Caria Manor, on the terrace outside the queen's chambers.
The night breeze carried the lake's coolness as it stirred the hair of the sisters, Rennala and Rellana.
"So, that redheaded boy follows Horace around settling those disputes every day now?" Rennala held her wineglass, her tone playful.
"Yes." Rellana nodded, looking a little strange.
"Messmer doesn't say much, but he takes his work exceptionally seriously, and his reasoning is frighteningly clear. Horace said he was 'born for this line of work.'"
"How efficient is he?"
"Astonishingly so," Rellana had to admit.
"And... surprisingly fair, with almost no personal feelings coloring his judgments. He's just a little too rigid and doesn't know how to adapt."
Rennala chuckled. "Rigid is good. A judicial officer needs to be rigid. Still..."
She took a sip of wine, a playful gleam flashing through her eyes.
"That head of red hair really does stand out. I hear the young noble ladies have been visiting Lakeside Town rather abnormally often lately?"
A trace of helplessness crossed Rellana's face. "It's not just the ladies... even some young noblemen find all sorts of excuses to visit the judicial office. Their eyes keep drifting toward Messmer."
Whenever she thought of those looks, some bashful and some bold, and how Messmer himself looked as though he were sitting on pins and needles, she found it funny.
"The women are one thing, but why the men too..." Rellana muttered.
Rennala set down her glass and gazed at the cold, clear full moon in the night sky, her eyes deep. "Red hair, the color of flame... in the Lands Between, that hair color carries a special meaning in itself. The legend of the Sword of Night and Flame is hardly top secret. And then there's the fact that the boy follows Horace around.