The Golden Coin-Part 1

Kye was dressed up in a suave two-piece suit with an open collar design. The jacket and trousers were both black while his shirt was a deep red. All the buttons were done in gold and glistened beautifully in the light of the foyer of the Runewalker mansion. Vanessa was waiting in the foyer with him dressed in a more chic version of her servant clothing which was fit for outings. The two of them were waiting for the motorised carriage Justin Alioth would be sending to pick them up and take them to the Golden Coin.

"What are you anticipating to get out of this gathering young master?"

"At the very least, I want to maintain a good relationship with the first prince. His reputation is good and if I befriend him my chances of implicating the second prince in manipulating my brothers increase."

"I see. Then I will do my utmost to ensure you are looked at favourably."

Kye gave a small laugh and waved his hand dismissively.

"No need to try too hard Vanessa. If your regular behaviour isn't good enough for the first prince then I'm not too worried about keeping his esteem."

Vanessa's eyes widened briefly but then her face melted into a wide smile. Kye gave her a boyish smirk in response and the two gazed into each other's eyes. Their faces slowly came together as if drawn to one another but before they came close enough to do anything intimate there was a knock at the door. Flustered, the two quickly pulled away from one another and fidgeted slightly, Kye clearing his throat with Vanessa straightened out the maid uniform's skirt.

"I-I'll go get the door."

"Y-yes, please do so."

Vanessa then quickly scampered off to get the door and greet whoever was behind it while Kye fanned his flushed face and attempted to calm himself down from the embarrassment they were caught in just moments earlier. Kye quickly regained his composure as Vanessa, who was still slightly red in the cheeks, led in the butler who handed Kye his invitation to the event. He bowed with his right arm across his chest.

"Young master Kye, I have arrived to take you to the Golden Coin casino on behalf of His Highness the First Prince Justin Alioth."

"Alright, we shall get going then."

Kye followed the butler outside, with Vanessa following closely behind him, to the courtyard where a fancy motorised carriage awaited them. Unlike normal magic carriages, motorised carriages used one of the Friedhand steam engines to move the axel of the carriage forward. Not only did they allow for faster and smoother rides, but since the steam engine could be run at a fraction of the cost of magical ones, the royal family could take one of these anywhere and accrue minimal cost.

Kye climbed into the back of the carriage and Vanessa sat next to him. They strapped themselves in with the safety belts and the carriage whirred to life, letting out billows of steam from the chimney exhaust mounted above the engine block. The carriage began to move forward when the driver took his foot off the break, trundling merrily down the smooth paved roads of the capital city. Kye desperately wanted to take the carriage apart and study its inner workings but restrained himself from asking any questions to the driver and instead made mental notes about all the things he would ask Conrad later.

The trip was rather short, only taking 15 minutes from start to finish. Kye waited patiently for the butler to open his door for him. Usually, Kye would have no issues with opening his own door but there was certain etiquette one adhered to when being escorted to a gathering by another noble family. One of these things was allowing their servants to treat you as best as they could to imprint a good impression on not only you but also on other nobles that observed proceedings. The butler opened Kye's door and proffered a hand to help him down. Kye took it and gracefully stepped out of the carriage. Kye and Vanessa followed the butler to the main doors where two smartly dressed bouncers stood.

The entrance was extremely lavish. The walk up to the doors was draped in a fine red carpet while beautiful marble columns held up the roof that extended over the carpet and onto the street. On the columns were etchings of famous members of society who frequented the casino, almost as if to display the pedigree of guests the establishment was used to hosting, daring those who could not hold themselves in such esteem to walk up to the doors and try to get in. The door itself seemed to be made of solid gold, although it was likely a steel door plated in gold, shone radiantly outwards because of several lights placed to direct their light at the mirror-polished doors.

"This is young master Kye Runewalker, an invited guest to tonight's proceedings."

One of the bouncers grabbed a clipboard from the plinth that held the guest book and noted down some things before grabbing a black card and handing it to the butler.

"Make sure he has this on him at all times. Show that card to any staff member and they'll get the picture that you're not someone they should take lightly."

The butler was shocked by what the bouncer had offered Kye.

"Did his highness arrange for this?"

"No, we got the order from the owner to hand this to Kye Runewlaker if he ever showed up at our establishment. He's considered a VVIP at just about any establishment. This card is just a formal declaration of his importance to the owner or something like that."

The butler took the card and with eyes gleaming with envy, reluctantly handed the black card with Kye's name etched in gold to him. Kye held the card in his hand before pocketing it in one of his suit jacket pockets. Not wanting to hold up these important guests longer, the bouncers opened the large ornate doors to the casino for them.

"Welcome to the Golden Coin."

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To show that my dedication is back, I've created a community discord server for you to all join and harass me in.

https://.discord.gg/42AaurtH <-- Just remove the . after the // and that will take you to the new community hub I've set up. Hope to see you there!