In fact, she was nearly small enough to be one of those life-sized dolls. Her hair and eyes had an otherworldly sheen, dyed pink with arcane magicks."

	[color=slateblue][i]Raffaella,[/i][/color] Xiuyang realized immediately. Her mother did indeed die recently. Suddenly, she remembered the notice put out for the missing diary. Just as suddenly, she remembered that the description of the diary was identical to her missing ledger. Red hair... Xiuyang had enough self-respect to not gaze beyond the veil a fellow insecure girl had put up over her face—but, making red hair appear pink was easy enough. In fact, Xiuyang figured her whole look could be achieved with a very simple bloom effect.

	But, there was a problem with pinning Raffaella as her suspect.

	The girl's RAS was simply too low to match the hair she'd found.

	[color=slateblue]"And the boy?"[/color] Xiuyang prodded.

	"A tall fellow, likely Eskandish. Brown hair, blue eyes. He seemed sincerely unaware of the girl's thieving."

	[color=slateblue][i]That sounds like Niallus. Yeah, he wouldn't suspect a girl like Raffaella at all. Were they an item, though? If the old man saw them as a couple, she was probably manipulating him.[/i] "So, you must have told them the book was empty, and I suppose they moved on. Where did they go after that?"[/color] She continued her interrogation.

	"That's the bigger mystery, isn't it? The girl was checking her compass inside the shop, but neither of them seemed to be prepared to travel anywhere."

	That was it. Raffaella was using Niallus for his compass. [color=slateblue][i]The compass... It could have led her to my warehouse and showed her the secret place. That explains how someone found and accessed it without being aware of the trap I'd placed in advance. It all makes sense, but... Raffaella is just too weak to match that hair. Unless she was holding back in the Trials?[/i][/color]

	But why would Raffaella hold back in the Trials? It didn't make any sense. She took her losses poorly. Everyone who saw her knew she'd cried. Xiuyang remembered it clearly. She'd cried about how no one was going to feed her if she didn't win. There were whispers that she was being abused, but it was all swept under the rug quite cleanly, somehow. Even she had forgotten until just now. Her RAS was certainly too low to be a match, but she did have both the talent to remain hidden from the eyes of her guards, as well as a motive. The girl's ethnic background was also a bit of a question mark. Was she really from Constantia?

	It also didn't explain the missing bayonet. Would Raffaella really steal such a macabre-looking thing? Was there a second intruder, or a co-conspirator? Xiuyang had more questions than answers, so she dismissed them for now. She had another lead. Though it wasn't a perfect theory, it was likely that Raffaella had stolen Paydirt, thinking it was her mother's diary. The ink was invisible, so it wasn't as if the compass had any defining features to distinguish between these old books. She might not have realized her mistake until after returning home—if indeed she ever did.

	But if she did? There was a possibility, however small, that a girl that hated Xiuyang knew she had dirt on her family.

	[color=slateblue][i]If I can find the real diary, then I may have a bargaining chip. We can agree to a truce and exchange them. It's a long shot, but what else can I do? If there was even the smallest chance this was an honest mistake—she thought her dead mother's diary was stolen—I don't want to hurt her.[/i] "Thank you,"[/color] she offered the old man as she turned to leave. She would have to pursue this lead fast.

	"Aren't you forgetting something?"

	Xiuyang turned, irritated. The man was holding the old diary out to her.

	"I may be a greedy old goat, but even I have my pride as a merchant. This is yours."

	She hadn't intended to buy it, but she decided that a dummy might be useful someday. So, she took it with her.

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	The following few days passed in a flash. Raffaella's mother's belongings had been sold at auction, so Xiuyang had her agents track down the seller's name. With Ciro's banking contacts, she was able to retrieve the records of who purchased what. She did not tell him why she was interested in the diary beyond the fact that traveling was a passion of hers, and a fellow traveler's autobiography would be a gold mine of interesting stories. She couldn't tell him that her family's reputation may be in jeopardy. She couldn't bear to find out if it would put their entire relationship at risk.

	There was a problem, however: the diary was not itemized anywhere. It wasn't hidden in the old house Raffaella and her mother had been staying in, as she'd checked it immediately, since Raffaella had conveniently returned to Virang. This search would require some out of the box thinking. If the diary's hiding place wasn't in the building, then it must have [i]left[/i] the building. [color=slateblue][i]Furniture. Who bought the woman's reading desk?[/i][/color]

	Incredibly, she recognized the name of a nobleman from Miatto with shares in her father's company. Contriving a pretense to get inside his house without breaking and entering would be a breeze. Quietly, she thanked the gods for another easy mission, and another excuse to sail the Ensollian, where she could clear her mind and her itinerary.

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	Disguised as her father, she paid the man a surprise visit, and shared a meal filled with savory foods. Xiuyang knew that when she transformed back, there would be one hell of a stomachache to pay, but she didn't care. She needed to wine and dine this man and gain access to his personal library. She dug deep into her knowledge of Company business, considering the kind of venture this man might be interested in. It didn't matter if the deal went through or not, but before long, she found herself giving him a sincere pitch. She had her pride as a merchant, after all.

