A Dull Blade's Shine Pt. X

"Marvelous!"

"Outstanding show! Outstanding!!"

There was a crowd formed around a man and a woman- both were wearing identical, black masks and tight-fitting blouse and pants in garish colors.

"Do it once more! Encore!!" Shouted an older, but still elegantly dressed woman from the crowd to the two in the middle.

They began to silently maneuver in a helix pattern, with the man brandishing a small sword while the woman a silver buckler.

Maev and I were standing at the forefront of the crowd, us running here to try and find the origin of that womanly shrieking scream and to see if the Count and Carmilla were okay-

But that was for nothing, as we discovered the origin of the scream-

"AAAAAAAGGGGHHHHHHHHH!!!" A familiar, portly looking noble was sitting at a long table, with a rather unimpressed and beautifully dressed Carmilla sitting next to him- he held his hands up to his face in terror.

"How frightening!! Ah, dastard!!!" Did he scream, with his shrill shout sounding much like a petite womans.

He was screaming at the faux duel that the man and woman, who I could now deduce to be hired performers, were having.

"Have at you!" Did the man shout, as he lunged forward with his sword- it narrowly missed the throat of the woman.

"Take this!" Did the woman return, as she parried the man's blow with her silvery shield.

Over and over did they spar, with acrobatic flourishes with each deft blow and parry- it looked more like a dance than a fight.

Yet as everyone in the crowd onlooked happily in joy watching the performance, it was only the Count that seemed to believe it was real- he looked deathly pale as he tracked the movement of the sword narrowly missing the woman each and every time.

"I'll end it with this!" Did the man say, as he began to run at the woman- it looks like this was the final bout of the performance.

"Hyah!" He jumped into the air, as he readied her sword up high, it aimed at the woman's head.

But, the woman didn't flinch as she raised her buckler- it shone brilliantly under the ball room's chandelier light.

The sword collided with the buckler, and from the force it flew out of the man's hand.

"I have bested you!" Did the woman proclaim, as she rose her buckler high into the air victoriously.

"Bravo!!"

"Bravo!!!" Did the crowd chant, as they clapped happily at the performance's exciting end.

The two then bowed deeply once to the crowd, and then to the Count- but he didn't look all too pleased.

"S-Splendid! That will be all *ahem* for tonight, thank you two." Did he say, as he threw a strange flower at the performers feet- it looked like a red rose with multiple splitting stems.

They said nothing as they graciously picked up the flower and bowed out, disappearing into the crowd with fanfare.

Maev was facepalming next to me as she held a hand to her chest- I don't blame her for having a near heart attack earlier from that scream.

"At least Lord Saleos is safe..." I reconciled her, using this as my opportunity to escape her watchful eyes.

I left Maev to her grievances as I walked through the crowd, circling the Saleos' table- I had to find Ima, but to my surprise, I didn't see her sitting at the table with Saleos or Carmilla.

Having noticed earlier how the majority of attendees to this banquet were women, I've now noticed a new characteristic that many of them have in common- a lot of them look like Carmilla.

It's not as though they all LOOK exactly like Carmilla, but more as though, they all share some kind of characteristic that she has. Some have her hair color, other's her long ears, and a few her stern features.

Additionally- quite a few of them looked a little sour looking at who was sitting next to Saleos at the table.

"'She's' here..."

"He can't stop looking at her... this dress is an heirloom..."

"He told me he would pick me..."

Gripe after gripe, it was as if everyone here had a bone to pick with the doe eyed Carmilla caressing Saleo's arm at the table- it still threw me out of it seeing her act the way she is now.

I walked up to a lone table at the corner of the room and noticed someone that shared no resemblance to Carmilla.

It was a black-haired girl wearing a beautiful lace-white gown that opened at her back and stopped just short of her lower spine.

It took me until she spoke out to me to recognize her as Ima.

"Where were you, you're awfully late." She asked, as she took another forkful of her cake.

"They told me that this was just starting- never mind that, I have something to tell you." I took the vacant seat next to her.

I leaned in close to her as I tried to whisper in her ear, but she recoiled away in her seat.

"W-What are you doing!?" She yiped, her ears reddened at the tips.

"What's the matter? I'm trying to tell you what I've been doing!" I protested as I grabbed her bare shoulder.

She fidgeted in her seat I kept my grip on her shoulder as I informed her of what had happened today- finishing off with telling her about the mysterious woman who had nearly paralyzed me in the homestead.

"How did you escape!?" I she asked in shock.

