Earlier that morning, when everyone woke up, Lady (Y/n) presented the mines' property acts to her fellow councils members with the upmost of pride. They all rejoiced, as this Leopold Casterham has been the cause of a lot of distress amongst their meetings prior to the Shuffling. This was huge.
"Isn't this amazing Arnold?!" she looked at him.
The young man has been speechless after the collective 'what?!' that was let out when she told them the news. Catherine and Gwendoline didn't miss a chance to call him out on it. They said it was the first time they've seen him this flabbergasted before. Hearing (Y/n) calling his name snapped him out of his trance. She repeated the question.
"...Yeah."
"Be more enthusiastic will you?" Catherine gave his a light hit on the back. "This will surely create a huge domino effect back home, won't it Lady (L/n)?"
"I very much hope so!" the lady checked the time. "Oh, I have to go!"
"Already?" Gwendolyn looked at it as well.
"Yes!" she said with a bright smile. "We planned another meeting and I believe King Darling is a very early bird so he must already be there. Here." she gave the documents to Arnold. "Send them back to the castle." she winked. "Alright!" she quickly went to her room to get some documents. "You guys have a fun weekend!"

"The King's an early bird also?" she raised an eyebrow. "Wow, you two make a great pair."
"Huh?!" she looked at her with big eyes. "Me and-?! What? Why would you say that? Huh?"
"I meant as business partners."
"Oh! Oh..." she cleared her throat. "Right."
There was an awkward silence. Gwendolyn blinked twice, a bit disturbed along with the other, as they've never seen Lady (Y/n) act like this before. Catherine smirked.
"What did you think she meant?"
"Nothing! Gotta go!" and with that, she left.
The two ladies looked at each-other and giggled.

On the way to the meeting room, Lady (Y/n) came across Miss Partridge.
"Oh my! Hello Miss Partridge!" she curtsied. "What a pleasant surprise to see you again."
"Good morning my Lady." she bowed. "You seem to be in a very good mood today. It is a delight to see."
"You're right, I am!" she beamed as they began walking together. "I'm off to a very important meeting."
"Oh." she chuckled. "If you hadn't told me, I would've assumed you were off to see some very good friends of yours."
"Oh! W-Well..." she scratched her head, bashfully looking to the side. "There might be a bit of truth to that as well. What about you? Where are you off to?"
"I was actually coming back from a task given to me by his Majesty the young King."
"I see... You were successful I hope."
"It was only for a checkup, and everything is in order."

She wanted to ask more questions, but then Poppy spoke again.
"If I may ask: have you had breakfast before leaving your quarters?"
"Oh, I didn't actually." she shook her head. "I only had time to have my coffee. But you see, this meeting is-"
She stopped herself when she sensed a familiar aura coming from the sorceress. Something changed about her, the look in her eyes was different. And (Y/n) recognized it: it would seem that Miss Partridge's motherly instinct has kicked in!
"I understand that this meeting is very important to you. But starting your day on an empty stomach is simply no good my Lady!" she picked up the pace. "Follow me, quickly!"
"O-Okay!" she agreed without thinking.
She led her to the kitchens and asked her to sit at the small table. To (Y/n)'s shock, there was already someone sitting there, but what shocked her was who that person was.
"M-My King!" she bowed.

"Lady (L/n). Good morning." Wally stood up and bowed as soon as he saw her. "Hello again, Miss Partridge." he smiled at her. "Is Lady (L/n) joining me for breakfast?"
"Your perceptiveness never ceases to amaze me." she smiled back.
While (Y/n) sat across from Wally, Poppy used her magic to change her sorceress robe into a simple dress with an apron and a cute headscarf. She asked her newest customer what she wanted for breakfast and (Y/n) was hesitant at first, but she ended up ordering something quick and simple. Now that Wally had someone else at the table, he waited for her to have her food for him to continued eating.
"Were you perhaps..." he leaned closer to whisper, making her lean closer as well. "on your way to the meeting when you've stumbled upon Miss Partridge."
"Y-" she frowned. "Yes, I was. Were you?"
He nodded. From the nonchalant look on his face, he seemed accustomed to this happening. She contained a laugh.
"I've always suspected her to have some kind of sixth sense." he said.
"Using magic gives you a sixth sense?"
"Only to recognize other magic users. I've never seen one for breakfast-skippers..."

She contained another laugh, pursuing her lips and closing her eyes. Wally wondered if something was wrong. She spoke before he could ask.
"You skip breakfast, your Highness?"
"I don't."
"A single apple does not make a proper meal, young King." Miss Partridge said, her back to them as she cooked.
"Uh-ho." Wally said as him and (Y/n) looked at each-other with big eyes, like two children getting caught by their parents.
"I've told you many times." she added.
"What if I eat multiple apples?"
"Every meal should be well balanced, my King."
"...Apples and oranges."
"Young King." she looked back at him with a hand on her hips. "What would your mother say?"
He thought about that for a second.
"That I'm the world's most special boy." he smiled.

