Cover Art: Solace O'Autumn

Chapter 54

Jaune kept his head high as Bon-hwa led him deeper into the main building. It turned out he'd spent all his time in the wing and the garden, never really approaching the main household, which spanned a good half of the property. Here, there were less guards acting as security, the people in charge capable of looking after themselves.

They were dangerous, one and all.

But so am I, Jaune thought, for a certain definition of dangerous.

He might not be able to fight them directly, but that didn't mean he couldn't win – especially if he kept things away from becoming a fight. Charisma worked best outside of combat anyway. Jaune took a deep breath at the last door, strengthening himself as Bon-hwa knocked and announced their presence.

When the doors opened, Jaune kept his eyes straight ahead, refusing to blink as he followed the suited criminal into an opulent meeting room. It was gaudier than even the Schnee manor. He had the feeling they were trying too hard to show their wealth, whereas the Schnee knew they were rich and didn't need to prove it to anyone. There was far too much gold for his liking, on the furniture, on the ornaments, on statues and sculptures by the walls, and on the picture frames on the walls. It was everywhere.

Except for the red mahogany table in the centre where Ha-rin sat beside a man who looked to be at least fifteen years older than her. His black hair was just beginning to grey, and stress lines across his face to show. He wore black robes with white visible beneath, a stark contrast to Ha-rin in white with black. Polar opposites. In a way, it made them seem like they fit together and yet, in another, it didn't. They looked separate despite sitting beside one another.

And being husband and wife.

"Lord Joo-won, Lady Ha-rin." Bon-hwa made sure to pronounce their names slowly so that Jaune could learn them. "This is Jaune Arc, young lady Chae-young's music instructor."

"Hmm." The man nodded once. "You're dismissed, Bon-hwa."

Bon-hwa bowed and walked backwards, out the door, then took the handle and closed it without turning his back on them. It was just him and them. Jaune would have felt afraid, but for the fact he had his gloves and he had his Semblance.

Even if it came to a fight, I'm armed and they're not. And it won't come to that. This is at best a show of force or a warning to stop training Chae-young so hard. I'm just a regular guy in their eyes; they don't need to threaten me.

Chae's father cleared his throat. "It is good to meet you at last. My lovely wife and daughter have spoken of you. Please, take a seat."

Jaune drew the seat across from them back, careful not to mar the carpet as he settled his weight into it. In games, Charisma often came with the ability to perceive what other people were thinking, or to piece together the meanings behind words. His didn't seem to work that way, sacrificing what he could discern in favour of what he could affect.

That didn't mean he couldn't put together his own ideas. Ha-rin didn't like what he represented – the possibility of Chae-young succeeding in her gambit. She didn't necessarily dislike him, but her attitude towards him would differ depending on how well Chae was doing. If she was doing poorly, Ha-rin would favour him. The opposite the other way around.

As for her father, Joo-won, he was a little harder to read, but Jaune could make some assumptions. He'd done a good job teaching Chae-young, so it was likely the man would be amicable toward him if nothing else. Polite at worst. Jaune decided to use his Semblance to find out more, focusing on the man.

.

Joo-won

Lvl. 28

Crime Lord

Head of the East Dragon Family, one of the rising criminal families in Mistral, Joo-won is a hard and brutal man known for overwhelmingly crushing his enemies so that none can challenge him.

.

Jaune almost wished he hadn't looked, but the details did provide one interesting aspect – his level. It was a lot lower than he would have expected. Maybe he'd met too many powerful people – General Ironwood, Qrow Branwen, Cinder and Pyrrha. They were either professionals or up-and-coming stars.

I guess running a crime family would be more about giving orders and making others do the heavy lifting. Still, he's not as far above me as I would have thought.

That might be misleading, however. His attributes were weighted too heavily into Charisma and Constitution, so even if they were the same level, it might not be an even fight. In the end, Jaune didn't have any experience in battle, and no real weapons other than Discordant Note, which might kill them both.

It probably would kill them both given they were weaker than Jax.

I don't think Chae will thank me for making her an orphan. This is a family spat she's trapped in. Nothing that needs murder to fix it.

"You have calculating eyes," Joo-won said, his tone making it clear it was a compliment. "But they're not very subtle. You'd do well to learn to mask your intentions when you're analysing someone."

