A Vow under the Moonlight

Chapter 2: Interactions

The upcoming ball was not an event Cassandra and her children typically attended. They were often avoided from these sorts of events because the large crowds and sensory overload were overwhelming to their enhanced senses. As they usually did, they planned to skip the party and made no preparations to attend. Even with delegates from the capital city in attendance, it was of no concern to them. Everyone else could bustle around while they would simply be doing their own thing in their own wing.

With most of their lessons cut short due to the baroness's interference, they found themselves with plenty of free time in the coming days. Cassandra thought her children were old enough to learn more about their lineage from her, beyond what their blood provided. Quietly, she told them tales of their ancestors: their rise and fall, their beliefs as nobles, and the power they had to carry with ability to be proud of.

Her children loved hearing these stories. Denise practically glowed at the tales of the brave warriors of their clan, while Damian picked up on the mistakes they made and questioned their choices aloud. Cassandra was more than happy to answer what she could. She shared their lore and the circumstances that led to their decisions, telling them the outcomes and how the hard lessons of those harsher stories were embedded in their blood to prevent their mistakes from repeating.

But the Baron was determined to make them join this time. He sent an army of servants to prepare them, leaving them with no choice at all. So when they appeared at the ballroom, the people they knew were pleasantly surprised. Acquaintances from small tea parties who also preferred quieter gatherings graciously invited the three to their table.

"I thought you wouldn't show up, Cassandra," a friendly brunette said as she briefly touched Cassandra's hand. She good-heartedly complimented Cassandra's dark green dress, noting how it complemented the shade of her eyes. "You always reject all my invitations, save for those tea parties. What made you change your mind this time?"

"My cousin insisted," Cassandra said, pausing to help Denise into a chair before turning to Damian, who had managed to sit on his own. Damian had a little scowl on his face, wincing a bit at the surrounding noise before seemingly tuning it out. Denise, on the other hand, didn't mind the noise and seemed to enjoy it, her eyes drifting around—more specifically toward the food on the table.

"He said I skipped too much social interaction," Cassandra said once her children were settled. Another woman at the table gave her a quick hug before addressing the children, who were now discussing which dessert to get.

"Well, considering your preference, I understand why your cousin wants you here," the lady remarked, praising Damian as he helped his sister reach for a dessert. She commented on how she wished to have children like them and how beautiful they looked in their matching blue-themed clothing.

"Vivian," Cassandra sighed, with some unspoken words. She looked at the woman who loved children dearly but seemed unable to find the right match. "I don't wish to be more of a spectacle than I already am. You've heard the rumors about me."

"You could have cleared them up by showing up," the friendly brunette said, covering her face with her fan when a passing gentleman flashed her a fleeting smile. "You're a catch, even with children of your own. Plenty of gentlemen would be willing to speak up for you."

"Then let Victoria paint me as a vixen?" Cassandra gave the woman a pointed glare. "Should I remind you what a disaster she painted me to be, Katherine?"

"Everyone knows she only speaks for sensation," Vivian said, as Denise took her offered glass of water. She gave Damian a small smile as she saw the boy glaring at Katherine for daring to mention men to his mother.

Damian flushed at being caught expressing his disgust at the thought of his mother remarrying. Denise looked at him curiously for a moment before returning to her dessert. Vivian chuckled softly at the display and commented that Cassandra was a very lucky woman to have mothered these children.

Cassandra gave a small smile in return for the compliments. Still, Katherine didn't pass up the chance to voice her opinion against Victoria.

"Her ten years of living here have let us all know what a tyrant she is. Your cousin is just a Baron. Though he has generations of wealth by birth, titles earned in battle, and is influential as one of the founding barons of the kingdom and the North, it cannot be denied that there are families with higher standing she should be respectful to." Katherine took a sip of the drinks the servants were distributing. "I don't know if your cousin is just too loving, but Victoria has long established a reputation here in the North."

Cassandra looked at the women she considered her friends in this kingdom. They were open-minded and quite frank with their words and behavior. Furthermore, as Vivian alluded, there were people much higher in rank than a baron among the northern nobles. These two women were from precisely those families: a Count's daughter and a Viscount. By rank alone, they could have hosted this ball to welcome the delegates from the capital. But the North was often cold toward the capital due to a long-lasting and complicated relationship since the kingdom's foundation.

"It can't be helped," Cassandra shrugged, not wanting to speak about her cousin's marital life. It was not her story to tell, nor did she have the right to talk about it.

Knowing full well that it was not the time for such a topic to be discussed in public, they smoothly transitioned to idle chatter. They talked of mundane things while waiting for the host to formally begin the ball, using the small window of time to observe the number of people in attendance.

