Page 269

I walked through the city arm in arm with Oceane while headed to Goldenhearth's Castle. I had spent most of the morning relaxing in the lobby of the Ruby Vixen, drawing some of the girls who modeled for me. Just before noon, Oceane came over to the brothel to find me. She had been able to clear her schedule for the day and was hoping I would be able to get her a meeting with Nathaniel. Since I wasn't doing anything in particular, it felt like a good idea, so we left together once I had put things away.

"It is rather interesting to be walking through the city together like this," I said while gesturing to where she was leaning on me.

Oceane chuckled. "I don't often get to have the 'girlfriend' experience myself. I thought it would be fun. You don't mind, do you?"

"I don't, but it's hard to reconcile this with the mental picture I have of you," I said with a laugh.

"Is that mental picture of someone tall, dark, and scary?"

"Can you blame me? You're quite the intimidating woman and your recent makeover hasn't diminished that at all," I replied.

Oceane nodded in amusement. "It is a very carefully cultivated image, I admit. All the better to project strength and get my way. Sometimes I yearn for a more subtle touch, however."

"Perhaps with someone like Grace?" I teased.

She side-eyed me, though it wasn't hard to see the hint of a smile on her face. "You are persistent with that thought, aren't you? I hadn't expected you to be the type to play matchmaker with your friends."

I sighed. "It's hard not to when two people so obviously perfect for each other are ignoring their feelings."

Oceane laughed. "Oh shush, I would love for something like that to happen, but... I wouldn't want to change anything between us, either. I'm quite happy with my best friend staying my best friend."

"As if I hadn't heard that one before," I said with a smirk.

"Have you?" she asked with a raised eyebrow.

I tilted my head in thought. "In this life... no, actually. But what you said is like, the biggest cliché I've ever heard."

"Hmph... If you say so. I wouldn't be opposed to the idea of you... testing the waters for me... Would you be willing to see if it's something she's interested in?" Oceane asked.

"Of course I'd be willing," I said with a big smile. "It's not often I get to play matchmaker!"

Oceane smiled and shook her head. "We're here. We best compose ourselves." She let go of my arm and slithered next to me as we approached the castle gates.

"Lilith, good to see you again," the guard from the other day said while smiling at me.

"I was hoping I would be able to meet with Nathaniel again today."

He nodded. "I'll send word. Please sit over there." As we stepped away, he signaled someone over before sending him away with a message.

"You're quite popular with the city guard here as well," Oceane noted.

"Many of them remember me from the time we cleared the castle together. It was a bit harrowing. It's the kind of experience that sticks in your mind. I feel closer to the guards in this city than any other I've been to as well."

She nodded thoughtfully as we waited. Not soon after, another guard came to bring us upstairs. He glanced back at me as we followed him. "He said he's happy to speak with you again so soon."

"Did you warn him about bringing a guest?" I asked.

The guard nodded. "Yes, he said it was fine. He was curious who you decided to bring to meet him since I know she's not someone from your usual group."

We reached the door, and the guard knocked twice before opening it for us. "Nathaniel, your guests."

"Thank you," Nathaniel said with a nod. "Please come in," he said to the two of us.

We entered and sat in the chairs across from him. It was a little interesting watching Oceane dexterously maneuver her tail to curl around the chair as she sat down. It must be interesting to have a long tail like that. A maid walked in with a tray carrying three bowls of hot soup and placed it on the desk, along with three glasses of water for us to drink, before quickly leaving and shutting the door behind her.

"Lilith, I was happy to hear you wished to visit with me for lunch once again. Who is this you've brought with you? I was told she isn't one of your usual party members."

I nodded. "Nathaniel, meet Oceane. She's a very good friend of mine. She helped me out a lot the first time I came to Goldenhearth and we've grown very close. She asked me to set up a meeting with you to discuss some business in the city. I hope you don't mind."

Oceane smiled and nodded her head respectfully. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Mister Nathaniel. I am Oceane, Madam of the Ruby Vixen Brothel and Owner of the Ruby Vixen Mercenary Company."

Nathaniel's eyes sparked with recognition. "Ah, I've heard of you and your mother. It seems like an odd time for her to leave the brothel to you, but it seems that you've done well at improving it and expanding into a mercenary company in the short time since she's left."

Oceane smiled and nodded. "Yes. Shortly after the attack on the city, she decided to retire and had grown to better appreciate my ambition to expand the footprint of our business. Many of our girls showed interest in working outside the brothel but didn't have the means to pursue other fields. The mercenary company was only the first step in expanding and better tapping their diverse talents."

Nathaniel glanced at me for a moment before looking back at her. "So, what is it that you've come to meet me for today? While I'm happy to spend some time talking with my friend over lunch, I can guess that you're more interested in other matters."

Oceane bobbed her head. "We do not need to rush into anything in particular, but when Lilith told me that she had a personal connection to you, how could I not ask to be introduced? I am certain that the two of us share the goal to improve this town... I merely wish to have an idea of where our city is headed so that I can make better plans."