Jaune leaned back. "I'm not—"

"Hmhm. It's fine." Joo-won waved it off. "You're cautious. According to Bon-hwa, you're no criminal despite Malachite's claims. Our background checks support that. You're a distraction thrown at us to cover for her failure."

"An insult we shouldn't stand for," Ha-rin said.

"An insult we won't stand for. But that's not for a music instructor to worry about. We shall deal with Madam Malachite in our own time." Joo-won looked back at Jaune as if to gauge his reaction. The thought of Lil Miss Malachite getting her comeuppance was fine by him. "I see you're not so against that. No love lost, I assume."

"None." Jaune answered calmly. "But I think you called me here to talk about Chae."

"I did, yes. And I'm surprised she lets you call her that. It's my nickname for her."

"Ah. Actually, she doesn't let me. It's just how I refer to her in my head."

"I see." Joo-won looked pleased by that. It might just have been because he, alone, was allowed to get away with it. "I'm told you've arranged a lesson today between her and the Weiss Schnee."

"That's correct."

"How close are you?" Ha-rin asked. "We had heard you performed with her but that was just as a backing guitarist. How does one such as you have a direct line to her? And enough clout to ask her for favours?"

She's annoyed, Jaune thought. It wasn't so much that Ha-rin did a bad job of hiding her emotions, and more than she chose not to. Or didn't see him as important enough to bother doing so with. Why, though? Is she annoyed that I set Chae up, or annoyed that I didn't tell her so she could milk the Schnee connection for more?

Ha-rin obviously didn't care about Chae's musical career so the business angle felt likely.

"She's more of an acquaintance than anything. I stayed at the manor playing music for her mother and we met there. I wouldn't call us close, but we're on polite terms at least. We have some common ground since we're both in the music industry."

"But she's a singer," Joo-won pointed out. "What is it she's teaching Chae? I wouldn't have thought the skillsets between a singer and a guitarist to be transferable."

"They're not mechanically, but I asked her to help with advice on how to perform in front of an audience, how to handle nerves, how to dominate a stage." Jaune watched the man nod. He didn't look displeased. "The first performance is always a tense one. If you succumb to nerves, it doesn't matter how skilled you are – you'll miss notes."

"Hm. Perhaps it is not so bad an arrangement then."

"I'm not so sure." Ha-rin said, suddenly realising she didn't like the motion now that Jaune's angle had been explained. "We agree to give Chae-young a chance to prove herself without interference. It will prove nothing if the deck is stacked in her favour."

"I disagree," Jaune said. "You can't expect someone to build a house just because you hand them some bricks. They need an education."

"This is a discussion between husband and wife! It is not your place to comment."

"I thought you'd brought me here as Chae-young's instructor to ask my thoughts on her, and to chip in." He offered his best disarming smile, all politeness and rainbows. "I apologise if I got that wrong."

"You did not," Joo-won said. Ha-rin's lips sealed shut, and for a moment she glared hatefully at her husband. "Tell me more of my daughter's progress."

"Chae-young is passionate and determined. It's clear she loves the guitar and finds pleasure in playing – though I worry that she's also stressing out over it, or the risk of losing the freedom to play. It's obvious to me she's losing sleep over that. It could have an impact on her, not only in terms of her musical ability but her overall health."

"Nonsense!" Ha-rin spat. "Stress at her age? What does she have to be stressed about!?"

"A performance forced on her which will determine her future," Jaune replied.

"That is something she agreed to," Joo-won pointed out. Ha-rin nodded along.

"As I've heard, but she's a young child and it seems… how do I say this?" Jaune knew, but he wanted to act like he was fumbling the words. "It seems cynical to have adults with life experience trick her into a bet they know she can't win."

Both their eyes narrowed. Jaune knew he'd said too much.

"Mind your words, young man," Joo-won said.

"My apologies. I couldn't think of a better way to frame it."

"Regardless, my daughter did agree to the terms and was quite vocal about them. I am not a harsh man. I explained to her that she should prove herself capable and she claimed that she could. So, this was set out. If I do not hold her to her word, she will grow up a spoilt princess, and in our line of work that is a personality trait that will leave her in a shallow grave. You may call it cynical, but cynicism will serve her well."

Jaune scowled. "Then this was stacked against her from the start?"

