NOVEL WEB Chapter 12 – The great banquet (Part four)
Nova keeps discretely roaming around the great hall, holding an empty glass in her hand to keep appearances as she tries to listen to the very boring conversation of the most wealthy-looking nobles she finds... Ugh, this is useless... there are just too many, they all talk about similar stuff... and she doesn't even know what she should be looking for.
The elf assistant then unfruitfully tries to find her master again, the orc long gone from the room and doing goddess-knows-what... Nova exasperatedly sighs, her sharp ears twitching in anger, deep frown on her face growing more and more as she ponders about the possibilities of what kind of trouble he must be making... You know what? Fuck it! If he is out there doing whatever the fuck he wants, like always, then she could at least stop putting so many responsibilities on her back and enjoy herself a little.
The elf sits down at the closest table she finds. "stupid idiot I hate him so much ugly fat bald disgusting beast." She irritatedly grumbles random insults under her breath as she takes pieces of delicious food and shoves them inside her mouth, then grabs a glass of red wine and carelessly drinks it down with loud gulps.
"Well, hello again, Nova." Suddenly says a well-known voice. Olivia, the royal advisor, sitting right next to the empty seat that the elf mindlessly picked. A grin appears on her face as she watches her furiously eat and drink. "Heh. What an appetite!"
"O-oh, greetings, Madam." Nova embarrassedly wipes her mouth clean, slight pinkness appearing on her upper cheeks. "Forgive my manners..."
"No need to apologize, the cooks would be delighted to know you are enjoying their food so much." The advisor covers a laugh with her palm. "And you can simply call me Olivia."
The elf starts softly smiling back. "Alright... Olivia."
"That's better." The mature woman gently nods, taking a dainty bite from her own plate of food. "Enjoying the banquet?"
"Y-yes, absolutely..." Nova politely says. "Thank you for asking."
"Huh, really? That's weird... because the only thing I've seen you do is wander across the room, eavesdropping on conversations like a little spy..." Olivia teasingly says, taking a second to drink from her cup of ice-cold water. "It was quite amusing for me to watch, but I can't really imagine it actually being an enjoyable thing to do..."
The stunned Nova looks at Olivia for a few silent moments, then wearily sighs. "I looked ridiculous, huh?"
"Quite." Olivia laughs. "But it's understandable, I can tell you are fairly new to all of this."
"Yeah..." The elf removes her squared glasses and places them over the table, rubbing her tired face. "It's pretty overwhelming, to be honest."
"You seem like a clever girl, you'll do fine." The royal advisor keeps smiling. "You remind me of myself when I was young, actually..."
"Heh, really?"
"Uh-huh! A pointy-eared version of young me, maybe. You just need some guidance..." Olivia slides her chair closer to the elf's, making her tone of voice softer as she subtly points at a rather short, grey-haired man in the distance arguing with what seems like a business partner, holding a map and pointing at different parts of it while he talks. "That man over there is my dear husband, Amadeus Nemell... He is also the leader of the merchant's guild here in the Capital... If the ambassador is looking to start building useful connections, he could be an excellent start."
"Thank you, Olivia." The elf brightly smiles. "Really."
"Oh, don't mention it. Assistants and advisors are pretty much the same thing if you think about it, we must stick together... Also, I'm pretty excited to see the relationships between Malena and Garro prosper even more, we've been allies since forever." She playfully winks one eye at Nova, returning her chair to its original place and continuing to calmly eat. "Oh, by the way. The ambassador... may I know where he is? I blinked for a second and poof! he disappeared."
Hmph. That's what she would like to know too. Probably doing his worst... Nova tries to hide her angry expression as she courteously avoids the question. "I'm afraid I don't know, Olivia. I'm sorry..."
"Hmm... Well, then maybe you can answer another question I have..." Olivia's red lips greatly curl upwards even more in an amused smile. "Is he the genius I think he is?"
"Huh...?"
"He does that hilarious impression of a stereotyped brutish orc with no kind of self-awareness, not breaking character at all. Not even once... This way he lets everyone think he is a total imbecile, that they shouldn't see him as a threat, that he could be easily swayed and manipulated... So, in their obliviousness, they end up lowering their guard around him, not bothering to cover their weak points, and that's exactly when he makes his move!" The royal advisor delightedly talks. "It's a truly amazing negotiation tactic! And it must feel so liberating to play the part of a happy-go-lucky, absolutely mindless airhead without a worry in the world..."
