Courting the Gale [Candice, Rafaela]

It was refreshing to be back home. Or, rather, much closer to home than she had been in the past few weeks. A whirlwind tour of the Pacific to cultivate potential avenues of business expansion had certainly dragged, though that was mostly for certain personal reasons, but it still meant that she had not attended the Diet in a while. Not that the Catnipp family were exactly a mainstay faction in Paderborn, even amongst the Swiss delegates, but it was a prime environment for local politicking and so they made the effort to make an appearance from time to time and grease the right palms. After all, the key to running a successful business empire within the HRE was to keep oneself in the Emperor's good graces.

Candice moved through the great hall with an all too practised grace, a flowing garment of brightly coloured silks clinging tightly to her shapely frame. None could say that she looked out of place at the royal court, even for one of the lowest echelons of a fallen nobility that had only recently reclaimed their blue blood once more. She certainly turned her fair number of heads, a fact that she of course revelled in as she travelled from circle to circle for innocent little conversations. To some she was received warmly, due reverence exchanged with ample pomp and ceremony, whilst others were more rigid affairs; either way, Candi was sure to pass along the proper messages to the right ears.

Only as the evening grew later did the Heiress notice a figure that she had heard of by reputation alone. The Free Imperial Knights were an elusive bunch, perhaps because of their uniquely elevated position amongst the complex hierarchy of the Holy Roman Empire, but that only made them more intriguing.

Rafaela Leone had certainly made a name for herself, as the other Knights no doubt had, and now she wielded the Emperor's word as if it were her own. It was enough to make a girl jealous, you know? What had she even done that Candice had not? Defending Italy couldn't have been that hard. Candice had absolutely no intention of showing her grievances when they were in open court, though. Instead, she approached somewhat purposefully, making her arrival as clear as could be as waited for Rafaela's current entourage to move on.

Eventually, she bid her last companions farewell and drew close, offering a respectful curtsy to the notably smaller woman, before venturing even closer.

"Reichsritter Leone, what a pleasant surprise. I assume you do not mind the company? So, to what do we owe the pleasure of your presence at Paderborn?"

It was probably for the best that part of Rafaela's induction into the Free Imperial Knights had been an exhaustive lesson on all of the nobility within the realm, seeing as she would never have had a chance of remembering even one name in the Diet otherwise. Generally speaking she knew people by nicknames, and maybe she'd remember a family's name if she interacted with all of them enough. But all of these nobles she'd never met before? That was enough to give her a headache and a half.

Oh, geez, one more was coming over. She'd seen this picture before, she'd done all her research, the name was even one she'd thought would be easy to remember because it was like her own, come on... Oh, oh!

"I don't mind at all, Lady Catnipp. Anyone that wants to get a little time with me can always come right up and get some."

Her cocky grin only seemed to underline the confidence with which she so nonchalantly greeted the noblewoman, and though she could have greeted her with a proper bow or a curtsy, that was hardly necessary given her status. Then again, she wouldn't have even done it if it had been necessary. Instead, she simply tipped her cap to the much taller woman with her hand on her hip, and despite needing to look upward to meet Candice's gaze, the sheer confidence in her eyes made it seem as though the two were practically on even footing.

"I was coming through the area for my travels, and I thought it might be nice for morale if I graced everyone at the Diet with my presence for a bit. You've been traveling recently, right? You're lucky you got to be here for it."

"How very gracious of you, there's more than one delegate here that turns up their nose when the likes of me come around."

There was a marked honesty to Candice's tone as she took the opportunity to draw herself even closer to the smaller woman until Rafaela would have to either look somewhat upwards or be staring at her chest. Not that it was particularly her intention to tower over Raf, but this way it was easier to avoid any prying ears and - quite unlike the Reichsritter - she was not at liberty to take such a blasé stance about such things yet. Her statement was in itself a subtly prying one, though, and despite her earnestness, Candice did carefully gauge how it was received.

At the mention of travel, both her own and Rafaela's, she cracked into a wry grin. Unfazed by the intense stare as she matched it with one of her own, an impressive amount of self-confidence now being exuded by the pair as they continued to scope each other out.