"Of course not." Joo-won sounded offended at the very idea, leaning back with a frown of his own. "Chae has every opportunity to prove herself. If she succeeds on her own merit, we shall bow to her wishes. Our agreement was that we would not interfere with her practice, and she would perform for us."

"Then what about her other lessons? Isn't that interference?"

Joo-won frowned. "What other lessons?" Lady Ha-rin flinched. He noticed. "What other lessons does he speak of?"

"Ah. I felt that my daughter's education as a proper young lady should not be put on hold—"

"Our daughter. And how many lessons?"

"…" Ha-rin hesitated. "No more than before."

Joo-won drew his scroll from his pocket and pressed a number. Moments later, Bon-hwa knocked once and entered. "My lord called for me?"

"Bon-hwa, my most trusted hand. What lessons does my daughter have after her music ones?"

"Numerous, sir. Etiquette, speech, knitting, dancing, floral arrangements, fashion." He kept his eyes on the floor as he listed them. "I can procure for you a full list if you wish."

"No. Answer simply, does my daughter have time to practice music in her spare time?"

Ha-rin glared.

Bon-hwa didn't see it. "No, my lord. Lady Chae-young is often too exhausted and retires to bed the moments her lessons end, which is oftentimes as last as nine in the evening. There is no time for her to practice."

"Why was I not made aware of this?"

"I brought it up to Lady Ha-rin two weeks ago, sir. She assured me that you had approved of the schedule, and that I should not cause a fuss."

Bon-hwa didn't smile, but Jaune felt there was a little pleasure there, especially as Ha-rin paled.

"I see." Joo-won let out a quiet breath, before addressing Jaune. "The extra lessons will be put on hold to give her more time to practice. Sadly, the date of the performance cannot be changed but Chae will have more time to herself. Bon-hwa, please escort him from the premises. Also, advise our men to find somewhere else to be. My wife and I need to have a private discussion."

It was a small victory, but it was a victory.

But Jaune knew he'd also made an enemy.

/-/

Pyrrha lamented how the heart worked.

When Jaune asked her to come out with him late at night to help with a romantic endeavour, Pyrrha's heart had leapt into her throat. She'd dressed up as best she could, feverishly buying a new outfit and begging her mom for makeup tips. It had gotten so frantic that she'd actually been in tears at one point – something Pyrrha would readily admit was silly later on.

But at the time it felt like the most important moment of her life and she couldn't get it down!

And then, after hours of work, Jaune had shown up at her door in his usual clothes with a bag of catnip and a bottle of milk and told her they were going out to set-up a date between a horny cat and some random stray.

This is the man I've fallen in love with, Pyrrha thought as she watched Jaune ask a stripey cat on a wall for directions. The cat swished its tail lazily, and Jaune was getting increasingly irate with its apparent lack of cooperation. He started waving the catnip, offering bribes to an animal. Of all the people in the world, this is the man I want. I must have been very cruel in a past life.

It should have been the moment she realised just how stupid he was and walked away, dodging the bullet.

Stupid feelings.

"Information first, catnip after! You'll be too high to speak straight otherwise!"

A few passers-by turned to stare at the man arguing with a cat, and then moved on as if they were worried insanity might be contagious. Jaune might have heard the cat responding, but she didn't. Neither did anyone else. It just looked like he was ranting at an animal – or at a wall.

Pyrrha wouldn't have believed it either if not for the proof she'd seen. Arguing with a quiet cat wasn't convincing but having birds do tasks for him was, not to mention the fact sharks and dolphins had saved his life on more than one occasion. That was hard to chalk up as a random coincidence.

"Great! Thank you! Sheesh!" Jaune tossed some green leaves on the wall and the cat merrily started rolling around in it. "Okay, we've got our lead."

"Great." Pyrrha wasn't nearly as excited, though she did try and sound it so as not to come across moody. And she was moody. Jaune hadn't even complimented her. "Why are we doing this again?"

"Because Chae's cat offered to run interference and stop her mom showing up to ruin the performance if we did. And I'm pulling out all the stops to give Chae every chance to succeed!" He clenched his fist tight. "I'm done playing around with them."

Despite her frustrations, she felt her stomach flip at his anger on a small girl's behalf and then flip again when he spoke of challenging literal criminals to do it. Damn it. All she wanted was to be angry at him, and then he went and said stuff like that.

