My mind raced as I recalled the little I knew about Lord César. Lord Sandstrike was about Father's age. He had two children, both sons. The oldest, Lord Benicio, was the heir. Lord César, the second son, was the spare.

I didn't know much about him, since I never expected to run into him. Lord César spent most of his time in Sunheart. Even on the off chance that we ran into each other, the two of us had no reason to interact with one another, or so I thought.

According to the rumors, Lord César spent a lot of his time indulging in hedonistic pursuits. Gambling, drinking, etc. However, he never crossed the line, so he maintained a semblance of respectability.

Lord César also had a reputation as a flirt and a playboy. Unlike many young men in his position, he didn't use his status to coerce his House's servants into sleeping with him. Nor did he take advantage of ladies from House Sandstrike's vassal families. Whether this was his choice, or if his family forced him to keep his hands to himself, I didn't know.

Instead, Lord César flirted and played around with women closer to him in status. Ladies from minor noble families that didn't serve House Sandstrike, ladies from other Houses, etc. While this still made him a scumbag, he was a higher class of scumbag.

Given Lord César's reputation, it came as no surprise that he decided to speak with me. Not to sound vain, but I was more beautiful than most women. However, he showed up at the worst possible time.

With him around, my chances of luring the nearby food stall succubus into our trap had dropped to zero. Somehow, I needed to get rid of Lord César without offending him. Easier said than done.

"My lady?" Lord César said, giving me a questioning look.

His words pulled me back to the present.

"I apologize, Lord César," I said in a bashful voice. "I was so surprised by your sudden appearance that I lost my composure for a moment. Please, forgive me for the lapse." I gave him a curtsy. "I am Gabrielle Elwyn of the Elwyn family."

This was the cover story that my companions and I came up with. On the surface, the Elwyn family served House Thorne. However, they had little presence in high society. In reality, the Elwyn family were martial artists that served Clan Thorne. Anna suggested using their name.

"There's nothing to forgive, Lady Gabrielle," Lord César said.

He gave me a charming smile. Despite his somewhat plain appearance, he had a dazzling smile. If I were the woman I was pretending to be, it might've affected me. However, I wasn't, so Lord César's efforts were wasted.

"What is a beauty like you doing in a place like this?" Lord César continued.

I took a moment to appreciate the humor of this situation. Earlier, when my companions and I discussed our plan and the problems that could arise, none of us expected a scion from House Sandstrike to show up and start flirting with me. I guessed we lacked imagination.

"I'm waiting to meet up with my fiancé, Lord Cesar," I said. "He should be here at any moment."

Lord César snorted.

"He must not be much of a fiancé if he's willing to make a delicate lady such as yourself wait for him in this harsh heat." Lord César gestured to a nearby restaurant. "Why don't the two of us head there? We can enjoy the shade and get to know each other better while we wait for him to arrive."

My lips twitched. If nothing else, I had to admire Lord César's shamelessness. I just told him that I was waiting for my fiancé. Instead of backing down, he invited me to a restaurant on the pretext of waiting for said fiancé. I had no doubt that if I accepted his invitation, he would use this opportunity to worm his way into my good graces. For the sake of the plan, I needed to reject him.

"Worry not, Lord César," I said. "My fiancé will be here soon, so I won't be waiting long." I looked up at the sky and took a deep breath. "Besides, I rather enjoy the weather here."

I looked back at Lord César and found him staring at me with a dazed look in his eyes. He regained his composure a moment later.

"In that case, I shall wait here with you," Lord César said.

True to his word, he walked to my right and stood next to me.

"No, I couldn't ask that of you, Lord César," I said, putting some distance between us.

"But that's the thing," he said, giving me a playful smile. "You didn't ask. I offered."

I gave him a troubled look. Was there something wrong with this man's head? Or was he just that persistent? I thought I made it clear that I wasn't interested in him. Perhaps I needed to be more obvious.