"Oh, I'm always travelling these days. I personally find it easier to negotiate when I can look someone in the eyes rather than through a screen, though there are also plenty worse places to visit than the Pacific islands too." She laughed lightly for a moment, before cocking her head ever so slightly to one side, "You're travelling too, though? Anywhere fun or is it 'official business'?"

"That's rough. I don't know the feeling myself, since even if someone ever did dislike me, I'd put them through the floor. But nobody could ever dislike me to begin with, so that's never been a problem."

Rafaela looked upward to meet Candice's gaze, of course, but there was such a presence to her, a defiance in her eyes, that it was as if she simply refused to be looked down on in any capacity. As far as she was concerned, the difference in their height meant nothing at all.

"Official business, like always. Of course, everywhere I go people are always glad just to have me, so it ends up being something like a vacation too. I'm actually heading to the Pacific myself soon, though for now I'm just on the way to Paris. Not that I'd ever choose to be around the French, but some things need doing."

As if to underline her distaste for the idea of being in Paris, Rafaela rolled her eyes exaggeratedly. Honestly, she'd yet to actually ever be in France, but she'd met enough French that she didn't look forward to being there. Still, a few of her lines of investigation had brought her to the streets there, so that was where she was headed.

"You've probably been through there before on business, I take it? Any suggestions on somewhere to stay that might actually be able to accommodate me right? You know, keep me from having to think about the fact that I'm in France?"

Scarcely an acknowledgement. Either a sign of extreme arrogance or ignorance, frankly Candi could work with either so that worked out well enough. She was as tenacious as the stories suggested, it was impressive for a girl from the gutters to have climbed so high and so fast. That had made Candi wonder if it was all quite as legitimate as those stories made out, but it didn't really matter where she'd come from did it? The past was useless, the future was what it was all about.

"Of course, Reichsritter, would that you knocked some of those pretentious men down a peg. But, forgive me, I'll leave the politics to the rest of them for a moment."

It would certainly be amusing, watching Rafaela floor some aged delegate - almost as much as doing it herself, but if she wanted a hitman then there were far better choices than the Emperor's right-hand girl. It was the distance from the court scene that would keep her away from it, protect some of that purity even.

"From the original City of Lights to the second coming, I assume? How refreshing. For Paris, though, I sadly cannot say I share in your displeasure. The rest of the French, perhaps, but there's a rare beauty to their capital that so few other cities can capture."

Candice spoke French as fluently as she did German, a little better if she were being honest, and had spent many a long weekend in Paris during her youth. The fashion scene demanded as such, and it was always a good place to get spotted. Still, that did not mean she had not appreciated the quieter parts of the city. There was always a different pleasure to be found away from the bright lights. What exactly the Reichsritter had to do there that predicated a trip to the Pacific was a little beyond her, but that was hardly a surprise. She was far from in the loop on official matters.

"Make for Trocadéro if you want to keep your palette clean, trust me. You'll pay a premium, though I doubt that will be an issue for one such as yourself, as that's the biggest international district. The easiest way to forget you're in France is to surround yourself with like-minded people. One of my dear friends has a holiday villa in the heart of the district, I could put you in touch if you'd like?"

"Ha! Just as well, I'm not trying to get my coat dirty roughing those sorts up."

Of course, behind all of Rafaela's bravado still lied a mind that was, at least in its own way, fairly calculating. She was, after all, an investigator, and while her formal schooling was far from praiseworthy, she could still keep up with this sort of back and forth.

"I'll have to take your word for it then, unless some of those other international folks ask me to join them out in those streets. Of course, I guess since you're offering me a little help, I can share at least some of what I'm going there for. You've got a face I can trust."

Frankly, Rafaela would never actually have shared anything seriously risky with anyone, and certainly not with one of the people schmoozing about here at the Diet. But it always seemed to make people seem awfully special if she acted like she was letting them into the loop when she told them about her work, so hey, why not let the lady have that?

"I'll be scouting around the city for some connections to the black market. You know how these things go. Illegal connections that think they can skirt the law, make some money under the table that should be going into the Emperor's coffers. I'm sure they think saving themselves a few dollars is worth keeping taxes away from public works, but we'll see how they feel about it once I get my reports filed."

There was always the secondary aspect of their connections to the Duvalier Group, of course. But that stayed hush hush.

