The Mech Touch

"Gloriana may be capricious, but I don't think she's dumb." Ves stated to Gavin the next day.

Ves believed that Gloriana hadn't been entirely forthcoming in their earlier conversation. As a habitual liar himself, he recognized when someone was acting in a self-serving manner.

His girlfriend possessed another motive. Ves was sure of it. The feelings he sensed from her did not entirely match her facade.

For his part, Gavin partially agreed. "Prominent Hexers such as Gloriana are certainly aware of what they should or should not publicize. The Wodin Dynasty has an image to maintain. In their circles, I imagine that it's a big taboo to air dirty laundry on the galactic net."

"Then why did she went through with this idiotic act?"

"I think.. Gloriana doesn't see it as an unwise act." Gavin slowly guessed. "I know what you're like. You're very touchy about your secrets. Your girlfriend isn't like that. When I first watched her recording, I didn't see anything remarkable. I only brought it to your attention because the setting is rather odd."

Ves recalled what he saw. The footage only depicted a narrow shot of him standing still. His spiritual manipulation couldn't be sensed by normal people, let alone electronic recorders. William's body was fully out of sight and Gloriana censored almost all of William's screams.

Now that a day had passed since he confronted Gloriana with the footage, Ves realized that the damage wasn't as big as he imagined. At the very least, someone wouldn't be able to detect anything incriminating from the footage alone.

It was just.. Ves still found it perplexing that Gloriana saw no problem in uploading the recording. Since she sanitized the footage, she must have known that it was a sensitive moment.

"Gloriana isn't stupid." He repeated with a pensive expression. "What does she have to gain from this act?"

Was it really to solicit customers from her circle? Ves doubted it. She could have approached her friends and acquaintances in a more discreet manner.

Both of them entertained some suggestions, but neither of them came up with a compelling answer.

Ves turned to his bodyguard. "Nitaa. You're a woman, right? You've listened in on everything. Do you understand what Gloriana is after?"

The tall woman leaning against the far wall shrugged. "While I'm capable of discerning the intentions of many people, Miss Gloriana is beyond my capabilities. All I can say is that Gloriana likely holds no malice towards you. In her eyes, she saw no harm in her own actions."

Though Ves found it difficult to accept that viewpoint, his girlfriend's perspective was very different from his own.

Not only did she carry less secrets, her trust in institutions was still intact! As a result, she lacked the paranoid and suspicious mindset that Ves had developed over the past few years.

With threats such as the MTA, CFA and the Five Scrolls Compact looming over his head, Ves had become extraordinarily sensitive to secrecy!

Maybe it was a bit too unreasonable for him to expect the same degree of caution from Gloriana.

Having grown up in a largely-protected environment, she had no reason to develop the same level of paranoia as him. With no devastating secrets to hide and with the Wodin Dynasty as her backer, why would she be as touchy as him? Maybe it was him who overreacted!

"I think you're right, Nitaa." Ves nodded. "However, I still have an uncomfortable feeling about this. There must be something more behind her actions."

"I can't suggest anything further, but I think someone else may be able to shed a light on this matter." Nitaa said.

"Who?"

"Your spy associates."

"No." Ves immediately replied.

Approaching Leland was not a good idea. Flashlight followed its own agenda, and they may or may not have an interest in manipulating his relationship with Gloriana.

As for Calabast, she was not impartial either. As a Hexer and a woman with her own agenda, she would never let go of this opportunity to further her own interests!

Nitaa thought for a moment. "Then.. perhaps you might want to invite Casella Ingvar to your office. As a former noble, she's capable of thinking on the same level as Gloriana."

Both Ves and Gavin looked intrigued.

"Casella is a former scion from the Kingdom of the Three Flowers, which is just a third-rate state." Ves recalled. "I doubt she is fully able to understand Gloriana's context."

Gavin disagreed. "She's a noble, therefore she's highly trained in social interactions. Some things are common to all nobles. While nobility technically doesn't exist in the Hegemony, her status there is pretty much identical. I think it doesn't hurt to hear what Casella has to say."

After a bit of contemplation, Ves agreed with Gavin's suggestion. He called Melkor and told him to send Casella to his office.

Fifteen minutes later, Casella Ingvar stepped into the room. Her golden Avatar service uniform enhanced her dignity to a degree that made a very powerful impression.

She strode forward in a stiff gait and bowed towards Ves. "You called, Mr. Larkinson?"

"Yes." Ves blinked before shaking off his fascination for Casella. He activated his desk terminal and ran the recording that Gavin had saved. "Please watch this while I describe my situation."

He explained what happened with Gloriana while Casella watched the recording multiple times. Her frown increased as she heard his speculations.

"I think your suspicions aren't unfounded sir." She eventually spoke. "Although I haven't interacted with Miss Gloriana, a woman of her station would not make such an elementary mistake. Can you show me her Commbook page?"

"Certainly."

Once Casella started to browse Gloriana's Commbook page, she began to hum and nod.

Ves, Gavin and Nitaa watched wordlessly as Casella continued to observe Gloriana's social media interactions.

