They went to the address in Underwood Street largely out of curiosity, but also, perhaps, because there was an ominous cloud that was suddenly hanging over them. The building which was the root of said address turned out to be a restaurant. At least that's what it looked like to them, Marinette and Chloe most of all, not that the pair would ever admit it to one another out loud of course. Several tattered posters were pasted over the window of the front door, but a light was on.
Glancing at each other, Marinette turned the handle and pushed the door open, the hinges squeaking as she did so, and the septet filed in. Many of the tables, still draped in cloth, and the chairs that surrounded them, were assembled neatly against the wall on their left. Only those in front of some wooden benches, that reminded them a lot of bench pews, in front of the windows remained.
There was a counter near the back with a folding panel often seen in such establishments and a cooking-stove from which the atmosphere gained most of its quality. They approached the counter and, not without more than a little trepidation mind you, Marinette once again took the lead and resolutely tapped her knuckles on the wooden surface. Almost immediately a door to the right hidden by a partial extension of the wall swung open.
There then appeared a veritable mountain of a man, his size reminding Adrien of The Gorilla, his and by extension everyone else's nickname for his chauffeur and bodyguard, with the most lugubrious face they had ever seen. A small tablecloth had been tied across the newcomer's stomach by way of an apron, and his nose had sustained an irreparable injury. He regarded the girls and boys in front of him with a mournful look in his squinted eyes.
"This is a nice time to think about getting a bit of food," he observed, more dryly than in anger, thereby revealing a sepulchral voice. "Everything's off but sausage and mash." The group glanced at each other, unsure of what to make it. Eventually, Marinette spoke. "Do you know who wrote this?" she asked, holding up the envelope she had found. The man looked at it for a few moments before replying. "I see," he said clearly, and with a slightly unnecessary deliberation, "you take the Long Road."
This didn't help the septet at all in the least. Their faces must have shown it as well as the fact that the man had replied without answering the question put to him. "I'm sorry, we don't know what you mean," Marinette replied. "Do you know who wrote this letter and what it and the others we received mean?" The big man placed a heavy forefinger upon the inscription of the blue-haired girls' letter. "Is that your name? And do you lot have more likewise?"
Feeling slightly more trepid, along with their curiosity being raised more, Marinette, Adrien and the others slowly produced their identity cards and held them up for him to see. He studied each of them in turn and a look of expectancy and recognition came into his eyes. "I suppose they were made for you," the man said. The group all frowned slightly at this. "Yes, they were," answered Alya firmly.
"Alright. No offence. I believe ya. Name o' Reid meeself. Pleased to meet you, I'm sure. I got another letter for you all, by the way." He turned around, and after searching amongst the cups and plates upon and the draws in the dresser behind him, he returned bearing another similar envelope which he passed to Marinette, the difference being that this one was unopened. "Sit down," he continued. "And I'll bring you a spot of juice and a couple of Zepps in a smoke screen."
Studiously ignoring the slang (not even Chloe gave a remark) most of the group edged onto one of the benches by the window. Nino and Luka each grabbed one of the loose chairs and sat down at either end of the table next to Alya and Kagami respectively. Once they were all seated Marinette tore open the letter and several things fell out; fifty pounds worth of euros in notes and an engraved correspondence card.
It read:
To those who received their letters report to Gaulle Street.
Soda, tea and little pink cakes.
Do come.
And on the back, in the now familiar handwriting:
Do forgive the crude temporary loan in front of you.
Please come along at once.
It's urgent!
If the groups' curiosity wasn't on a high level already it had now completely skyrocketed. Their combined train of thought was interrupted when Mr. Reid appeared with what was evidently his personal idea of a banquet, balancing a plate on each arm. The majority were on a metal tray along with, as he had said, cups of juice, and some condiments. Setting them down one by one he returned to the counter before returning with several sets of cutlery.
Having already guessed what the money was for, Marinette slid the notes across the table to where the man picked them up before walking away to the counter once more. Not needing any prompting the septet immediately began to tuck in. Well, most of them did. Adrien, who was enjoying the ruralness of the meal compared to the ones his private chef was instructed to make for him, had just finished chewing a piece of sausage, which he promptly swallowed, before he noticed that Chloe hadn't touched her food.