"Stand up for yourself," her brain hissed. "Make him compliment us!"

"Awwww…" her heart crooned. "He's protecting her honour. Think how good a father he'll make."

"What? No. Don't think of him being a father!"

"Why not?" asked her heart. "Imagine him with our daughter?"

"Fool! You'll summon—"

"Hellloooo~" Pyrrha's hormones chimed. "Did somebody mention sex?"

"No."

"No one mentioned it at all."

"But you mentioned parenthood. That's close enough. And momma likes what momma sees. Aroogah…"

"AHEM!" Jaune cleared his throat. "Pyrrha? You there…? You're spacing out."

"S—Sorry." Pyrrha rubbed her lips. "My internal organs were having an argument."

"…" Jaune tilted his head. "What? Are you coming down with something?"

"You could definitely say that…"

Jaune looked worried, which did all sorts of interesting things to her heart and stomach. On an unrelated note, she had to find those old friends she had who she'd criticised for acting like idiots when they were crushing on boys. Pyrrha had dismissed them as acting ridiculous and losing all common sense, and sworn she'd never be the same.

So much for that.

"Should we head back? I can do this another night. If you're sick, we should get you into bed."

"D—Don't!" she yelped, flushing. "Cat! Yes, cat. We need to find the cat!" Pushing past him, she grabbed his arm and dragged him along. "No time to lose! Chae needs us, and there's a cat to romance. Let's go!"

After Jaune politely explained she was dragging him the wrong way, and after they'd gone the other way, they eventually found the feline in question. It was, in Pyrrha's eyes, a bit of a mess. Scraggly fur, suspicious eyes, a wonky tail, and sharp teeth. But she supposed she couldn't criticise a cat for its tastes given she was gazing longingly at the dumbest man on Remnant.

Even if his Semblance didn't come with literal statistics, I'd know this man put zero points into intelligence…

Welp. Pyrrha supposed she was into himbos now.

Cat-talking himbos, specifically. Jaune knelt and spoke to the cat, reciting a poem that was… probably culturally specific to cats. That was what she'd go with. It was still more romantic than anyone had ever been to her, since her more obsessive fans had chosen to try and woo her by sending unsolicited pictures of their genitals to her fan address. There was a reason she had people vet her mail nowadays.

Apparently, her agency had a "penis board" where they collected and pinned up crotch shots sent to her and ranked them by inadequacy. It felt wrong to do that, but maybe that's what they got for sending those pictures to her.

Being famous was tough, but sometimes it was just weird…

"Can't you at least humour him?" asked Jaune. Apparently, the poem hadn't gone down well. The feline meowed and mewled and swiped a paw at Jaune's face. It didn't attack, though. It really did look like it was having a conversation with him. "No, I'm not asking you to bear his kittens. Just talk to him, give him a chance. I'll give you cat nip…" He shook the bag enticingly. "Eh? Eh?"

The cat hissed and turned its head on them.

I think even I understand what that means, Pyrrha thought.

"Jaune," Pyrrha whispered. "Are we trying to drug someone into dating someone…?"

He paused, winced, and drew the bag back. "Holy crap. Uh. Ignore that offer. Ahem. Okay, that was in poor taste, I admit." he said, appealing to the cat once more. "But Hastings is honestly a catch. He has his own place, his own pond, and a legion of humans willing to cater to him. You could cash in on that."

The cat looked back, ears flicking.

"Yes, I know that's a very mercenary reason but it's worth noting. And again, no one is saying you have to commit straight away. Make Hastings impress you, make him work for you. If he loves you as much as he claims, he should be willing to put in the effort!"

Sitting back, the cat licked its paws and fixed Jaune with an arch look.

It meowed exactly once.

"What the fuck!?" Jaune yelped. "You can't just say that!"

Pyrrha leaned in. "What did it say?"

"It's a massive racist," he whispered back.

Pyrrha blinked. "Against humans? Dogs?"

"Tabby cats."

Pyrrha stared. "What…?"

"It said some downright crazy shit about tabby cats. Stuff I'd feel bad to even repeat."

"But… But it's just fur colour," she said, confused. "It's not even skin colour. It's the fur. They're literally the same underneath. At least it'd make sense if it was racist against other breeds of cats, but the colour…?"