	At last, the opportunity came to tour the library. It didn't take Xiuyang long to find what she was looking for. Though it was a humble little book, it stood out to her. [color=dimgray]"Oh? My wife has a book just like this one."[/color]

	"Oh yes. Funny story, that one. I was checking out this desk at an auction at Ersand'Enise and found a hidden compartment with that book inside. You'd have laughed if you saw how quickly I shut the drawer, but knowing the owner... I just had to have it!" He steepled his fingers with glee. "So there I was, the only man in the auction who knew of the secret diary, when..." (snip)

	Xiuyang zoned out. Miattans certainly could spin tall tales. [color=dimgray]"Ah, an adventurous venture. Well now, you have my attention,"[/color] she lied. [color=dimgray]"What did the contents entail?"[/color]

	"Some truly eye-opening gibberish!" He laughed. "Madam Mataraci had been quite senile for some time, it seems. It's a shame. If you'd have met her when she was traveling, you'd have thought she was a genius. Why, the heresies in that tome... to pick an example I found most poignant..." (snip) "...you'd have never guessed just from meeting her that she had such wild fantasies. Quite frankly, even at its most sensible, the jargon used goes cleanly over my head." He made a "whoosh" gesture with his hand, which Xiuyang found quite relatable in this moment.

	[color=slateblue][i]Sounds like blackmail. Perfect. Even on the off chance that Raffaella read the ledger and had the attention span to find out what it all means, I can still keep her quiet.[/i][/color] Xiuyang felt the weight of the empty diary in her pocket as she considered what she could do with it while the man wasn't looking. Did he intend to continue reading it? [color=dimgray]"Sounds like the kind of thing my daughter would be interested in. Would you consider loaning it out? Might be worth a chuckle or two over dinner."[/color]

	The man raised a brow. "Are you sure you want to encourage her? I thought she was finally cleaning up her act when you told me she was trying to get married. Say, how is that coming along? Have those two made any progress?"

	Xiuyang hardly wanted to talk about her love life with a man who might as well be a stranger, but the situation was dire. [color=dimgray]"Yes, I believe so. She seems truly happy whenever she speaks his name. It seems she feels appreciated by him in a way she never did by her mother or I."[/color]

	"Ahh, but such is the nature of romance! Why, in my younger days..." (snip) "As the father of a daughter, such a bond is the most you can ask for, my friend." The man smiled. "It might not be appropriate, but if you don't mind my saying so... If those two want to spend some time alone, it might behoove you to look the other way. Someone with her mother's blood type will have the same difficulties you did, yes? They should start trying early for a child, so she can at least have one boy."

	Xiuyang felt her eye twitch. It was easy to understand now why this guy was so low on the company totem pole. He had no tact whatsoever. [color=dimgray]"I've certainly done that,"[/color] she mused out loud, now having to wonder about her father's intentions. [color=dimgray]"Perhaps I should speak to her more directly about my expectations?"[/color] She'd thought that he didn't care what she did, as long as she married a Volta in the end. Sure, she wanted children someday, but right now, all she could imagine was continuing to travel and do business as she always had, but with the love of her life at her side. Wouldn't having a baby on the way be an obstacle, logistically speaking? The idea of rushing to motherhood made her uncomfortable. It was not a conversation she'd had with Ciro yet. To stay in one place and perpetually await her lover's return home as he pursued business dealings alone and met with more attractive women than her was the exact opposite of what she wanted.

	[color=dimgray]"A bribe, then. Something she will certainly enjoy."[/color] She plucked the diary from the shelf, pushing the thought of motherhood from her mind. None of it would matter if her family was ruined. Criminal activity or not, they were her own blood, and if Ciro were to leave her, she would sink down into the depths with them.

	"A bribe? I worry for the girl's future if bedding such a handsome young lad is not its own reward."

	[color=slateblue][i]I'd know that better than anyone, alright?! I don't need that kind of lecture!! Least of all from you!![/i][/color] Xiuyang silently fumed. [color=dimgray]"As a father who can hardly understand his own daughter's interests, I would appreciate your help in this matter."[/color] For a brief moment, Xiuyang almost felt bad for her own father on account of how accurately she was portraying his alleged "struggles." [color=dimgray]"Please. I'm grasping at straws, here."[/color]

	She really was, she realized. It would all be devastatingly comical if the stakes weren't so high.

	After a moment of bemused pondering, the man shrugged. "Why not? Double my profit share in that proposal of yours, and it's yours from today."

	[color=dimgray]"Your terms are acceptable,"[/color] Xiuyang replied with little thought. What had she offered him, again?

	"Ah! Your love for your daughter moves me. As both a businessman and a gentleman, you are a model for me to follow, Mr. Solari. In fact, ever since..." (snip)

	[color=slateblue][i]Whatever I offered him, it was too much, even before I doubled it.[/i][/color]