"Illymoyas?"
Annan had thought it was the disgruntled third princess.
Illymoyas gathered her skirt like a human. "Olmedo sent me to protect you."
"Lord Annan?" a guard asked tentatively from outside the carriage.
"It's fine. Tell the coachman to go."
"Yes, sir."
The carriage pulled away from the banquet hall. Inside, Illymoyas held out her hand to Annan. "A hundred gold coins."
"What?"
"The payment that human woman promised."
"Oh..." Annan handed her twenty gold coins, assuming Olmedo had sent her.
"Would you like to look around High Mountain City?" Annan asked.
Illymoyas shook her head, tucked the small pile of coins into her transformed clothes, and kept looking at Annan.
"Why are you staring at me?"
"Do you..." Illymoyas paused. "Have money?"
"Outside Wilhelm, I doubt you could find many New Nobles richer than me." Annan had no idea why the Blue Dragon was asking, but he answered with some pride.
He made money at a rate everyone envied... Of course, they also had plenty to say about how fast he spent it.
All those gold coins, and instead of piling them up in a Treasure Vault to admire day and night, he spent them building houses for the poor. What a waste...
"What's wrong?"
"It's just... do humans customarily give money when they marry?"
"I don't know... Probably?"
Annan wondered why Illymoyas was acting so strangely. Then he remembered she had been following him the whole time...
Which meant she had been there when he spoke at the banquet...
Right...
The carriage, cheerful only moments ago, fell into an awkward silence.
Only after they returned to Free City through High Mountain City's Portal and parted outside the City Lord's Mansion did Annan and Illymoyas both breathe a sigh of relief.
Watching Illymoyas return to the Crystal Lair, Annan