The Empress' Descent

Chapter 23 - The Secret Society

It had been two weeks since the beginning of my meetups with Kazriel and the creation of the Wraiths. The Spring Gala was in a month. The people had their hands full and no one had taken note of the group of young women exchanging important documents in their social gatherings.

As of the moment, the Wraiths had accumulated ten members. And since assembling in that abandoned hall was too risky with our growing numbers, we opted to do our dealings during our tea parties, hidden in plain sight.

Of course, we didn't allow the guards and maids to linger close.

As we gossiped over the latest controversies, our hands would work their way beneath the long table laden with tarts and pies and cakes. I had taught them my technique of adding an unnoticeable layer of cloth in their pockets in case Ethan's side became suspicious and prompted an inspection.

"My, have you heard?" said one of the ladies who'd attended today's tea party. "Apparently, the condition of the capital's economy has begun to get back up."

"It is as you say," Lady Catherine said as she cast a knowing glance at me. "For the last two years, the already wealthy have monopolized the people's money, giving zero to no chance for the poor to strive upward. Then the market became stagnant, leaving no opportunities for competition."

"However," Lady Elizabeth added with an amused tone. "There have been people utilizing their resources to help Solaria reclaim her former glory."

More than half of the ladies hushed, immersing themselves into the topic.

She made it sound as though it was done so easily. As expected, there were moments of disarrays and errors in our blueprints—our bumps along the roads. It was hard to work with secrecy, especially with Ethan's influence scattered all over the palace. After all, these ladies had to personally deliver the royal decrees from Kazriel to their parents, relatives, or lovers, people of high authority and higher dignity. But what were we if not stubborn and mad ladies breaking the norm? We pushed through like weeds sprouting between cracks on concrete.

Fortunately for us, the chosen officials who received the decrees from us were smart enough to take a hint. Like us, they preferred to work in silence. Programs, implementations and projects were only made known once they were done. And since it was done, Ethan couldn't do a single thing to prevent it. There would be a time when he'd begin to wonder, but that was a problem best dealt later.

"Hmm," Lady Joan feigned thinking with much effort. "Who could these saviors be? Lady Elizabeth, you are the daughter of the Southern Duke, perhaps you might know of them."

The entire table in the pavilion was gushing with curiosity, each lady finding it more interesting to hear about these mysterious entities than concern themselves with the latest spilled tea.

At least that was how it appeared to be.

Lady Catherine upturned her palm. "Even with Elizabeth's unlimited web of connections, she probably holds no information about them. I hear they prefer to do their work very discreetly."

She made sure to emphasize the last two words.

Lady Elizabeth simply shrugged. "Oh well, I would not bother myself with them anyways. I have better use of my precious time than uncovering sneaky little rats scheming about."

Six Wraiths were present in this tea party. And they were smiling delightfully before taking sips of their tea. The same went for me.

"Ah, that is unfortunate," a court lady whined. I'd believed her to be a daughter of another prominent figure. "I would have loved to meet them. They seem to be interesting and...bold. I have been looking for ways to contact them."