A significant number of people on the guest list were not around. This must have been the aftermath of Madam Cynthia's dismissal. People who did not want to offend the madam dared not to tolerate any disrespect to her, or else they would have to face the consequences when the time came for her to teach their child. At the pitiful number of guests, the three women could only sigh at how brilliant the baroness was for doing something so unprecedented.

It took half an hour before the room looked a little fuller. While those who were specifically written on the list were not there, they at least sent a representative to keep up appearances. Because, even if they didn't favor the capital delegates, they still had a decorum of respect for their fellow aristocrats.

"Lovely," Katherine smiled behind her fan as Victoria announced the start of the ball. The baron was nowhere in sight to accompany her to greet the guests. "Did your cousin finally understand how helpless this woman is, that he didn't attend the ball he forced you to attend?"

Cassandra refused to reply and instead kept her eyes on the delegates in the room. They looked decent, at least in how they presented themselves. There were no outward negative reactions to the subpar reception. Given the history and the past few balls held in their honor, at least this one was half-full and much livelier.

"Is someone among those gentlemen catching your eye?" Katherine asked teasingly, her eyes following Cassandra's gaze. "A few of them are eye-catching. Would you like me to send a servant to arrange a meeting?"

Damian and Denise, who had been quiet the whole time, had a synchronized reaction to the noble lady's words. The boy looked at her disapprovingly while Denise gazed at her with a look of judgment in her golden eyes. This rare moment of identical actions and ideas did not escape the three women's notice, and they could only chuckle.

"Don't tease, Katherine," Cassandra said, reaching out to get her children's attention. "I'm just curious. All this time, I've only known the northern nobles."

"Essentially, there is nothing different between the North and the capital," Katherine said, covering her nose for a moment when a woman passed by their table. Cassandra could smell a strong perfume and something else on the woman from where she stood. Katherine, despite being an ordinary human, had a distinct sense of smell and was quite sensitive to some scents.

"The only difference is the priorities they have over values and morals," Katherine continued as she turned to the side to cover a sneeze. "We in the North like to go day by day with what we have. Frequent conflicts with invaders and not-so-great farming land make us content and satisfied with small windows of peace. The capital, on the other hand, desires a more luxurious life filled with entertainment and excess, always searching for something grand to show off to others."

"I guess that's how it often goes," Cassandra said, lingering on the capital nobles for a moment before deciding she knew enough about them. "Every kingdom has a bunch of elites, no matter how humble they seem."

"Now that you mention other kingdoms," Vivian gave Cassandra a curious glance as if remembering something. "You never told us which kingdom you grew up in. Your cousin never said much, but he did say you have a rank from where you were from. From what little we know, it seems your family is close to the elves, which is why people try not to be outright hostile to you."

Cassandra's eyes flickered for a moment. While it wasn't exactly a secret she had to hide, saying where she was from would bring more questions than answers. These women might understand a few things due to their education, but not everything.

Ronin was, after all, a human kingdom with less supernatural creatures and magic. Creatures outside their own were rare, and even fewer of them had magic. They lived mostly within human limits and stayed away from conflicts involving the supernatural and other kingdoms and empires. One could say they were a little xenophobic and protective of their own. They didn't easily accept foreigners, which made Cassandra's life hard at first. It was only due to her cousin being a baron in the kingdom and the introduction of an elf that things got a little better.

Perhaps elves were the only exception to Ronin's exclusiveness in terms of supernatural relationships. They worshipped the elves so much that there were laws to protect and give them privileges. From what Cassandra could gather, it had something to do with the kingdom's foundation, but she didn't look further into it.

"If it's something you don't want to share, it's fine," Vivian said when she saw Cassandra pause at her question. "I'm just curious, that's all. It doesn't matter if you don't want to say. At the end of the day, the Cassandra I know is who matters."

Shaking her head, Cassandra said she didn't mind. She just didn't know how to tell them her origin without possibly involving the Williams down the line. Older noble families knew about the diluted blood in the Williams, but the capital had new upstarts who didn't know better.

Just as she was about to respond to her friends' inquiry, an unpleasant interrupter joined their little circle. "Finally deciding to step out of your dwelling, Cassandra?" The interrupter's hazel eyes scanned her from head to toe. Her lips curled slightly, as if the act of greeting Cassandra were beneath her.

"Thanks to you, Victoria," Cassandra met the woman's eyes calmly. "With you being such a good host, my dearest cousin insisted."

The baroness snapped her fan shut at that. She gave the raven-haired woman a look of displeasure. Her poise was elegant, almost like a proud bird in the wild, ready to dazzle and keep everyone's attention on her.