A Rafael Interlude
Inside his Dark Soul, Rafael was willing to admit that sometimes, sometimes, he missed being able to use Dark Magic. There was an art to using it to manipulate emotions. You could not use it to create emotions that weren't there, so he'd needed to be good at reading people and leading the conversation for them to feel what he needed, even for just a moment, even if only weakly, and giving him the opening to use Dark Magic to inflame that emotion into something that warped their mind.
It had been SO convenient for getting people to go away.
"Again?" he said as Ghirardeli entered his office.
"I'm afraid so sir," the new steward said. The man was remarkably accepting of the fact that Rafael was walking around wearing an old helmet. But then, he had used to work for that woman, so this was probably the least eccentric thing he'd seen working in this manor. They had a dragon-kin girl with a tail and a Katarina Claes visiting in the afternoons, after all.
Rafael sighed, grabbed the sword he'd taken from Maria's armory, and strode outside. When he'd been growing up… here, and it was discovered that he possessed Light Magic, he'd never been faced with nobles coming to offer to sponsor or adopt him. He'd been a Dieke, after all.
Ever since the people Maria had rescued had arrived, however, they'd had some noble or other at the gates trying to 'offer them an honored place' or just wanted to 'meet the poor souls in need of succor' as if they were exhibits in a menagerie.
Rafael had politely said no, telling them the people were getting settled and that they were still recovering from their ordeal.
They had insisted, flaunting their titles and threatening to him with consequences, that they would have Maria fire him, which clearly showed these people had no idea about anything. Others claimed to have been invited by Maria herself for this purpose.
Rafael had impolitely said no, telling them to get out of Maria's lands.
That was when things had turned to threats and demands, and Rafael started wishing he had Dark Magic again.
They'd been able to make them go away, and Rafael would have just ordered that anyone who shows up be turned away, but in a reminder that not all people were terrible, Lady Lalatina Dustiness had arrived, along with some people from her covenant, bringing with them new clothes for the rescuees. Others had come as well, from House Berg and House Ascart and a few others who were apparently from Prince Ian's faction, who were there at the request of the prince that support be offered.
This meant that Rafael couldn't just give a blanket order to turn people away, but he had to check them before they were allowed to enter the estate, lest someone unwanted get on the grounds. They hadn't had anyone try to break in and kidnap anyone yet, but it was a distinct possibility.
No wonder Maria had been tired from all this. It was actually mildly astonishing how much so many people ate. Or how quickly an outhouse could be filled up…
It was a perfectly ordinary day at the academy. The sun was shining, the birds were singing, Katarina Claes was working on her garden before classes (it was a vegetable patch!), and Maria Campbell found herself waking up at a reasonable hour with a reasonable amount of work to look forward to. It was actually quite pleasant, after the last couple of weeks, to work on something simple. Rafael had written that they would need to consider hiring armsmen to secure her estate, and Maria had agreed. While the people in the village seemed pleasant enough, it would be good to have someone up at night to watch for accidents, fires, and intruders, at the very least.
As Maria passed through her day, she considered the next immediate problem: income. As her plan to find clients willing to pay outrageously for fireworks had been waylaid, she would need to find some other avenue to present her product once more and secure commissions for the future. The problem was it wasn't like she was getting invited to parties or anything. Students at the Academy were barred from going to tea parties and such for the duration of their education, to prevent them from being distracted. It was why the school sponsored graduation party at the end of the year was so eagerly awaited.
"You're awfully quiet today," Prince Alan said as they worked in the student council room. It looked like they'd actually be able to finish early today. Therefore, people were going at a leisurely pace, which meant they'd finish at their usual time. "Something bothering you?"
"I'm considering my courses of action for the future," Maria said.
"Will this involve doing everything yourself again and dancing to the brink of exhaustion," the Third Prince said.
"I didn't dance, I strode purposefully," Maria said.
"I stand corrected," the Third Prince said. "What courses are you considering?"
"Marketing for nightflowers," Maria said.
Everyone blinked.
"OH!" Lady Ascart said. "You mean the alchemy presentation! Is that what you're calling them? Nightflowers? Well, it's a lot better than 'color charges'."