After ten minutes of browsing through numerous posts that mostly consisted of an image of Ves and Gloriana together, Casella finished forming her judgement.

"I think I understand what Miss Gloriana is aiming for." The newly-recruited Avatar said with a firm expression. "This is just my personal opinion, so please don't assume that I'm a hundred percent sure."

"I'll keep that in mind. Go on, please."

"From what I think, Miss Gloriana has a very simple agenda. She wants to make the two of you inseparable."

"I already figured that out." Ves replied dryly. "I don't mean this as a boast, but she's always been pretty obsessed with me since we first met."

Casella scrolled through Gloriana's commbook page. "Look at how much activity there is. Every day, she posts at least five different recordings and images of you and her together. Although it looks excessive, she's pursuing a very deliberate strategy. She wants her friends and family to develop a deep association of the two of you as a pair."

"You mean.. she's attempting to indoctrinate her circle into accepting our relationship?"

"That's right, sir. Her goal is to make fellow Hexers think that she is always alongside you, and that you are the only man who deserves to be by her side."

"Why?"

"Because it's difficult to build up acceptance for your pairing." Casella sounded more sure of her judgement. "High society is very meticulous about relationships. The problem with your current relationship is that there is a very wide disparity between you and your girlfriend. You're a third-rater from a quant military family. She's a Hexer from a notable Hexer dynasty. The vast gulf between you can't be bridged within a day."

"We developed a plan to bridge this gap." Ves replied. "We intended to develop a mech that is so good in their eyes that any other suitor in the Hegemony pales in comparison."

"That's a good plan, sir, but that is only one measure. Even if you succeed, not everyone will be comfortable with your relationship. Gloriana likely believes that more support is needed to get her circle to accept your right to stay by her side."

Somehow, the explanation fit. It matched his impression of Gloriana. It explained her frequent occupation with Commbook. An ambitious, hardworking mech designer like Gloriana would never waste too much time on idle activities.

"I think you're right, Casella." Gavin looked impressed. "I'm not a noble, but it sounds like something one of their kind would do. I bet that a lot of Hexers, including her own friends and family, look down on us third-raters. What would they think if a dirty space peasant suddenly rose up and smacked them in the faces by outshining their local mech designers?"

Ves tried to imagine the scenario. His face grew more and more grim. In all of his haste to improve himself, he never considered the reactions of other Hexers aside from Gloriana's mother and family.

"So her real goal is to build social acceptance for our pairing." Ves concluded. "If she just told me that, I would have played along. Why didn't she tell me that?"

"Maybe it's something she doesn't want to burden you with." Casella speculated. "She considers it her responsibility. You won't be able to help."

Ves grimaced. Of course a Hexer would think so. A 'boy' like him had little say in Hexer society.

Though Gloriana hadn't behaved like a stereotypical Hexer, that was mostly because she purposefully controlled her behavior. Having spent a lot of time with her, Ves was pretty certain that her ordinary conduct was not as friendly and accommodating as she appeared.

Instances like this revealed the depth that Gloriana wanted to hide from him. A Hexer like her was used to taking charge. That was what Ves had already glimpsed from studying her private correspondence.

"Even if what you say is true, I still find it puzzling that Gloriana thinks that there's nothing wrong with uploading her latest recording."

"It's exactly because it's a sensitive moment that Gloriana wants to share this moment." Casella easily replied. "It shows that the two of you are close at work. All the other Commbook postings mainly show the two of you together in your leisure time. That doesn't tell others whether you are getting along with her during work. Her latest recording strongly suggests that the two of you readily share your most important research with each other."

"I see."

The discussion lasted for a while before Ves finally dismissed Casella.

"Thank you for your insights. You've been very helpful. Keep up the good work and I'm sure you'll go far in the Avatars. I might summon you again from time to time to hear your thoughts."

"It's my honor to serve you, sir."

Casella bowed before turning around and leaving the office.

"What an ambitious woman." Gavin muttered.

"Why would you say so, Benny?"

"She was obviously trying to increase your opinion of her." Gavin grinned. "Not in a romantic way, I think. Casella knows you're off-limits. Instead, I think she worked hard to distinguish herself so that you would shower her with more attention. Once Melkor notices that you've become friends with her, he'll follow suit."

"Ah. Well, I don't blame her for taking advantage of the situation."

He had always considered the Ingvar siblings to be relatively indecisive about working for Ves until recently. Once they realized how much he achieved and how far he could go, they became a lot more committed.

"Well, it's fine." Ves dismissed the issue. "Ambition is not prohibited in my organization as long as it's fruitful."

Now that Casella shed a light on Gloriana's motives, Ves no longer felt as if he was in the dark.

"You should speak to your girlfriend, Ves, and soon. The longer this awkward situation persists, the more our suspense is killing us. We really don't want to see what happens if Gloriana explodes."

"I guess you're right."

Even Ves feared the worst if Gloriana was left to stew on her own.

"Where is Gloriana?" He asked.

Gavin briefly checked his data pad. "According to the Sentinels, she's currently back at the Cloud Estate."

"What is she doing?"

"She's socializing with your relatives."

Ah.