"Of that, I make no promises. Though the internationals tend to keep to themselves unless you go out of your way to make a scene. And if you did that, they're probably the least trouble you'll be running into anyway."

Candi knew that turn of phrase all too well though, especially from those in this very room. How easy it was to feign a smile and placate someone with a hollow truth. Still, there was a small sense of pride to be gained in the knowledge that Rafaela wanted to at least placate her. She wished to appear grateful though, understanding that she was one of the few graced with this information, so she let a wry smile creep across her delicate features.

"Tracking down illicit activities from our own dear people? So you've reason to believe that these deals are actually occurring then? How scandalous. I look forward to seeing the aftermath."

For a brief moment, she did wonder if her own company was caught up in such schemes. They probably were but, hopefully, her parents were smart enough to properly cover their tracks. The real question was what had provoked this recent uptick in investigations? The Emperor himself, this preppy upjumped Knight, or someone else. Each of them only posed further questions, and, most frustratingly, it would be foolish to mention anything of the sort.

"Well, I won't go casting any blame just yet. For all I know it's just a matter of foreign powers and the like. But considering the empire is still young, I wouldn't be surprised if some people were a little bit too big for their britches, think they can stand up to the throne."

Rafaela gave a quite exaggerated shrug as she said that, her hands returning to her hips as she shook her head. She knew the Holy Roman Empire had only just formed in the wake of World War 4, but honestly she thought anyone who seriously wanted to try and destabilize things was probably an idiot. It'd be stupid to try and stand up to the Emperor when he'd defended these countries more or less with his own two hands.

"Either way, I'll figure it all out when I get there. Plenty to research, and I've got the feeling I'll need to show a few people how to listen with a knock around the head. If they don't, well, that's their problem."

It'd be a lie to say Rafaela had any issue with solving her problems through violence, but it certainly wasn't her favorite way of doing things. Not necessarily for any moral reason, it just made a bad impression on people. Didn't need to solve every problem with violence, after all.

“The Empire may still be a fledgling nation, but it is replacing old places that were overrun by demons and disorder. I’d bet these would-be troublemakers were the ones with their heads buried in the sand before the Emperor came along, ignorant to the failings of the world around them.”

Impassioned words tumbled from Candi’s lips, perhaps a little too on-the-nose for her usual liking but there was some small part of her that genuinely believed them. She’d fought to liberate these people, more intimately than most here had, but it wasn’t like she had done it for the good of all. She had the power to make the bad people suffer, so that was what she had done. The fact that C. C. Inc. had notably profited from backing the right side of the war effort was simply good business practice, and now she could also feign benevolence when times like this called for it.

“Do let me know if you need anything whilst you’re in Paris, or even further abroad, Miss Leone. I’m sure the last thing the Emperor needs is you getting in over your head, but I can try to pull a string or two to make sure you get where you need to be. It’s the least I can do for the Empire.”

She had to suppress the urge to gag at her own words, national pride was hardly her scene, but this was a means to an end. One did not earn trust without appealing to the personality of the target, and - whilst she knew little about her now - Rafaela was too close to the top of the pyramid not to be invested in the stock matter. If the girl didn’t want her help, which seemed a likely response, then at least she might remember her more favourably than the rest.

Such aggressive patriotism did little to endear anyone to Rafaela. After all, who was going to be that fiercely loyal to a nation that had only just been born? Well, maybe the people would. They were the ones who had been freed by the Emperor, after all, but Rafaela wasn't so naive as to think all these noble types would suddenly put their faith in a new regime.

Well, they'd learn.

"I doubt you'd come across anyone walking the streets of the Empire who was unhappy with the change in regime. And if you did, you could ignore them on account of them clearly being an idiot. If they liked the old regime, they can follow the rest of their demon friends right into their world."

Of course, that only applied to the people on the streets. Rafaela had grown up a simple girl, after all, surrounded by lemon farms and mountains. Not exactly the kind of place you ran into nobility, but that environment did foster a degree of egalitarianism that kept her from being particularly impressed by the trappings of nobility.

"Thanks, that's much appreciated, but I should be alright. Can't go around sharing all my secrets, after all. I've got internal security to maintain, not to mention my natural mystique."