The cat meowed some more. Jaune flailed his arms. "Whoah! Whoah! Noooo! Absolutely not!"

"What?" Pyrrha had to know. "What'd it say?"

"Wants us to help commit genocide by poisoning milk for tabby cats."

Whoah. Pyrrha had always known cats were stone cold killers, even her own brought back and sometimes only half-dead gifts for her. But this? Wow. Pyrrha wasn't sure if she wished she could understand animals like Jaune did or not. Maybe ignorance was bliss.

"Is Hastings a tabby?" she asked.

"Thankfully not, or this would be really awkward, but I don't think he's anti-tabby either. Or at least he never mentioned it to me." Jaune turned back to the cat. "Okay, look. We're not killing a bunch of cats for your pleasure. No, I'm not poisoning a dog either! No, I don't care if it took a wee on your wall. Holy shit, can you stop being a psychopath for ten seconds!? Damn, I'm tempted to tell Hastings you're not worth his time."

That had an effect. The feline hissed and swiped at him.

Jaune leapt back.

"Jaune," said Pyrrha. "I've got an idea. Can you translate for me? Just tell me what it says and say what I tell you to in return. Word for word."

"Yeah, sure. I'm about done with this little psycho. Go ahead."

"Ahem. Okay, my name is Pyrrha. Can you tell me a little about why you don't want to meet with Hastings?"

"He's a poser," Jaune replied, after the cat meowed a few times. "He claims to be a lord and acts high and mighty, but he won't even come speak his own words in person."

"That's a good point," Pyrrha replied, making eye contact with the cat even though it was Jaune who had to pass her words on. Eye contact was important. Pyrrha put all her PR training to the test. "But it sounds to me like he's probably intimidated by you. It must be nerves, because he thinks so much about you that he's afraid to make a fool of himself."

The cat meowed back several times.

"It's a cat eat cat world," Jaune eventually said. "How can I trust someone to lick my back and protect my kittens if he can't even face me?"

"Again, that's very fair. But is it okay if I ask you how your current love life is? Do you have a lot of paramours?"

The cat looked away.

Pyrrha didn't need the translation.

"I don't mean to sound rude but it's not everyday someone confesses to you like this. Is it a little cowardly of him to ask us to do it for him? Yes. Absolutely. And you should tell him that and make it clear you expect better. That you deserve better." Pyrrha nervously sat down beside the cat. It looked at her but didn't move away or closer. "I know what it's like," she said. "I'm not a stray, I'm the opposite, put on a pedestal and seen as special by so many people. I get countless confessions but none of them are real. The people doing them don't even know me. They've never even met me."

The cat flicked its head and meowed.

"She says Hastings isn't any better."

"He is, though." Pyrrha said. "Because he wants to get to know you. He isn't some distant person thinking he knows what you want. He's here, and he wants to meet you so he can get to know you." Pyrrha smiled weakly and reached out to pet the cat. "He's trying, girl. He's not doing a great job and he's making a few mistakes here and there, but he is trying."

"Meow…"

"She says men are stupid," Jaune said, rolling his eyes.

"They certainly are…"

"Hey…"

"I have a man I like," she told the cat – and Jaune as well. Maybe he'd even figure it out. "But like you say, men are dumb." Pyrrha leaned down. "How about you issue a challenge to Hastings?" The feline tilted her head. "It sounds to me like you don't dislike him, but you're upset he wouldn't do this himself." An agreeing meow. "Then instead of saying yes or no, how about you send Jaune back with a message? Make Hastings prove himself by coming out his home to meet with you directly and recite his poem in person. Would that work?"

The cat didn't respond for a whole minute but eventually let out a series of meows.

"She says that'll work!" Jaune said, clapping. He soon paused. "Also, that I'm an idiot who needs to get my shit together. And she says she sympathises with you, and hopes you have a lot of patience." Jaune threw his hands in the air. "Why am I the one being insulted?"

Why, indeed. Pyrrha sighed.

"Thanks," she told the cat, stroking its head. "I've a feeling I'm going to need it."

On the way back to Jaune's hotel, he curiously asked her who it was she liked. Pyrrha's only answer was to sigh.

Being Pyrrha is suffering.

Next Chapter: 19th January

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