However, before I could say anything, another man stepped out of the same opulent black carriage as Lord César. From his uniform, I guessed he was a retainer. Lord César's bodyguard, perhaps?

"My lord," the retainer said, his frustration evident. "We need to leave now. Otherwise, we'll be late."

Lord César gestured to me.

"I am assisting a lady in need," he said. "I'm sure Father will understand."

What lady in need? I was just standing here minding my own business. Stop butting in and leave. I opened my mouth to say something, but the retainer spoke up first.

"But my lord-" he started to say, but Lord César cut him off.

"Enough," he said in a firm voice. "Go back to the castle without me. Tell Father that I'll be there later."

The retainer and I both opened our mouths to say something, but Lord César spoke up before us.

"That wasn't a suggestion," he said. "Go."

With a defeated expression on his face, the retainer sighed and stepped back into the opulent black carriage. A moment later, it drove off, leaving me alone with Lord César. The opulent black carriage disappeared from sight.

No, please! Don't go! Or at least take this asshole with you!

"There," Lord César said, looking pleased with himself. "Now we won't be disturbed."

My left eye twitched.

I wanted to tell him off, but I held back. By this point, we had attracted a fair amount of attention. No one approached us, no doubt thanks to Lord César's status, but that didn't stop them from ogling.

If I started yelling at a scion of House Sandstrike, it would spread to the rest of Eastwatch in less than a day. That would cause more problems than it was worth, so I kept my temper in check.

"Lord César," I said in a polite, but stern, voice. "I thought I made myself clear, but it appears I was mistaken. I am more than capable of looking after myself. Your presence is both unnecessary and unwelcome. Please leave me alone."

Lord César blinked at me in surprise, before an amused smile spread across his face.

"I know this is only going to make things worse," he said. "But you look cute when you're angry."

It took every ounce of self control I possessed to not beat him within an inch of his life right then and there.

"I have nothing more to say to you," I said.

With that, I proceeded to ignore Lord César. If I stopped paying attention to him, maybe he'd get bored and leave of his own accord. However, to my dismay, Lord César stuck around. He kept talking, alternating between telling me about himself and praising my beauty. My lack of response deterred him not at all.

I sighed. With Lord César around, the plan of luring the succubus into a trap had failed before it even began. This meant that everything I had endured up to this point had been for nothing.

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While my appearance gave me some trouble in the past, it was never to this degree. For the first time in my life, I wished I had a plain appearance. Beauty was a superpower, but it came with some serious drawbacks.

After an hour of standing there, listening to Lord César, I decided to leave. The plan had failed at this point. There was no point in sticking around. I might as well give up and try again at another time, in another location.

The only reason why I stayed for this long was because I wanted to see if the food stall succubus would make a move despite Lord César's presence. However, they remained where they were, content to watch the drama unfolding before them. I guessed my appearance wasn't enough to tempt them.

For a moment, I thought about playing along with Lord César. While the plan to lure the succubus failed, I could still salvage this situation. If I played my cards right, I could get Lord César to invite me to Castle Sandstrike.

However, I decided against it. I promised my companions that I wouldn't be as reckless as before. Walking into Castle Sandstrike without a plan or any support, sounded like a terrible idea.

Besides, I didn't have many weapons on me. Just a dagger, some general antidotes, and a vial of mild poison. After what happened last time, I decided to take a page out of my enemies' book. Let them see how they liked being poisoned.

I acquired the poison with Marcio's help. It turned out that when the local families in Eastwatch fought dirty, they really fought dirty. The poison was potent enough to incapacitate a person, but not kill them. However, just in case, I also carried the antidote for this specific poison with me.

Just as I started to walk away, a voice called out to me.

"Gabrielle!"

At first I thought it was Lord César. However, when I looked at him, I saw him looking off into the distance with a frown on his face. I followed his gaze to find a man striding towards us.

The man had fair skin, blond hair, and blue eyes. He wore a blue outfit, in the usual Solarian style, that accentuated his muscular build. Like Lord César, he was a Second Ranked Awakened.