"I didn't- she simply left because she had better things to do." I confessed.

I can't say for certain if she had stayed behind and continued to fight, if I would've survived. I couldn't decipher any of her skills names, and even with my high-level physical resistance, it only helped to weaken the effect of her skill, not nullify it.

Who knows what else she could do, and whether or not I could resist any more of her skills.

Ima rested a finger on her chin as she thought.

"You met the Oracle, and she told you that her report was finished."

"Yet the report you have from her is empty..."

"Furthermore, the farmer... he tried killing you, and when you attempted to visit him again to get your report, he was already dead..." Ima furrowed her neat brow intensely, small wrinkles formed on her smooth white forehead.

"Strange... very strange." She muttered as she twirled the fork in her hand.

"The only evidence you have of the relationship towards 'that' is the coin on you, correct?" She asked.

I nodded, as I motioned to my right pocket.

"It's as you say, with only that- we don't have enough evidence to stake any kind of definitive investigation on the townspeople." She groaned.

"What has Carmilla been doing while I've been gone? Also, why are you sitting here alone?" I asked, detracting from the Kluer issue momentarily.

"Carmilla has been entertaining the Count non-stop, with her visiting his private chamber repeatedly throughout the day."

"From what I've heard from their conversations, she has been trying to veil 'innocent' questions to try and get the Count to talk about any sort of Royalist connection- but her every attempt has been foiled by the Head maid."

"The Head maid? Lorica?" I asked, I scanned around the room trying to see if she was walking around in here.

"Yes, her- even as I pass the Count's private chambers, I often see the Head maid come and go inside with treats and the like."

"It's as if she has eyes all over the manor, allowing her to pinpoint exactly when to disrupt Carmilla from getting the Count to say anything damning."

I think back to when I first met Lorica earlier today, but even then, I didn't feel anything odd about her and her behavior.

The only thing odd I've felt so far about the manor has been the portrait of Rezabel, just thinking about that eerie painting and its hollow eyes makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up.

That, and that strange being that was hiding under Lorica's desk-

"And for me sitting here- well after I had been introduced by the Count to his guests earlier as the hero who had saved Carmilla, I was given the choice to either sit with him or have a table to myself in the ball room."

"Sitting at the same table with Carmilla would be detrimental, as in doing so-"

She abruptly stopped her explanation as she grabbed me by the collar, her face stiffened at something just ahead.

"Look- over there." She whispered, as she let go of my collar- I followed her eyes to a spot of the ballroom, where a heavy drape hung over a wall.

"What? It's just a curtain." I said, as I tried to understand what she was freaking over about.

"Not the curtain- but what's next to it." She hissed, as I truck my eyes to the right.

There was a small, semi-hidden door with two suspicious looking demons standing next to it. The drape worked to detract attention from it, but now that I've got my eyes on it, I can see that something odd was going on.

The two men were dressed much like the other men in the ball room, but rather than looking as sullied as they were- they instead had an air of danger to them.

One of the men slipped into the concealed door as the other man standing next to him stepped forward, he was using his body to block line of sight.

I averted my gaze as he looked at where Ima and I were sitting- he shifted his gaze away soon after.

"What do we do? I think they're you know 'what'." I said, as I served myself a glass of what was presumably wine from the table- it sparkled amber in the glass.

"I... am not sure, we cannot simply follow suit." She said.

"If we do, we might attract attention- especially, I." She motioned to her dove-white, lacey gown.

I sighed, as I already knew what was coming.

I'm only a manservant in this scenario, and as such, I'm dressed as inconspicuously as I can be.

"If I follow in- I wouldn't be sure of what to do if I do find what we're looking for, especially if it might make a scene." I looked over at Carmilla, she had her face in a permanent alluring smile as she rested her head on Saleo's shoulder; everything about her screamed defenseless.

I don't know the extent of Carmilla's abilities, and whether or not she could protect herself- if something were to happen to her, then it's game over.

If everyone else here dies though, it's inconsequential.

Wait- no it isn't, what am I talking about?

Guh.

"For now, simply follow them in and see what you can, avoid combat." Ima said, she had finally finished her cake; there were some crumbs around her mouth.

"If anything happens, make sure to come back and protect Carmilla- no matter what."

"And I'll keep an eye out for that dangerous woman you had mentioned as well, but other than that- Walk in the moonlight." She said as she began to walk towards the man standing before the door.

"W-What're you doing!" I asked.

"Giving you your chance."