Moreover, she was eyeing the plate with a not so subtle look of disgust on her face. Deciding to try and placate her, the blond-haired boy spoke, "I know it's far from the stuff that you're used to Chloe and that goes for me as well." That was nearly true apart from the deliberately undisclosed fact that he had camembert brought in specially for Plagg to stuff his face in. He was both surprised and not at the same time that neither his father nor Natalie had thought it strange.
Speaking of which, said kwami was still nestled inside his overshirt and listening in on what was being said, as well as using all of his will power to resist the temptation of food. Unknown to him, Tikki was doing likewise in Marinette's purse though she was doing a much better job, that much could be admitted. The Chinese girl took this opportunity to chime in with her opinion.
"Besides, it's probably all that you'll get to eat until you get home, whenever that will be, not to mention the fact that we still don't know who it is that sent us these letters. Heck, for all we know it could be a ploy by Hawkmoth. And given the fact that you've attempted to masquerade as Ladybug before now and therefore opening yourself up as an ally of her, guess who he'll go after first." Marinette spoke with her tongue firmly in cheek as she said this.
Chloe had indeed dressed up and tried to pass herself off as her alter-ego and failed miserably whilst doing so, but despite the animosity between them even she didn't deserve to be on the top of the akuma supervillain's hit list. The blue-eyed girl's face faltered at hearing these words, mainly because, deep down, she knew that they were Marinette (and Adrien) was right though, again, not that she would ever admit such a fact out loud for everyone to hear.
Picking up the knife and fork provided for her Chloe began to eat. Adrien and Marinette both exchanged a look of relief with the former giving the latter a grateful smile for overcoming her patent dislike of Chloe for the greater good. Shortly after they had both returned to their own meals, collectively they were all halfway through when the group realised that the man had returned and was now standing over them.
Deciding to take a chance, Marinette spoke up. "Do you know who wrote this?" she asked, holding up the card for him to see. Reid just shrugged. "Maybe. I can't say if I can place it, though." There was a stubborn blankness in his face which told the group that further questioning on such a track would be useless. "But how do you know who any of us are? Or more specifically, that I am Marinette Dupain-Cheng?"
"Cor! That answers your own question, my girl. There aren't two sets of parents who would saddle their tyke with that lot. Now I should hop it, it's getting late." Having already paid for their meal out of their newfound wealth the group left their plates and exited the restaurant. For a few minutes they stood outside, contemplating their next move. It was mad, of course. And yet they had come so far that it seemed illogical not to go on.
At last, Marinette pulled the card out of her purse and looked at it once more as a look of lightly firm deliberation appeared on her face. "Well, we might as well get this over with," she said with a sigh. The others all nodded in agreement before they set off. Unknown to them, Reid, standing at the counter, reached into this trouser pocket and pulled out a cellphone, quickly typed in a number and then held it to his ear as the dial tone sounded.
A few seconds later a voice spoke from the receiver on the other end. "They're on their way now," the man said, watching Luka, who was at the rear of the group, disappear out of sight. "They should arrive there in about ten minutes or so." The voice spoke once more before the line went dead and the man put the phone back in his pocket.
As can be expected, they went to the address in Gaulle Street largely out of curiosity, but also because they all felt a twinge of fear at who or what lay at the end of the pre-planned route that they had been given and were now following. Marinette and Adrien in particular were feeling it more than any of the others given their alter-egos as Ladybug and Cat Noir. It was as they approached said street that Nino noticed something about their surroundings.
"Hey, does anybody else know that we're completely surrounded by warehouses?" The others all looked around to see that the brown-skinned boy was right and that both houses and street buildings which they had been walking past had indeed given way to warehouses on either side. "Paris has a warehouse district? Who knew?" commented Alya as they made a left-hand turn into what was the final stretch before the address which designated their destination.
It was the third warehouse that they stopped in front of. The door was brightly lit by an overhead lamp and the closest one from the street. By now the shadows had greatly lengthened and darkness was rapidly closing in- A sudden sound made the group jump and look round in all directions before calming down. Taking a deep breath, Marinette stepped forward and turned the handle of the door and pushed hard.
To her surprise, and that of the others, it swung open far more easily than any of them thought it would, revealing a dimly lit corridor behind. The group stared in silence for a minute or two before glancing at each other, seeking confirmation that they all had the courage to go in. Eventually, Adrien took a small breath, a look of resolve appearing on his face, before he stepped forward to stand beside Marinette.