I didn't know this man, but for some reason his features seemed familiar. They reminded me of… I jolted, as if struck by lightning. He wasn't a man at all! He-She was Anna!

Somehow, I managed to maintain my composure as Anna, disguised as a man, walked towards me. How had she managed to pull it off? Anna was muscular, yes, but she was still feminine. Yet, at the moment, no traces of femininity remained. In fact, Anna looked quite masculine at the moment. So much so that I found it a little off-putting.

Despite that, I ran towards Anna with an excited expression on my face. I didn't know what she had planned, but I decided to go along with it for now.

"Andrew!" I shouted.

Anna grinned and opened her arms. The two of us embraced. We must've made for a somewhat comical sight because of our height difference. Despite our disguises, I was still taller than Anna.

"What are you doing here?" I whispered in her ear.

"Adapting the plan," Anna whispered back. "Let's use this as an opportunity to get into Castle Sandstrike."

"Isn't that dangerous?"

"Yes, but it's also an opportunity. I spoke with Mireya before coming here. Her husband will help us once we get inside."

Well then, that changed things. With Anna by my side, and support from Mireya's husband, entering Castle Sandstrike seemed like a less daunting prospect than before. If nothing else, this no longer counted as running off on my own to do something reckless.

Someone nearby coughed. Anna and I pulled apart to find Lord César standing nearby. He smiled at us, but it seemed dimmer than usual. It was clear that he wasn't happy.

"Oh!" I said. "Where are my manners? Lord César, this is my fiancé, Andrew." I looked at Anna. "Sweetie, this is Lord César of House Sandstrike. He was kind enough to keep me company while I waited for you." I pouted and poked Anna's arm. "I waited a whole hour. If it weren't for Lord César, I would've been bored to tears."

Lord César perked up at my praise.

"I'm sorry for making you wait, dear," Anna said, speaking a deeper voice. She gave me an apologetic look. "I received an urgent message from back home that I needed to handle. Please forgive me. I'll find a way to make it up to you." She looked at Lord César and smiled at him. "And thank you for keeping my dearest Gabrielle company, Lord César. You have my gratitude."

Lord César returned the smile with one of his own. However, it seemed less sincere than any of the smiles he gave me.

"But of course," he said. "I was only doing what courtesy dictated, Lord…?"

"Ah, where are my manners?" Anna bowed to Lord César. "I am Lord Andrew Thorne of House Thorne."

Lord César's eyes widened.

"You're a scion of House Thorne?" he asked.

Anna put on a humble expression.

"Yes, though I come from a collateral family," she said, before taking my hand in her own. "We came to Eastwatch to celebrate our engagement."

A calculating look flashed across Lord César's face. It appeared and disappeared so fast that I almost missed it.

"Is this your first time in our fair city?" he asked

Anna and I nodded.

"Then let me treat you both to dinner at Castle Sandstrike," Lord César said. "Consider it my way of congratulating you on your engagement."

I found his offer unexpected, but not surprising. While Eastwatch was a famous vacation destination, and House Sandstrike earned a lot of money from all the tourists that flocked to the city, they wielded little influence in the Solarian Empire overall. At best, they were barely a lesser House.

Befriending a scion from House Thorne, even one from a collateral family, would elevate House Sandstrike's status. In fact, this could give Lord César the opportunity to supplant his older brother as heir. Assuming he wanted to become the next head of House Sandstrike. Perhaps he didn't, considering his current lifestyle.

Not that this mattered to me. If Anna wanted to forge a connection with House Sandstrike on behalf of House Thorne, that was her business. All I cared about was getting into Castle Sandstrike and snooping around.

"I don't know," Anna said, an uncertain expression on her face. "I already promised to take my dear Gabrielle out shopping. This day was just supposed to be about us. We even left our bodyguards behind."

I shook my head.

