Beatrice's maid soon came with a message: the young noblewoman was feeling unwell and intended to rest for the day, attending the dinner Theus had prepared tomorrow instead.
Theus naturally agreed. He also had servants send over soap and perfume. There were naturally no conditions for bathing while sailing at sea. Though Transcendents did not sweat much, she would surely have a need to clean herself and bathe now. It was the perfect opportunity to promote the soap.
After explaining in detail how to use the soap and briefly mentioning that it was a Castel specialty, Theus had a maid deliver an exquisite gift box.
Naturally, the soap was not merely wrapped in oil paper. Those elegant boxes were essential packaging for elevating its perceived value.
After dealing with Beatrice, Theus summoned Connor.
He intended to ask about the Candlelight Society's movements.
Only a small part of his reason for personally going to the docks to receive her, and for everything that followed, had been to sell soap. His main purpose had been to face Beatrice as a noble.
Beatrice was a noble, but she was also an Investigator of the Candlelight Society. Unfortunately, the secrets on Castel truly could not withstand much investigation. Theus's best choice, then, was to thoroughly pin her to the identity of a "young noblewoman" before she had time to react.
Sure enough, Beatrice was still somewhat young. Instinctively, she followed Theus's lead and placed the shackles of convention upon herself.
In this era, it was improper for a young noblewoman to show herself in public under any circumstances.
The Empire's noble circles were a mess, but that was mostly married ladies indulging in their excesses. High society was still quite strict with unmarried young ladies.
Theus planned to continue playing this childish game of