Koyuki, the Necromancing Foxkin

CHAPTER 330: Gifts

We went back inside and I started looking for Valeria. She was having a conversation with Bridget and Florence. I approached them and reported the incident.

"That was unfortunate but stopping him was the right thing." Valeria said.

Florence did not look happy and glared at me but she did not defend Archibald either. I did wonder at times how much she had ever cared for Archibald. They had seemed somewhat close but I guess there had been no love, their betrothal had only been about politics.

I excused myself and left to rejoin my friends. We had some food and drinks and started enjoying the party. There was some music but the dancing had not started yet.

As the evening progressed it became time to hand over the gifts. Most people had brought jewellery or beauty products it seemed. Leo surprised me by gifting her a fancy dagger, otherwise nothing stood out. Then it was our turn.

While most people had their gifts wrapped in some paper, ours came in a trunk. The trunk itself was not that fancy but we had put a bow on it. Valeria watched it curiously as Skadi carried our gift towards her.

"Are you gifting her another undead?" Leo asked, as he watched. The trunk was large enough to house an Iron Beak but no undead was inside.

Valeria opened it, blinked and then retrieved a bottle. "Boom brew?"

"You need a better name." I whisper to Cassie.

"It does not explode! Except with flavour, of course. I have started brewing beer." Cassie announced.

"Oh? That is exciting. I see a lot of different bottles…" Valeria began to explore inside the trunk and you could hear the clinking of glass.

"Most of it is not made by us." Skadi explained. "You have some nice dwarven whisky here, imported directly from Thorus. Then we added a variety of ales and Cassie's personal creation. We also have a small barrel for anyone who wants to try Cassie's beer."

We had decided to use Valeria's birthday to advertise the brewery project. Helena had assured me that any event where the nobility gathered was frequently used for deals, so this was considered normal. Although brewing itself was not the most common business.

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Valeria did seem genuinely happy with the gift, as far as I could tell. There was also a general interest in trying the beer and Hatsumi began filling mugs and handing them out.

After Valeria had received her gifts it was time for the cake. Technically there was more than one cake but Valeria cut a piece out of the main one, as part of the celebration. Afterwards the servants took over and offered slices to the guests. As we enjoyed our cake the servants began to clear the centre of the ball room for the dancing. The minstrel was joined by two additional musicians to allow for a wider range of music.

Once the dancing started I mainly danced with Helena and my friends. However, I could not reasonably escape a dance with Leo but I limited it to one. He was still a bit pushy but I simply kept reminding him that I was with Helena and had no interest in anyone else. After the dance I joined Skadi, who was currently standing near the wall with a drink.

"Nobles can be exhausting." I said while she handed me a beer.

"True. I am lucky that my parents are only merchants, no one is really interested in marrying me. Although some think I would make a great concubine." Skadi stated.

"Really? Did you tell them that you are in a relationship with Cassie?" I asked.

Skadi nodded. "The sad part is, it encourages some of them. They think they can marry Cassie and get me as well. Since I offer nothing politically they are convinced that Cassie would never actually marry me."

I shook my head. "Idiots."

"On the bright side, the beer seems reasonably popular. I think we can approach Bridget about the brewery soon." Skadi said.

"Where is Cassie right now?" I asked.

"Dancing with Helena but I think they will join us soon. Bridget is also taking a break, we can invite her to join us for a drink." Skadi suggested.

Bridget was slightly tipsy and very receptive to Cassie's plan. She promised to help with finding a location and that she would talk to her father about acquiring a licence. Things were going well until a guard approached me about another disturbance.

I sighed. "I will need to check this out."

"We are coming with you." Helena announced.

"Do you think it will be another drunk?" Bridget wondered. She seemed unconcerned and mostly curious. Maybe she was hoping for some gossip as she followed us.

What we found outside was not what I had expected. It was the city guard facing my undead.

"What is going on?" I asked, as I walked closer.

"Your undead are under arrest because they assaulted a noble." The commander told me. He was not a man I had seen before and ten regular guards accompanied him.

"I believe you are vastly overestimating your authority." Kaito replied, calmly. He was at the gate with Garm. I could not see the cats right now and Hatsumi was still inside.

"Koyuki might be a student at the academy but she is a commoner. Her undeads' actions are her actions and we have the authority to arrest a commoner in this situation." The guard in charge declared.

"Was this your idea? Who authorised this?" Bridget asked.

"My lady, this is none of your business." The man replied.

"None of my business? I am Bridget Lupenia, daughter of Count Lupenia. This is my city and if you don't want to end in a cell you better show some respect!" She declared.

The guard actually hesitated before he replied: "My deepest apologies but I have a duty to arrest her. I can assure you the captain knows about this."

Garm inspected the guard and tilted his head. "I do have a question. Why do your clothes smell like death? Fresh death."

The moment I heard Garm's words I summoned my shield. "Subdue them!" I ordered my undead.