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((The Mon/Wen/Fri Double -- page 2 of 2))
"Apologies for the protracted delay," said Prince David upon seeing Hector and exchanging handshakes and smiles. The latter of his seemed noticeably strained, and the rotund man paused for a heavy sigh. "My time in Intar has not been nearly as pleasant as it was in my youth."

Hector locked gazes with David's stout bodyguard as they all walked together toward Hector's room.

The bodyguard returned a knowing nod. That man was one Vito Sebolt, and his reaper, Kerikos, floated alongside him.

Back at the Gala, Prince David had expressed some trepidation regarding his safety while serving as an ambassador to Intar. He'd even gone so far as to ask Hector to accompany him personally, which Hector would have certainly agreed to if not for all his new responsibilities as Lord of Warrenhold at the time.

So instead, Hector sought out the most powerful servant-reaper pair who were still unknown to the wider world. And that had been Vito and Kerikos here. Hector had even sparred with them personally before ultimately asking Lord Dimas to let them accompany Prince David.

This was all before the outbreak of the Second Continental War, however.

"Intar is still at peace, isn't it?" said Hector.

"Technically, yes, it is," said David. "But there is so much infighting going on right now that it is a madhouse nonetheless. And there was a time, not so long ago, when I was merely happy to not draw too much attention to our humble little nation to the south, but as time went on, I felt that I could not play the role of demure wallflower any longer."

Hector wasn't sure he understood most of that. So he said so. "What do you mean?"

The Prince released a tired chuckle. "I mean, I opened my big mouth and started speaking my mind."

Hector snorted. "Is that supposed to surprise me?"