"We've come this far," he said to them before nodding at the blue-haired girl to take the lead. She now gave him a grateful smile which the boy returned before they walked through the door with Alya and Nino close behind them, followed by Chloe and Kagami. Finally, Luka, as he had been doing so since leaving the restaurant, brought up the rear as well as closing the door behind them, both out of a sense of tidiness and trepid caution.
They then proceeded along the corridor for a short way following the lights above. Then the septet emerged into the brightly lit main area of the building itself and stared in a shared feeling of awe at the massive space before them. What caught their attention next was the table covered with various food and drink stuff. As said on the card this entourage included, somewhat comedically, little pink fairy cakes.
What caught Adrien's attention in particular was the plate filled with camembert cheese slices and he didn't need to look to know that Plagg was all but salivating at the sight of it. Tikki herself would have been lying if she too wasn't feeling slightly hungry at the sight of the buffet. But what kept all of them where they were was the fact that there was no one else in sight. Obviously it had to be whoever had directed them to come to the warehouse.
But that was a cold comfort with all things considered. Just as Marinette was about to take a step forward and all out a question, a voice made them all jump as it rang out from up above their heads. "Doctor Livingstone and friends, I presume?" The septet glanced wildly around until, looking up, spotted who it belonged to. Perched on one of the beams that held up the roof was a boy they guessed to be around their age group smiling down at them with engaging friendliness.
But it was what he was wearing that really got their attention, the two heroes in particular stared at him with wide eyes. He was wearing a leather suit similar to that of Adrien when he was transformed into Cat Noir. Along with a pair of triangular-shaped ears protruding out from the tousled mop of jet black hair that crowned his head along with fur trimmings lining the collar and wrists of his gloves. Two more key differences were that his outfit was a silver grey and his eyes were a deep electric blue.
And that whereas Adrien's "tail" was made up of a thin strip of leather, his was a much larger piece and looked like that of a German Shepard, and finally the shape of a one-handed and two-handed sword could be seen sheathed diagonally to the right across his back. He continued to smile down at them from his crazy perch before standing up and front flipped off it towards the ground, landing perfectly on the concrete floor in a three-point landing.
Standing up to his full height, which appeared to be the same as Adrien's, give or take a few inches. The boy stopped in front of them and continued to smile with engaging friendliness. A few moments passed in silence as the group exchanged glances, unsure what to make of their host for that was who the person had to be, until Marinette spoke. "Look, we haven't the least idea who you are, but are you the one who sent these crazy letters to us?"
She held up the piece of stationary that Reid had handed her at the restaurant while the others produced their own torn envelopes. The body nodded in response. "Indeed. Hardley genuine given that it's a piece of card I know, but mine nonetheless." "And, follow up if I may, why did you bring us here?" the Chinese girl added, not unkindly. Their host's expression changed from a smile to a slight frown.
"Straight to the heart of the matter I see," he said. "I've brought you all here because you all share one thing in common. You have, at one point or another, had contact with a miraculous, am I right?" Nobody said a word. The members of the septet were shocked that someone knew. In particular Marinette and Adrien were very worried as they quickly grasped the context of what the boy had said.
They were also hoping and praying that none of the others decided to- "Hang on a minute, you excluded Chloe, Kagami and Luka but not Marinette and Adrien," said Alya in confusion. "Why? I mean, the only way that they could be was if-" The journalistic girl broke off as the smile returned to the host's face. "Was if they had already done so?" he asked innocently. Said boy and girl were beginning to feel very on the spot.
"Did I forget to mention that I've had that camembert over there for the past week or so. Because of the smell it's started to give I was extremely tempted to throw it out. In fact-" "NOT MY PRECIOUS CHEESE!" Like a bullet from a gun a black shape darted out from Adrien's shirt and streaked towards the table and, more specifically, the plate of camembert cheese. The shape came to a stop just in front of it as Plagg hovered in front of his favourite food.
His tiny arms were spread out to the sides in a protective stance. "Nobody throws away perfectly good cheese you hear? Nobody-" Plagg broke off while his eyes went wide as he realised what he had done. Adrien had slapped a hand over the upper part of his face in annoyance. The rest of the septet, including Marinette, were also staring at him with wide eyes and open mouths while the boy just smiled with the look of someone who had proven a point that they knew to be right all along.
