This chapter is brought to you by Strangers in Disguise by Anthony Lazaro.

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They were making good on time.

Nine drove the carriage into town. He noticed a solemn atmosphere the moment he went through the gate, showing his identification papers to the guards.

The bright festive air that he remembered from his first mission as a Calypto mercenary was gone.

Pluto's voice came on the closer they got to their destination.

"Gianini Puadu's compound is just up ahead. According to Intel, he had come into power after two of Ohmlet's leading families fell into ruin. There was a large power vacuum that was left over after the Oldham and Elisia Family experienced a major tragedy that caused a civil war."

Mercury sighed. "What a tragedy. Doesn't it remind you of something?"

He looked between Jovette and Rowan.

"The irony does not escape me. The daughter of the Elisia Family and the ward of the Oldham Family fell in love."

"Star-crossed lovers from two households with a grudge more ancient than the founding of the Empire. Sounds awfully familiar..."

Jovette and Rowan kept staring at him in confusion.

Mercury smirked and pointed at the two of them. "Come on, I saw how you were looking at each other--"

"Dreamer," Nine interrupted, displeased by his insinuations. "Be quiet."

The carriage thankfully fell back into silence.

They arrived at the compound and saw a long line of carriages stretching into the main road.

"The birthday boy has lots of friends. You are all early guests to the party, so go feast and dine first."

"Can we not call the target the birthday boy, please?" Bel begged. "It makes me feel like we're killing a kid."

"He's a three-hundred-and-sixty-month old baby."

"..."

They waited in line for over an hour.

"Happy Dagger, Apothecary, Dreamer, put your masks on. The Mantle Agents are checking the carriages."

The three people in the carriage put on their masquerade masks. A few seconds later, there was a knock on their window.

A man dressed in a dark green hooded cloak appeared.

"Good evening--oh." He paused for a very long and awkward moment as he stared at the occupants of the carriage.

His eyes focused on Rowan.

Nine coughed.

"Oh! Apologies! I mean... good evening, my Lords... and my Lady. How do you do today?"

While it sounded like he was asking all of them, he kept looking at Rowan.

The young man in question bunched his hands into his skirt and smiled tightly.

Thankfully, Jovette came to the rescue and chuckled, her voice deep and rumbling like that of a young man.

"Forgive my darling Rowana," she said, placing her own hand over Rowan's. "She is shy and has not met many strangers. Our travel has been fine, sir. Do you need to see our invitations?"

"Uh, yes. Yes!" the man stuttered, turning red in the face with embarrassment. "Um, please."

Mercury handed him the invitations.

The agent checked them thoroughly, which said something about his ability to both be head over heels for a beauty such as "Rowana" and still get the job done.

Nine gave him five points out of ten.

"Um... which one of you is Lady Jovette?"

"..."

Nine and Belwyn both looked at each other.

"That would be my invitation, sir." Jovette declared not even a moment after.

The agent looked her up and down and an extremely confused expression appeared on his face.

"Um, you're..."

Jovette smirked at him. "Well, it's technically my sister's. It seemed Lord Paudu had made a mistake. My sister has only turned five this year."

Now the agent looked even more befuddled. "And your name is...?"

"Jove, sir. You may call me Lord Jove of House Conspectus."

There was no such thing as House Conspectus, but they had the paperwork to prove it was real.

Jovette beamed charmingly at the agent.

The agent--was this truly one of Mantle's best?--flushed red once more.

"And this is my fiancee," said Jovette, leaning against Rowan, "Lady Rowana of House Valles."

House Valles did not exist, either.

"Oh! Um..."

Nine tilted his head, displeased.

"I'm just their chaperone, by the way," Mercury mentioned off-handedly, "Marcellus Scalla of House Scalla."

"Okay."

"..."

The reaction to that was one of disinterest, and Nine could imagine Mercury was none too happy by that.

The agent flipped to the last invitation and asked, "What about this Lord Rowan?"

Nine and Belwyn placed their hand on the hilt of their blades.

"That would be my former fiancee, sir," replied Jovette without batting an eye.

"I'm sorry," the agent said, "What?"

The amount of whiplashes his dear cousin was giving this poor man was unapologetically cruel.

Nine gave her ten points for her quick thinking.

"You see, Rowana's older brother has always been an irresponsible man," Jovette explained with sadness, "We were meant to wed three days ago, but he ran off with another man. It was too late to request a change to the invitations once they arrived."

"O-oh."

Jovette held Rowan's hand to her lips, kissing it while she stared deeply into his eyes.

"All things turned out well, in the end. I have always loved Rowana since childhood and I believe a man like myself is better suited for a woman like Rowana, don't you?"

The man gaped. It was obvious he was trying to do some sort of mental gymnastics to figure out the whole backstory of the occupants in the carriage."

Rowan flushed at that moment, like a young lady being confessed to by her first love.

Nine wanted to applaud them for their quick thinking.

"I'm their stepfather and stepbrother, by the way," said Mercury, because why not? "My mother married darling Rowana's father and I married dear Jove's mother. We're all one happy family, now."