"Oh, is it finally a good time to ask if you'd be willing to do them for my sisters' next tea party?" Lady Hunt said. "They've been writing to have me ask you if you could make a presentation for them. I can feel them swallowing their pride with every word."
"Father wants to know if you'd be available for mother's birthday in two months," Lady Ascart said. "For that matter, I want to know if we can do it for her birthday."
Lady Cavendish opened a drawer and pulled out a sheet. "The school would also like to officially ask if you're willing to set a similar display for the graduation ceremony."
"And I would like to know if you can do the ball we'll be hosting on the night of the graduation," the Third Prince said. "You would be generously compensated, of course."
Maria blinked, looking around at everyone.
Prince Alan rolled his eyes. "They actually drew straws for who could ask you first, you know," he said.
"You wanted to know if she could tune the charges to explode at a particular tone," his brother said.
"Because I was curious, not because I wanted first crack at her!" Prince Alan said.
Maria coughed. "I still don't have enough lofting tubes, so it would not be as complicated as the presentation we held at the end of the school festival."
"I'm sure Keith will be willing to help again," Lady Ascart said cheerfully, turning a grin at Lord Claes.
"That would be beyond my resources," Maria said. "I can't pay him in sweets, after all."
"Hex it Keith, why don't you like sweets as much as Katarina!" Lady Ascart cried.
"Never developed a taste for it, I kept giving them to Katarina because she enjoyed them," he said. "I'll help you with Countess Ascart's birthday, which should give you time to have lofting tube cast for his thing." He jerked a thumb at the Third Prince.
"Thank you," Maria said.
"But!" Keith said, raising a finger, "you need to promise to at least hire some people to help with production. I'm only going to make tubes for you, not anything else."
"That's fair," Maria agreed.
"So should I tell me sister you said no?" Lady Hunt said, grinning widely.
"I thought you were getting along better with your sisters now?" Prince Alan said.
"I was, but they're kind of getting on my nerves…" Lady Hunt said.
"So… you'll deprive them of the pleasure of Maria's company?" the Third Prince said.
Lady Hunt blinked. She tilted her head and then smiled. "Please say you'll pencil in my sisters, Lady Campbell!" Lady Hunt said, "Please?"
Maria was fairly sure she was missing something, but she wasn't about to turn away this chance. She drew out a sheet and began writing down the commissions. "I'll draft a proposal and get back to you all," she said. "I need to have Rafael find more workers and commission a production and storage building while there's still time."
"Maybe you should also start looking for investors, so you don't need to risk all your own money?" Lady Ascart suggested.
Maria blinked. "Invest in what? There's nothing to invest in right now."
"The best time to invest!" Lady Ascart said. "No competition, and greater stakes! And it just so happens I'm looking for something to do to occupy myself after I leave the academy, and being part of a pioneering enterprise with a schoolmate seems like a great idea."
"I see…?" Maria said.
"Plus now I can make people who talked about me behind my back at parties beg for my favor!" Lady Ascart crowed.
"Ah. I see," Maria said, nodding.
"So please let me invest in this thing that everyone will be wanting to have in their parties for the next two or three years," Lady Ascart said.
Maria tilted her head. Then shrugged. "Of course Lady Ascart. Why don't we speak of partnership terms over dinner and we can draft something by tomorrow."
Well, Maria had always liked Lady Ascart. She was the sanest, most level-headed, rational, reasonable, intelligent, imaginative, bloodthirsty and mildly terrifying person in Lady Claes' retinue, after all. Which were all good qualities to have in a business partner.
Not to mention, she still had to make Lady Ascart's advanced order.
Nightflower Workshop Badge
Badge crafted by the Nightflower Workshop, the earliest manufactory of gunpowder, founded by Maria Campbell and Sophia Ascart.
The Nightflower Workshop was originally founded to produce the titular nightflowers for sale at borderline extortionate prices, but the secrecy of their manufacturing methods and the uniqueness of their creations justified the price, and they made out like farmers.
But this is a not all that arose from this founding.