He accepted the subject change, thank the stars. Not that Mercury had expected him to do otherwise. Vandrad was about as good at personal talk as she was, so it was no surprise to her that he didn’t argue moving the topic back to his brother. Regardless of what they were actively discussing, however, her mind continued to play back his words in her head. Why would he offer her something like that? Sure, they were partners and friends, and arguably the only such ones either of them had ever had before but… There was a difference between being willing to fight by one’s side or spending time with them outside of work, and… well, starting a family with them. He didn’t strike her as the type that would want to just sire a child and walk away. Mercury didn’t really know his stance on children, but his willingness to face that possibility made her feel like he probably would want to be involved not just in the lives of any potential offspring, but also in the life of the woman that was helping to raise them.
For a man that seemed disinterested in anything to do with committed relationships, he certainly didn’t seem to be very averse to the idea of what would essentially become sharing the rest of his life with her. Mercury wasn’t sure how to feel about that, nor was she sure how to handle the impending realization that her words rejecting children felt like she was… letting him down, in a sense. She couldn’t quite put her finger on it, but a part of her felt bad for not just having to put his gesture down, but to do so in a way that assured him of her staunch stance on never having kids at all. The last thing Mercury wanted to do was hurt Vandrad… but that was also the reason why she had to decline the idea. If he got involved with her like that, it wouldn’t end well for either of them. He was already in enough danger as it was just by being her friend and spending so much time with her. She couldn’t, and wouldn’t do that to him.
As nice as the idea admittedly was…
Vandrad was wholly shocked by the knowledge that his adoptive brother was once a member of the same guild the prince was in now. Mercury went further into the details she had picked up about the man, including how much he clearly disliked politics and how he’d become pretty close with at least one member that was still there. The prince was amused over their shared distaste for public attention, and then extremely curious over the knowledge of Nessa’s relationship to the man. He knew exactly who Mercury was talking about, even stating that the Wizard Saint was apparently someone that Vandrad himself even liked. However, much as she had figured, there wasn’t any easy way for Vandrad to approach the other Fairy Tail member about the subject without having to get into greater detail than he was ready to let on. He seemed pretty convinced that alerting anyone in the guild to his status as a noble with a non-allied country would cause issues. While Mercury wanted to say that it probably wouldn’t be that big of a deal, she wasn’t a member of Fairy Tail and didn’t really know their people all too well, so he would be the better judge on their reception of that kind of information.
Mercury nodded. “Well, then we’ll take the time to get there. How soon did you want to go? As far as I’m aware, it’s fairly easy to meet with them as long as we schedule an appointment. I can put in a request fairly easily. Hell, I can probably hack into their system and just put us on the books if you want. Not that I necessarily condone that option, but it might involve less upfront questions from whoever is actually putting the appointment down. Not sure how much they screen. Assuming, of course, that you’re not planning on just… showing up as a prince rather than a plain wizard. I imagine with Serilda’s own status, she’d grant an audience to visiting nobility without an appointment.”
He had options, and frankly Vandrad was probably aware of that but it didn’t hurt to voice them out loud and make sure they were both on the same page. However he wanted to approach this was fine with her. It was really up to him to decide what he thought was best. She would support and help him out no matter what he decided.
Once that was settled, Mercury shifted a bit in the spa, resettling herself in the water and enjoying the soak. “So, I also tried to do a bit of research on your doctor friend,” she told him, the tone of her voice betraying her curiosity and interest over the subject. “The things I found were interesting. She was a pretty hot commodity for a while in the science community, it seems. She was making quite the name for herself in the fields of magical engineering; creating and implementing magical artifacts and that kind of thing. I say ‘was’ because what’s interesting is that she seemed to have lost all her popularity practically overnight in recent years.”
Mercury propped her arms up on the edge of the small pool, trailing the fingertips of one hand gently along the surface of the water as she looked at Vandrad and continued to supply him with information. “She was practically at the top of the community, well on her way to becoming a lasting name in the field of science, and then nearly all mention of her stops for quite some time. There’s a few things here and there particularly about her business that she started up, but all those articles make it plain that something happened that destroyed her popularity.”
“That’s not really the weird part for me though,” Mercury said, frowning just a little with a mixture of confusion, intrigue, and perhaps even some mild frustration. “What’s weird is that I can’t find any information on what happened that cut her reputation in half so quickly and harshly. There is always a digital trail, but there is absolutely nothing concrete that I can find on the subject. The only articles that exist just confirm that something went down, but not even the slightest clue as to what. Which means that someone has gone through the very painstaking effort of removing all evidence.”
While Mercury would normally be quite aggravated at not getting what she wanted after so much work trying to dig up dirt on someone, this particular situation had her quite interested. The woman was obviously hiding something big, to the point where she was making it a challenge for even someone like Mercury to find what she was looking for. But the Xocili hadn’t exhausted all her avenues just yet. No, she was just going to have to step up her game and dig deep into her stealth training to get her hands on it. “I want to figure out what she’s hiding before I meet her and we start double teaming her in earnest. Likewise, I’ve been giving it some thought and I would also prefer to be able to observe her interactions with you in some capacity before she’s aware of me. I want to see how she behaves around you, so I have a basis of comparison for when I show up and start to stir things around a bit.”
A small, wicked grin tugged on her lips, her trademark look of mischief dancing about her eyes as she looked at the prince. Clearly, she had a plan of some kind. “What I’m thinking is… you take her out on a date. Not necessarily an official one. In fact, I think it would be better that you don’t call it a date, but rather just… let your behavior lead her on to think it is one. If she was sent to use her wiles against you like you seem to think, then it will be suspicious to her for a grumpy fart like you to suddenly want to engage in amorous activities.” Mercury winked playfully at him, then continued. “But if you let her think she’s starting to wear you down, that will probably keep her from being suspicious. We’ll bug you with some of my tech so I can overhear the conversation. While you’re doing that, however, I’ll be rifling through her office to see what kind of secrets might be buried there. What do you think?”
Mercury looked quite pleased with herself. It was a two pronged attack, one with Vandrad not only distracting Patricia but also letting her think that her attempts to woo the reclusive man over were working. Meanwhile, Mercury could tune in on the conversation remotely to observe how the woman approached and worked with Vandrad, as well as have at least a solid hour, if not longer, to break into the woman’s place of work and get her hands on all the things Patricia might be hiding at her place of business. “With any luck I’ll be able to figure out what she’s got swept under the rug, and if it’s something juicy that I shouldn’t know… well, I’m sure she’ll be quite shaken when I meet her and let that knowledge slip.” | |