"We can go shopping some other day," I said. "Why not take advantage of Lord César's hospitality? Besides, as a native of this city, Lord César must know all about the best places to go shopping."

"Indeed I do," Lord César said, puffing himself up. "Also, if you're interested in art, one of House Sandstrike's collateral families produces exquisite glasswork. If you want, I can give you a tour of their workshop."

I put on an excited expression and turned to Anna.

"Please, Andrew?" I asked.

Anna let out a put upon sigh.

"Very well," she said with a wry smile on her face. "I can't deny you anything."

I hugged her.

"Thank you!"

"In that case, we'll be taking advantage of your hospitality, Lord César."

"Very well. Please, follow me."

Lord César sent away his carriage earlier, and Anna walked here, so we hailed a hired carriage to bring us to Castle Sandstrike. We ended up taking one of the open air carriages.

Along the way to the castle, Lord César gave us an impromptu tour of the Eastwatch. To his credit, he did an excellent job. If he weren't a scion of House Sandstrike, he would've made for a good tour guide.

Sandstrike Castle was an imposing edifice built from white stone. Towering spires rose up from behind thick walls. In addition to this, I noticed several powerful defensive enchantments in place. It would take a Fifth Ranked Awakened, or a Tier Five monster, to break through them.

Given how peaceful the surrounding area was, it might seem odd that House Sandstrike chose to live in a fortress like this. However, I knew better.

Centuries ago, Eastwatch was similar to the Icefall region in that monsters infested the surrounding area. They emerged from the sea to prey upon the people living here. House Sandstrike, a minor noble family at the time, built Sandstrike Castle to withstand these incursions. After they pacified the area and made it safe, they turned it into a vacation destination. This was enough for them to become a House.

While many things had changed since then, House Sandstrike had earned their position through blood. Sandstrike Castle was a reminder of that. Only a fool would underestimate them.

When our hired carriage arrived at the gates of Sandstrike Castle, we found a group of retainers waiting for us. At their head stood a man who looked like an older version of Lord César. I guessed he was around my father's age. He was also a Fourth Ranked Awakened.

Lord Silvio Sandstrike, the current head of House Sandstrike.

Unlike his son, Lord Sandstrike wore a sharp looking tan outfit. Combined with his power level, it gave him an imposing air. Anna and I remained unaffected, since we had both faced far more powerful foes. However, if I were the soft and delicate lady I was pretending to be, I would've been somewhat intimidated by him.

Lord César paid the carriage driver, before stepping out and heading towards his father. Anna and I followed him. A few moments later, the three of us stopped in front of Lord Sandstrike.

"César," he said with a displeased expression on his face. "I see that you insist on testing my patience. You're almost an hour late."

Lord César bowed.

"I apologize, Father." He gestured to Anna and I. "I was busy entertaining some new friends of mine. Let me introduce you to Lord Andrew Thorne of House Thorne and his fiancée, Lady Gabrielle Elwyn of the Elwyn family." He smiled. "I invited them over for dinner."

Lord Sandstrike's eyebrows rose up. While he still appeared displeased with his son, Lord César's excuse somewhat mollified him.

"I see," Lord Sandstrike said. "Greetings, Lord Andrew and Lady Gabrielle. I am Lord Sandstrike of House Sandstrike. Welcome to our humble abode."

Anna and I greeted him in return.

"Sandstrike Castle looks both beautiful and strong, Lord Sandstrike," Anna said. "It is a wonder to behold. I'm glad my dear and I accepted Lord César's invitation. Otherwise, we would've missed out on this opportunity."

Lord Sandstrike looked pleased by the flattery.

"That means a lot coming from someone of your status, Lord Andrew." He gestured for us to enter the castle. "Please, come on in." He looked at his son. "Dinner is still a few hours away. Why don't you entertain our guests until then?"

"Of course, Father," Lord César said.

We followed Lord Sandstrike into the castle. With luck, we would discover the truth of the matter and find out what dark secrets lurked beneath the surface.

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