He sighed and leaned back in his chair. "I can guess at a few things that you're interested in. The first being the city's stance on brothels, correct? As I'm sure that Lilith's told you, the young Sera Faelyn Morrister will be returning to our city again. I do not know her stance on brothels, but if I had to guess, she hasn't thought about the matter at all. I am... was a priest of Morkinnen. I do not have the same hang-ups with brothels as many of the other churches. The general outlook of our church is that brothels serve a very valuable service in quelling the lusts of desperate men and providing solace to lonely women. I share these views, so on that front, you have nothing to worry over. I would also advise the young lady as such."

Oceane nodded. "And what of fledgling mercenary companies?"

Nathaniel laughed. "You're a shrewd one. I'm impressed with how candid you are acting right now. I see no issue with a fledgling mercenary company that has stepped in to provide aid to the city... provided this mercenary company remains loyal to the city and isn't easily bought by other interests... such as the elves."

Oceane smirked. "Loyalty is a currency too. But to continue my candor, I am loyal first and foremost to my home and all the people I protect within it. With certain relationships in place, I would be happy to help protect the current state of affairs over the influence of others, such as the elves."

Nathaniel smiled and looked at me. "For someone who supposedly wishes to avoid politics, you do seem quite skilled at aligning interests."

Oceane laughed. "I fear that our dear Lilith, while good at aligning interests as you say, could be better at recognizing opportunities. While I agree that she could be quite skilled at politics if she were interested, Lilith would need a bit more training before she should try to become a minister or similar role. It wasn't until she returned from the capital that she even told me that the two of you knew each other."

He shrugged. "I prefer Lilith this way. As candid as you are behaving at the moment, I prefer Lilith's earnestness better. I'm sure we both know this conversation could be going quite differently had we met on different terms. I trust Lilith's judgment in people, which is why I'm entertaining this conversation at all."

Oceane dipped her head. "I am aware. I want nothing but prosperity for the city of Goldenhearth. I deeply love this city and I only want it to come out of its current turmoil stronger for it. I am sure you can guess why I would support a former pious priest of Morkinnen to retain power in the city. I would be happy to leverage what I can to support that goal... assuming said leader would continue to have favorable views on the domains of my influence. I'm happy to apply some of my wealth and friendships to our mutual goals."

I felt like I was listening to corruption in the local government happening in real-time... I was a bit tense, unsure if this was really a good idea. I just had to reassure myself that Oceane's true goal was the prosperity of the Succubi, and I got the sense that Oceane's love for this city was heartfelt. She could have decided to leave someone in charge of the brothel and come to Traehall with me herself, but she is choosing to help Goldenhearth get back on its feet. I just hoped that I wasn't being too naive in trusting her.

"How do you feel about brothels being reclassified as commercial rather than industrial endeavors?" Oceane asked.

Nathaniel frowned. "While I am not against brothels, I believe reclassifying them as such would lead to Goldenhearth becoming a city for brothels rather than a city with brothels. As lenient as I am on brothels, I do not wish for them to be out in the open. I would not support that reclassification. It would also endanger the other brothels in the city that are already in the industrial districts, including yours, which is why I am confused as to why you are even asking me this. Is this some sort of test?"

Oceane grinned widely. "I'm afraid it was a test, one that you passed. While I could use someone willing to sell something so shortsighted, I could not partner with someone as dimwitted as to ruin their own city for personal gain. If we're going to truly work together, I want someone who I can trust to actually do the best for the city. Not someone who will just follow the largest bag of gold. Had you even entertained the idea, my approach to our working relationship would have been very different."

"I see..." Nathaniel sighed. "Manipulations on manipulations. Now I feel as though you're telling me this just to butter me up. I'll have to be very careful when dealing with you."

She bowed. "I'd expect nothing less. I will continue to operate as I have, with no immediate fear that the city will turn on me. If you ever need gold, mercenaries, or seductive women, you can contact me, and we can see if we can align our interests further. I do not wish for this to be a transactional give-and-take relationship, however. If you need anything that will help the city, please contact me as soon as you can. I will not hold favors over your head, intentionally force you into bad positions, or command you to do things that betray your values, this I swear to Morkinnen. All I ask is that you let my interests and this city prosper together."

Nathaniel raised his eyebrows at the sudden unexpected oath to Morkinnen. "I feel as though I have slightly misjudged you. I can see how you've managed to win Lilith over. Fine, I will treat you as an ally then. We will work together to help Goldenhearth prosper and flourish once more. Now, let's eat. I'm hungry and I need to think on this." He picked up one of the bowls of soup that had cooled during our conversation.

The three of us silently ate while I thought about the exchange. I could sense through the bond that Oceane believes it went well. I couldn't really get a good read on Nathaniel now, but he seemed to have been impressed with the length Oceane went to at the end there.

Oceane placed the empty bowl of soup back on the tray and got up from her chair. "Thank you for taking the time to meet with me. I do hope we will have the opportunity to meet again soon."

Nathaniel nodded. "It was nice to meet you, too. I hope we can work together well in the future."

Oceane and I left the castle together with the snake woman grinning ear to ear. Once we were in the streets on the way back to the Ruby Vixen, Oceane linked her arm with me again. "Now I just have to get you to introduce me to Fae the next time you're in the city."

I sighed and shook my head with a smile. "You sure are something, Oceane."