Chapter 20Dante
On New Year’s Eve, the palace held a party. Raphael held a wine glass full of apple juice and greeted all the noble pigs with his customary good-natured smile that was as fake as all his compliments. He dazzled the room, making small talk about stuff that seemed so superficial that Dante forgot it the moment it left his mouth.
A group of nobles kept away from the rest. They all wore identical necklaces with a single golden ring—the sigil of the Virtues, given only to the most devoted followers. These people had the honor of being in the presence of the Supreme Virtue, so now they kept away from the other mortals. As though these people needed another reason to feel better than everyone else.
No matter how much Dante pretended not to notice, he knew he was constantly bein
