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"Will this plan even work? Aren't the governing council suspicious of you and your motives?" Maria asked as she followed a few footsteps behind Elma. The plan had been for Maria to pose as Elma's escort while also gathering information once the meeting between delegates began.

Generally, no one paid any real attention to the escorts the ministers decided to bring and they were even hosted in another room while the council meeting was held in the council.

However, Lady Elma had confirmed that she had been a part of the royal fraction before democracy had taken hold of Imu and as a result, she had been kept under a tight lock and key situation. And this was also why the princess was to be executed.

Not because she had done something wrong (not that Maria knew), but as a future-proof plan to make sure the royal family never returned to the throne. It was such a barbaric reason and had yet gained such extensive support for itself.

"Inform the others that Lady Elma and her escort are here. I hope the meeting is ready to take place" there was a sudden shift in atmosphere around Lady Elma and it was clear for Maria to see that she was putting up a mask to deal with the other candidates.

The looks being aimed in their way were not friendly either. Everyone was looking and observing Lady Elma as if she was a wild animal who would pounce on them if they looked away. But it also helped take heat off of Maria's back. No one paid Maria any attention since Lady Elma was such a great presence.

Lady Elma stopped to face Maria, her expression twisted into a thoughtful frown before she cupped Maria's chin and leaned in to press her lips against Maria's cheek. However, unknown to everyone else, the cupped hand hid the Lady's lip and the message was passed successfully.

'Keep your partner hidden till it's time. Make sure you get the location marked before the break' Lady Elma departed with those last lines of instructions and Maria found it hard to look around. Everyone had their eyes on her now which made Maria nervous.

She needed to disappear and having her on her did not help her in this regard. Rather, it just made it difficult for Maria to be left alone and she knew she would have company as soon as Lady Elma left.

And it did happen like that. As soon as Lady Elma left, Maria felt her side flare with life. More and more people were slowly making their way toward her but no one made any open move. It looked as if they were waiting for something to happen before approaching her.

"My lady. I don't think I've had the pleasure to meet you before because surely I must have remembered such beauty as yourself. Why don't you grace me with your company today?" A fresh voice called and Maria instantly felt alarm bells ring in her head.

She knew what that fresh tone and those fancy words meant. She had come across enough of them during her time in the court to hear the false claim through a sincere sounding voice. And Maria hated how her mind cringed at the lines being uttered at her.

She might have successfully escaped the oracle's role and the courtroom but even she could not escape from such people. They existed everywhere in this world and Maria just happened to encounter them.

"I'm sorry sir. I'm not from around here so I'm afraid I don't recognize you. And Lady Elma was firm to reject any company being offered to me. I can't just refuse my lady" Maria was not sorry to pin it all on Lady Elma.

It might have been a gamble to use Lady Elma's name here since Maria still did not have a grasp of the mask she wore in the court. However, Maria had recognized a formidable force in that expression and now was counting on it to keep her away from the clutches of this opportunist.

"Oh, I see. That's too bad but I'm sure you'll learn soon enough. Here, there is the company you must keep and that you must avoid. Let's see where you end up" the voice of the man was still pleasant but now had a little strain to it.

He had thought himself high enough on the popularity list to be known instantly. Was this like one of those snubbed-up nobles who expected everyone to know their name? Maria could feel the oncoming headache coming her way as she thought more and more about it.

"Master Lucas, let it go. She's new and will learn with time. Why don't you join us for now? We would love to hear any new information you have" thankfully, Maria was saved from answering any further when a flirtatious voice called out to the young man in front of her.

A small hoard of people came to the blond man's side and one of the ladies took his arm in a flirtatious way. Another plastered herself right against the man's chest in an indecent way.

But it did the trick and successfully distracted the man from Maria. The small crowd also ventured the blond master away from Maria and toward the food section. Maria thought she saw one of the ladies give her a wink before turning their attention back to the young master.

"Be careful with him. You won't want to anger Lucas since his father is the current president of the electives. And as things are going, he might get reelected again soon. Keep up in his good books if you want to go live" someone whispered inside Maria's ear but when she turned to see, there was no one.

With Lucas gone, the attention being aimed at Maria was also reduced. No one paid any attention to her and Maria was thankful for this. She could finally start moving now and start collecting information.

This room was a big spot to collect information but nothing would be found as long as people stood around in groups. They were all too guarded to let out such information easily.

"Hey, you cannot leave this room without an escort" the guard at the front stopped Maria, and all she could do was glare at him. She knew there were Lady Elma's people in the crowd and even guards who were supposed to help her out but it did not lessen her irritation for her.

She watched a somewhat familiar face near her and instantly relaxed. One of Lady Elma's people, huh? Finally, the plan was starting to come together from their side.

But things were never that easy, were they?

(It would help a lot if you can buy privileges and read ahead. All your support in the form of GT, power stones and Privilege purchase means much to me)