"... I hope the three of you enjoy your night, my Lords, my Lady."

Mercury chuckled. "Of course. Have a good evening, sir."

The Mantle agent looked heartbroken as he left.

Nine drove the carriage into the compound.

---

Tobus dropped them off at the front of the entrance where many other noble lords and ladies stood around, waiting for the doors to open.

"Good luck," he said, helping them down from the carriage like a real coachman.

He and Bel left to go park the carriage.

Rowan swallowed and looked at Mercury, who was already dazzling a crowd. His civilian identity was popular among the nobility.

House Scalla existed on paper, with several members who all lived in the same city somewhere south of the Tiber Empire.

"My Lady," a man approached Rowan with a large grin. "I apologize for interrupting, but may I ask your name?"

Rowan stared at him. He opened his mouth and then stopped.

"My Lord," Jovette replied, instead. "This is my fiancee, Rowana of House Valles. Unfortunately, she suffered from strep throat during the journey here. It was recommended by our healer that she doesn't speak for the next few days."

"Oh," the man looked at him in pity, his eyes glued completely on Rowan instead of Jovette. "A thousand apologies, Lady Rowana. But even without a voice, you are like a sun rising from the east. If it is alright with you, could I reserve a dance at the ball?"

Rowan stiffly turned to Jovette.

Her lips pulled into a dangerous smile, sharp and full of teeth. His breath stuttered to a halt.

A hand looped itself around his waist and he was suddenly pressed close to Jovette's side.

"I'm afraid a dance will not be possible, my Lord. I am a jealous man and I do not like it when other men touch my dear Rowana. You understand what I'm saying, don't you?"

The man narrowed his eyes with a hint of irritation before smiling tightly.

"Of course, my Lord. I shall see you both at the feast."

He turned on his heels and stormed off.

The doors opened and a man stepped out.

"Good evening everyone. We would like to thank all of you for coming here today to celebrate my son, Giannini's, birthday masquerade. The feast shall be starting shortly, so come inside and join us. There will be a blackbird pie for dessert tonight, and then the dancing shall begin. Now, we shall announce the names of the Lords and Ladies in attendance in a moment..."

---

Jovette made a face at the mention of blackbird pie. It was a Frank Kingdom dish that served as a novel form of entertainment for the aristocrats. Something about live birds being baked in a pie and then they would be expected to fly out once the dish was cut open.

Civilians had the most strangest interests.

"Lord Marcellus of House Scalla!" the Master of Ceremony announced.

Mercury stood on top of the stairs and gave a graceful bow. He swished his shoulder cape, earning him a few lovesick sighs before he descended toward the feast.

Jovette held out her hand for Rowan.

They approached the Master of Ceremony and he read off their names.

"Lord Jove of House Conspectus and Lady Rowana of House Valles!"

She smiled and bowed, and beside her, Rowan performed an awkward curtsy.

They soon joined Mercury in the crowd.

"The feast is about to start. Happy Dagger and Apothecary, please locate your targets. They are lower-level shareholders of the trafficking scheme, so there shouldn't be anyone guarding them at this time. Dreamer, you know your assignment. Please be ready if anything happens."

Jovette saw Mercury raise his glass discreetly toward a corner of the room as if was responding to Pluto.

Pluto had eyes all over the compound.

The surveillance spell was activated the moment they stepped inside.

When the last of the noble lords and ladies were called, they were guided to the feasting room.

Mercury made a gesture to separate, so they did.

Jovette headed toward the tables.

There were many large tables in the center of the room, full of food and drinks were laid out before them and she could hear murmuring in the crowd at the sight of dishes from all over the Empire and beyond.

It was lavish and extravagant, even exceeding that of Calypto balls and celebrations.

Blood money could certainly buy a lot.

She thought, eyeing the gold filigree and mirrors decorating the walls.

"Pardon me, my Lady--"

"My Lady, have you tried this dish before? I hear it's from the--"

"Out of my way, I saw her first, you poverty-stricken knave!"

"Watch your mouth, you three-inch--"

Jovette swiftly took two glasses of champagne from the table and made her over to the crowd of lords and ladies surrounding Rowan.

"Excuse me, but I believe my fiancee would like to sit down."

She was immediately the center of envy as she took Rowan's hand and gave it a kiss.

"A good evening to you all."

Jovette led them away.

Once they were out of earshot, she asked, "Did the targets take the bait?"

"They all looked at me like a piece of meat, so yeah," Rowan replied, frowning unhappily as they made their way back to Mercury.

She handed him a glass of champagne.

"When the ball starts, we can take them to a room."

"Sure."

Jovette didn't let go of Rowan's hand for the rest of the feast, staying beside him as more and more people came up to them to speak.

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The author has something to say:

There's a little joke in this chapter. Calypto means hidden in Latin and Monttevi is derived from the word Mountain. Jovette said she was from House Conspectus and that Rowan was from House Valles. Conspectus means visible, and Valles means valley. What's the opposite of hidden and mountain? You get it now?