"I... I..." Nova dumbfoundedly looks at Olivia, jaw hanging down to the floor, one of her amber eyes nervously twitching... Impression?! IMPRESSION?! "Y-you... You think..."
"Is my theory correct? Surely he must be acting, right?" Olivia expectantly asks. "Don't worry, I won't tell anyone about the ambassador's strategy. I just want to know if I'm correct."
This has to be some kind of depraved joke. Him... a genius...? Agreeing with that theory could help excuse some of his disgusting behavior, at least with Olivia... But still, a genius? Goddess, even the thought of that seems surreal. "Y-you... yes, you are correct..."
"Ha! I knew it!" Olivia laughs, elegantly clapping her hands together in joy. "How fun!"
"Yeah... fun..." Nova annoyedly says between gritted teeth, desperate to switch the conversation topic. "Olivia, since I shared a secret from my, uh, boss... Can I ask you something about King Edward? What... what happened to him?"
"...I'm afraid I didn't quite understand your question... What do you mean, Nova?" The royal advisor keeps smiling, playing dumb.
The elf simply raises one of her thin eyebrows, looking at her in silence. Olivia deeply sighs.
"His Majesty hasn't been the same since the Queen passed away. His relationship with his daughter is also crumbling now that she reached the marriageable age and... I'm afraid he fell into a state of outright nihilism." The woman melancholically says, slowly grabbing her glass of water and gazing at the clear liquid inside it. "Still, I know someday he will go back to being the man he used to be. And I'll make sure to keep supporting him until that day comes."
"O-oh, that's... I shouldn't have asked, I'm sorry."
"No, it's obvious you would be intrigued after that awkward welcoming, it was not supposed to go like that... that's why I've been keeping his public appearances to a minimum." Olivia takes a deep breath, setting her glass over the table again and firmly looking at the elf's eyes with a serious expression. "Since I vowed to keep the ambassador's secret a secret, I also expect you to not go gossiping around about His Majesty's predicament. Do we have an agreement, Nova?"
"Of course! You can trust me, I wouldn't go around talking about something so sensitive." The elf quickly nods her head.
"That's a smart girl." The advisor regains her signature smile. "It's a relief I won't need to have you killed, assassins are very expensive these days." She giggles in a... joking manner?
"W-wha-" The elf uncomfortably stutters, before being interrupted by a hard tug on one of her ears. "Hey! What the hell?!"
"Hello!" Orok stands behind the elf, his big hand playfully wrapped around one of her pointed ears. "What are you two talking about?"
"Oh, just girly stuff, ambassador." Olivia replies while Nova frustratedly tries to free herself from the orc's grip.
"Gahahaha, bet you were talking about how cool I am!"
The royal advisor amusedly smirks. "Woah, how did you know? How embarrassing!"
The orc ambassador keeps obnoxiously laughing, opening his palm and finally releasing the elf girl, who angrily rubs her sore ear.
"Anyways, I shall not distract your assistant any longer. Bet you two have more important things to do than talk with little old me..." She gazes at Nova with complicity.
"Well, there is someone we need to meet..." Nova picks up her glasses and puts them on again, standing up from her seat. "Thank you for the talk, Olivia. I really appreciate it." She bows, gratefully smiling. The advisor smiles back with a little nod of her head.
The elf then grabs the orc's arm and hurriedly drags him some distance away. "Where were you, idiot?!" She scolds him, sternly crossing her arms as she glances up at his face.
"Oh, just having a little fun... Hey, know what? I met the princess."
"Please tell me you didn't do anything weird..."
"What? No! That kid is the one who is a weirdo. I think she has a crush on me or something, Gahaha." The orc chuckles.
Nova irritatedly grunts. "You really think... that the princess has a crush on you? Seriously? You can't be so dense..."
"I'm telling the truth! I would totally fuck her if she wasn't a little girl."
"Isn't she an adult..? Olivia said..." Nova starts talking but interrupts herself. It's better if he doesn't know that part. "Forget about it."
"Huh? I wasn't listening." He carelessly scratches his stomach, idly looking at the round ass of a noblewoman that passes next to him. Nova sighs in indignation... She has lived with him for five years, and she knows it's impossible... but... maybe...?
"Hey, are you actually acting?"
"What do you mean?"
"Your... personality. Is it an act?"
"I don't get it." Orok tilts his head to the side. "You are talking about roleplaying? Gahaha, we can do some acting later in bed if you want."
She feels like an idiot for even asking. "Ugh... Let's just go talk to this man..."