(Y/n) couldn't help but let out an 'awww'. That reaction made Wally glance away with a quiet chuckle. Poppy sighed and went back to cooking.
"Oh but there are so many things to do, Miss Partridge!" (Y/n) said. "One must start working right away!"
"I agree." Wally nodded. "That way, you have the rest of the day to relax."
'Oh, if only.' she smiled.
"I understand that." Poppy said. "But one's own health must be priority."
(Y/n) looked over at him. He looked as dashingly perfect as a painting, ever since the first time she saw him.
"I see no problem here."
"Oh it never seems that way at first. But do trust this old lady bird here," she gestured towards herself. "in a few years, those health problems will hit you like a ton of bricks."
Wally rolled his eyes. He's heard this many times.
"You have health problems Miss Partridge?" she furrowed her eyebrows. "Ow, you should rest then."
"Don't think I don't know what you're doing, my Lady." she pointed at her with a wooden spoon with a smirk. "I already started cooking, there is no stopping me now!"
(Y/n) laughed and apologized.

"I'm curious, my King." she adjusted her seat to face him. "What kind of task have you given Miss Partridge so early in the morning?"
He glanced at the royal sorceress for a second before looking back at her with a smile.
"I asked her to check the shield spell around the castle."
"There's a shield spell around the castle?" she blinked twice, surprised. "The entire castle?"
"Why yes, doesn't yours have a security system?" he raised an eyebrow.
"We do, of course. But ours is widely different. Wouldn't a spell this big requiere a lot of magic?"
"It's for emergencies only."
"There's an emergency?!"
"No!" Poppy quickly knocked on a wooden cuboard, making (Y/n) do the same on the table which in turn made Wally do the same. "Goodness, it is in case of an emergancy."
"Oh I see. Good." she nodded, relieved.

"With the Shuffling, the most important people in the world all gathered in one place, one can never be too careful."
"Understandable yes... But my question still stands, is such a thing really posible?"
"It would take more than one mage to activate it, for sure." she nodded to herself. "And, if not regularly charged, it would only be up for a limited amount of time."
"...Magic is a lot more complicated than I though. You would think it would make things easier."
"No, it does." Wall smiled. "It's just tricky sometimes."
Just then, Miss Partridge served Lady (Y/n) her breakfast. She made what she ordered but also added a few more things to make it more balanced.
"Thank you very much, Miss Pastridge." (Y/n) bowed her head. "I believe this is the second time you've served me food. I'm not much of a cook, so I don't know how to make it up to you." she chuckled with an apologetic look.
"Make it up to me? My Lady, cooking brings me nothing but joy. If anything, I thank you for this opportunity." she bowed her head as well.
"Oh, well in that case: you're welcome." she smiled.

"Bon apétit, Lady (L/n)." Wally said before the two of them began eating.
(Y/n) had no idea what he just said, but she could figure it out using context clues. So she said the same saying but in the old Spades language. Hearing it made Miss Partridge look at her with a shocked expression.
"Pardon me, my Lady?"
"I'm assuming she just said it back." Wally said.
"Indeed, I did." she nodded.
Poppy discreetly took a deep breath, she was taken aback for a moment there.
"I'm curious," Wally spoke again. "you've spoken that language many times before. Are you fluent?"
"Of course." she said like it was obvious. "A vast majority of people in the Spades Kingdom is bilingual. For our oldest people, it is their first language."
'Although the newest generation is reluctant to learn it...'

"How fascinating..." Poppy said.
That made (Y/n) smile.
"What about the old Hearts language? Is it not used at all anymore?" she asked.
"For magic spells sure, but every book has been translated. Only magic users and linguistics study it these days."
"Oh... Dare I say, that's a bit sad." she looked at her. "Things like this shouldn't be lost."
"It isn't lost at all." Wall said, making her face him again. "If our people want to learn this dead language, they certainly can."
"Still, traditions shouldn't be forgotten."
"Just because traditions aren't applied anymore doesn't mean their roots are forgotten. That way, we can focus on what's ahead."
"Do you remember your roots?"
He looked up from his food and at her.
"...Everyday."

That made her smile and she went back to her food. At some point, she dropped her napkin and bent down to take it, instinctively, Wally put his hand over the corner of the table in case she bumps her head on it. Poppy saw that and remembered a much younger him – a prince at the time – being sulky about those lessons on being a gentleman to a lady.
"What if I don't like her?" he said, swinging his feet in irritation, as the chair he was sitting on was too big for him.
"It doesn't matter." his mother, Queen Ambrosia, gave him a stern look. "You must be a gentleman to every guest that enters this home."
"But what if they're from-"
"No matter what." she pressed. "Guests are guests and you must be a good host. And besides..." she smiled and nudged him. "ladies love a gentleman." she winked.
"But I don't care."
"You will."
"No!"

"I didn't care about gentlemen either... Until I met your father." she leaned in. "He was soooo romantic, I wanted to kiss him right away!"
"Eeeew! Mama!" he pushed her face away, sticking his tongue out. "I don't wanna hear it!"
She laughed and picked him up.
"And we danced and danced the night away!" she spun around with her son in her arms. "And we kissed under the moonlight!"
"I'm not listening!" he covered his ears.
While this was happening, Poppy couldn't help but laugh, seeing her dear friend teasing her son. Who kept going about how he'll never be a gentleman. It all felt so long ago now, probably because it was. And now here was that young boy, a King, making sure a nice lady doesn't hurt herself during breakfast. He quickly retrieved his hand when she sat back up, so that she wouldn't notice what he did. Poppy smiled softly.

After breakfast, (Y/n) and Wally both gave their compliments to Poppy and wished her a good day. Then the two of them went to the meeting room where they were soon joined by Frank, