Koyuki, the Necromancing Foxkin

CHAPTER 307: Reception

The princess finished her tea and stood up. "Feel free to use this room a bit longer. When you are ready to leave, Ignes will escort you to the reception. As for you, Christa, Ignes can show you around afterwards. I will contact your current master and will arrange the deal."

Princess Oliva left and Ignes followed her out to give us some privacy. I looked at Christa. "So, I hope this is ok for you. The deal came a bit as a surprise…"

"The princess! What is wrong with you? How can you be so casual?!?" Christa blurted out, showing a lot more emotion than she usually did.

"She did say we could be more casual in private." Helena pointed out.

"Mistress Koyuki is powerful enough to be a valuable asset." Kaito said. "The princess seems to be a smart and practical person. She wants a good relationship with Koyuki and being overly formal would have been a hindrance."

"What?" I asked, looking at Kaito.

"The princess has freed promising slaves in the past. She has done so to counter the nobles who keep sending their children to the academy. The officers in the army are to a large degree of noble birth, or talented people sponsored by some noble. The princess, or her family, has realised that they can counter that by freeing promising slaves. The moment your potential was revealed she immediately took a personal interest in you. I suspect the teachers at the academy file regular reports as well." Kaito replied.

"Kaito makes a good point." Hatsumi agreed. "The princess has treated you really well because she sees what you can become and wants you at her side."

Helena grinned. "Time to raise that army, heheheheh."

"Maybe we should have asked her about corpses…" Skadi mused.

"You are all insane…" Christa muttered.

Oh no, did I make a mistake? "You don't have to work for her, if you don't want to! I am sure we can…"

Christa interrupted me: "Of course I want to work for her! Do you know how hard it is to get a job like that? And I will even be free and get paid…"

I quickly stood up and hugged Christa.

"Thank you." She whispered.

"Oh, should we have brought a gift for the princess?" Cassie asked, suddenly.

"Um… nobody mentioned anything." I replied, while sitting back down.

"We do have those four Iron Beaks inside the carriage." Cassie pointed out.

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"Iron Beaks?" Christa asked.

"Exploding undead chicken skeletons." I explained.

Christa took a deep breath. "Please do not gift my future mistress an exploding chicken."

"I do not think a gift was expected." Kaito said.

"Oh, good." I felt relieved. "I guess we will have to go to this reception now…"

"Straighten your ears and back, get that tail under control and stop using it as a backrest, there is hair all over the back of your dress." Christa advised.

"It feels like you are not telling her this for the first time." Helena said, sounding amused.

"She has always been a bit of a rebel." Christa confirmed.

I stuck out my tongue at her but still straightened. Helena used that to peek at my back. "You do have some hairs on your dress. You should have placed your tail between us."

"Then there would be hair on your dress too." I pointed out.

"Maybe, but I like your tail, it's cuddly." Helena replied.

"The side of your dress is less visible than your back." Hatsumi said.

We finished our own tea, stood up and Hatsumi made sure I was presentable. Although I had my doubts about the amount of hair on my back. I was convinced they were mostly just teasing me. Once we left the room Ignes escorted us to the reception.

It was inside a hall with a polished hardwood floor. Silver chandeliers decorated with emeralds hang from the ceiling. Pictures had been painted on the walls themselves, as well as the ceiling. It was a magnificent room, far more elegant than anything I had seen before.

There were a few chairs and small tables near the walls and some standing tables in the centre of the room. Maids and butlers walked around offering refreshments. I had no idea what sort of gathering this reception was but it did not seem to include dancing.

The guests were all well dressed. Some people had military uniforms, often decorated with some medals, but most people wore elegant suits or dresses. As we entered the room some people glanced at us but few openly stared.

"What now?" I asked.

"As an expert in surviving nobility I can recommend claiming a table and eating snacks." Cassie suggested.

"I agree." Helena said.

While I looked for a table Helena and Cassie looked for drinks, Hatsumi accompanied them. Skadi excused herself and went to the bathroom. I found a table with exactly four chairs, and the cats immediately claimed one of them.

"You can't have your own chair." I said, looking at the cats.

Yoru looked unconvinced and used his paw to adjust his ice monocle. "Meow."

"You really need to be firmer with your undead."

I heard Leo's familiar voice from behind and sighed internally.

"That is none of your business Leo." I replied.

"You are inside the royal palace, not an academy filled with soldiers. Decorum is important." Leo insisted.

"What are you even doing here?" I asked while finally turning around. Leo was not in his uniform, instead he wore a black suit with a dark blue tie.

"I am the heir to a duchy. Of course I am here. It is quite common for the royal family to host receptions. Quite a few nobles stay at court, or visit regularly. All of the duchies have a representative at the court at all times." Leo explained.

"Sounds exhausting." I replied.

"Exhausting? Perhaps, but this is how alliances are made. Events like this are where negotiations happen." Leo said.

"So what do you want, other than to insult my undead?" I asked.

"I am criticising how you handle your subjects. Also, I was hoping to discuss the conference with you and your findings. I am hoping to work with you on future projects." Leo said.

"Leo, I am not interested." I told him, while glaring at him.

"Perhaps you should take your own advice and listen to the lady." Kaito suggested.

Leo's eyes narrowed but before he could answer my friends returned.

"Leo? Don't you have any other people you can bother?" Helena asked.

Hatsumi handed me a glass with some sparkling wine and I took a sip. Then I sat down, as did Helena and Cassie. The fourth chair was still full of cats, who now looked mockingly at Leo.

When Skadi returned she saw the situation and pulled four small bones from her pocket. "I will trade you these bones for the chair."

The cats accepted the deal and Skadi sat down.

"See, Skadi understands undead." I pointed out.

Leo turned around and walked away.