The Kawami of Destruction gulped before giving a nervous filled giggle. "Uh... Hehehehe... Whoops?" he said, trying to sound as innocent as possible. Silence was all Plagg got in response before the raven-haired boy spoke. "Now that the cat is out of the bag, in a manner of speaking, perhaps Tikki would care to join us." The red and black spotted Kwami of Creation appeared out of Marinette's purse and hovered dutifully beside her owner, again to the silent shock of the others.
Except that this time, of course, Adrien was amongst them. "As you said Alya," said their host, "your friends were excluded from having contact with a miraculous at one point before now because they had theirs already and I think you can guess the rest," Silence was heard while Marinette mentally counted down to the explosion. 3... 2... 1... "YOU'RE LADYBUG AND CAT NOIR!" - Nino.
"I CAN'T BELIEVE I DIDN'T CATCH ON EVERY TIME YOU DISAPPEARED DURING AN AKUMA ATTACK!" - Alya. "ME TOO!" - Luka and Kagami. "MY IDOL THIS WHOLE TIME WAS DUPAIN-CHENG!" - Chloe. "ENOUGH!" The volume of their host's voice caught them all off-guard as well as making their ears ring. As the sound died down they looked over to see a furious look on the boy's face. His eyes had taken on a wild look that sent shivers down their spines.
"I did not spend countless hours of my time working to bring you all here just so you could all crowd around Adrien and Marinette and pester them with questions or hurl insults in your case Chloe Bourgeois." He yelled this out to them, shooting a glare at the blonde girl when he had finished who looked very nervous. "In fact, you are the last person to be complaining about Marinette's secret identity when you've gone and been nothing but a selfish brat ever since you first met each other!"
Their host snorted with contempt. "No wonder most of the akuma attacks in this city have been because of you," he muttered. "Questions and answers about this can come later, right now we have far more pressing matters to contend with." "If you mean Hawkmoth m'lady and I have it under control," replied Adrien firmly, while dealing his right hand into Marinette's left and giving it a reassuring squeeze, something the girl appreciated at that particular moment.
It also had the added bonus of relieving her of the fear that her partner was upset with her. However, as their host had said, such matters could come later. Personally she was wondering what Master Fu's reaction would be to all this would be. For it was obvious to her that the boy in front of them was wearing a miraculous, one that wasn't part of the collection that the old man had. "Right now Hawkmoth is the least of your worries," the boy replied.
"No, I've brought you all here to discuss a completely different threat altogether." He looked round at them with narrowed eyes, searching them for something. "Not to mention that you all take the Long Road." The group became confused once again, as well as a bit flustered. "We have no idea what you mean?" said Adrien. "The man at Underwood's said that to us. Do you have any idea what it means?" Their host suddenly became affable.
"I owe you all an apology. Only, you see, I'm not the only person who's interested in you lot. And my rival firm had gotten hold of any of you first you might have understood about the Long Road," he said. "First I am going to give you all a lesson in economics, and then I'm going to tell you a fairy tale. But before all that-" he gestured to the table laden with food and drink, including the plate of camembert that Plagg was still hovering over.
"-perhaps you would like to get yourselves something to snack on whilst I do so?" Despite having already eaten a square meal nearly half an hour earlier the group nevertheless decided to take him up on his offer. Unsurprisingly, Plagg immediately dove into the cheese and began eating like there was no tomorrow. Tikki also began to eat, picking up a cookie from one of the plates and, unlike her fellow kwami, ate with a lot more decorum.
Marinette had already placed two of them and one the cupcakes on hers and reached over to take a couple slices of apple. Just as she did so another hand suddenly touched hers making her stop and look up into the equally surprised face of Adrien who did the same. Of course being slightly taller he looked down at the girl but that was circumstantial. For a moment time seemed to stop around the pair as they continued to stare at each other.
True it wasn't the first time something like this had occurred but there was something different this time. Their looks of shock slowly evolved into small smiles and slightly flushed cheeks and the former felt the latter gently take hold of her hand in his own like had done so earlier. The moment was, to their mild annoyance, interrupted when their host began to speak again.
"As Chloe and Adrien will probably agree with me when I say this, there comes a time when, if you're only wealthy enough, nothing else matters except what you happen to want at the moment. I mean you're above trifles like law and order," he explained. "Well," he said, "about fifty years ago half a dozen of the wealthiest men in the world - two Britons, an American, two Spaniards, and a Frenchman - found that they could buy almost anything they wanted for their private collections, of which they were very fond.'
'Then one of the Englishmen, who was a greedy fellow, started wanting things that couldn't be bought, things so valuable that eminent philanthropists had given them to museums. Also national relics of great historical value. Do you follow me?" "We don't see where it's leading," admitted Luka, "but we're listening." Their host nodded gratefully. "This first man," he continued, "who for the sake of this conversation we shall call Ethan, said to himself:
'Ethel, you would like that portrait of Marie Antoinette in the Louvre, but it is not for sale, and if you tried to buy it very likely there would be a war, and you would not be so rich as you are now. There is only one way, therefore, of getting this beautiful picture.' So he said to his servant and confidante, Stuart, who was a genius but a bad lot, 'What do you think, Stuart?' And Stuart thought it could be stolen if sufficient money was forthcoming, as he knew just the man who was famous for his clever thieving.
Stuart took the money to the man and so the deed was done. When Ethan had gotten the picture, and the police of four countries were looking everywhere for it, except in his country house, where they didn't go because he was an important person he was admiring his new acquisition. One day his friend, who we shall name Tobias, who was as wealthy as he was, and a keen collector of ceramics, came to Ethan's house, and Ethan showed him the picture. Well, Tobias was more than impressed.
'If you can get your picture of Marie Antoinette,' he said, 'why should I not obtain the Ming vase which is in the British Museum, because I am as rich as you?' 'Well,' said Ethan, 'I will introduce you to my valet Stuart, who might arrange it for you.' And he did. And Stuart did arrange it, only this time he went to another thief who was at the top of his class for stealing vases. Then Tobias was very pleased and could not help telling his friend Marus, who was a king in a small way and a collector of jewels in a large way.
And of course, in the end they went to George and the thing happened all over again. "And after about forty to fifty years," said their host, "quite a lot of people had employed Stuart and Stuart's successor, with the result that there is to-day quite a number of wealthy Ethans, Tobias's and Marcus's. They are hardly a society in the social sense, but they are one of, if not the most powerful and the most wealthy ones in the world. You see, they are hardly criminals," he went on, "in the accepted sense.'
'It is Stuart, and Stuart's friends, who meet the trouble when there is any, and they also pocket all the money. Besides, they never touch anything that can be bought in the open market. They are untouchable, the Ethans and the Tobias's I mean.' 'This is because of two reasons; (a) they are very important people, and (b) nobody but George and George's successor ever knows where the treasures go. That is the strength of the whole thing. Now do you see what I mean?"
As his voice died away the silence in the warehouse became oppressive. In spite of the lightness of his words he had managed to convey a sense of reality into his story. Marinette, Adrien and the others all stared at him. "Is this true, dude?" Nino asked. "It's extraordinary if it is. Almost as extraordinary as the rest of the things that have happened tonight. But I still don't see how it concerns us." "I'm coming to that," said their host patiently.
"I suppose some of the original members of this "ring" have died?" said Kagami, carried away in spite of herself by the piquancy of the story. "Ah," said the boy, "I was coming to that too. During the last fifty years the percentage of millionaires has gone up considerably. 'This little circle of wealthy collectors has grown. Following the world shaking off the last traces of the economic crash back in 2008, the membership numbered about twenty, men of all races and colours, and the organization which had been so successful became swamped.
It was at this point that one of the members, an organizing genius, a man whose name is famous over three continents, by the way, took the thing in hand and set down four or five main maxims: pulled the thing together, and put it on a business basis, in fact. So that the Society, or whatever you like to call it has no name that I personally know of and is now practically omnipotent in its own sphere." He paused, allowing his words to sink in, before he began to pace slowly up and down in front of them.
"And for your personal safety I won't tell you the names of those I do know," he added. "But when MI5, the CIA, or the Directorate-General for External Security have acted, you can see that Ethan and his friends are very important people.' 'If the thing was exposed there'd be a scandal which would upset a couple of thrones and jeopardize the governments of four or five world powers." The septet glanced at each other before back at their host. "It's a wild tale," Alya said, "but I think we believe you."
The miraculous-wielder shot her a grateful smile. "Thank you," he said. "It makes the rest of this conversation easier." "It's extraordinary if you ask me," added Luka. "But where do we come in? We're not famous crooks," he added, laughing. "I'm afraid we couldn't pinch anything for you." A glare once again made itself known upon their host's face. "I do not belong to the firm and you will not say such a thing again."
There was almost a literal growl in his voice that sent a chill down the blue and black-haired boy's spine. "And the Long Road?" Nino asked, both out of curiosity and in an attempt to get their host to calm down. Thankfully, it had the intended effect and the boy visibly relaxed. "A form of salutation between Stuart's friends," he explained. For a reason he couldn't explain, Adrien suddenly felt a feeling of dread starting to form at the back of his mind during the explanation.
He put it aside as Nino asked another question. "So how does that explain how you roped us all in here?" "I would like to know that as well given that, as you have already told us, put much effort into it," added Kagami. "As a matter of fact I've been trying to get hold of you lot for a fortnight. But when I did see any you I couldn't approach you. 'If I had, say for example, introduced myself and taken a walk and talk with any of you anywhere, then one of Stuart's friends would have come too.
'You see, they know me just as much as I know them and I have no desire to put my head in a hornet's nest without backup. As such, I had to drop a score of envelopes under your noses before you all rose to the bait. Reid, my family's long-time butler and friend, has been spending his past evenings at Underwood's for the last fortnight." "Do you have any idea what it is the gang are after?" Chloe asked, speaking for the first time in a long while and with none of her usual haughtiness which surprised the others.
"I do." Their host reached behind his back and produced a copy of the magazine "Vive la People!" It was a media piece that all the members of the group had seen at one point in time. Their curiosity as to how he had suddenly pulled it out of thin air was overtaken when he held it out for them to see. "Take a look at the article on the first two pages," he instructed. Marinette took the magazine and did what the boy had said.
The pages were alive with the article that they contained, the right-hand page of which contained a portrait of a rather foolish-looking woman of fifty odd, clad in a modern adaptation of a medieval gown. She was holding in her clasped hands a chalice of arresting design. Who the photographer had been they had succeeded in directing the eye of the viewer away from the imperfections of the sitter by focusing his oher attention upon the astoundingly beautiful object she held.
About eighteen inches high, it was massive in design, and consisted of a polished gold cup upon a jeweled pedestal. Beneath the portrait there were a few lines of letterpress. "A Lovely Priestess," ran the headline, and underneath:
"Lady Trouvé, who before her marriage to the late Sir Benoît Trouvé was, of course, Miss Yseult Barthélemy, the sister of Colonel Sir Edmond Barthélemy, Baronet, owner of the historic "Tower" at Sanctuary in Nouvelle-Aquitaine, and keeper of the ageless Barthélemy Chalice. Lady Trouvé is here seen with the precious relic, which is said to date from before the Conquest.
She is also the proud possessor of the honorary title of "Maid of the Cup". The Barthélemys hold the custody of the Chalice as a sacred family charge. This is the first time it has ever been photographed. Our readers may remember that it is of the Barthélemy Tower that the famous story of the "Secret Room" is told."
"I know what that is," said Alya, looking up from the magazine at the others. "It's going on display at the Louvre right here in Paris where Alix's dad works. She told us all about it last week. She said that it's been in the family for over a thousand years." "Three thousand to be precise," said their host. "So you can now see why our friend in the Thing wants it so badly." "But what's that got to do with bringing us here?" asked Adrien.
The boy frowned before uttering two words that were fairly similar to what the two miraculous holders used themselves "Stand easy." There was a small flash of light as their host's hero suit disappeared to reveal a black fleece under which a red t-shirt could be seen. He also wore a pair of dark green trousers topped off by blue and black shows on his feet.
What also held their attention was the small, silver grey kwami with pointed ears, visible fangs and a relatively bushy tail that now floated beside him, Tikki and Plagg in particular whose eyes had widened at the sight of one of their own. Seemingly ignoring their reactions he spoke, "My name, as I'm sure that you are all curious to know it, is Julius Florian, and to answer your question, Adrien Agreste, I'm not as ignorant of the significance of the chalice in the Barthélemy Family as you think and what it means to them.
'Shall I tell you of the ceremony connected with the chalice? Of the visits of the Minister of State every ten years which have taken place regularly ever since the Revolution? I also know of the special visits made to "The Tower" as it is called on the heir or heiresses twenty-fifth birthday when they have come of age? Or of the deed by which the entire family possessions are forfeit to the Crown, or government in this case, should anything untoward happen to the chalice?"
While he had been talking Alya had, while listening, broke out her phone and researched what he meant. She spoke up once Julius had finished. "He's right. It says here that Violette Barthélemy is twenty-five on the second of June, and being the heiress that means that the responsibility of the chalice will, eventually, fall to her.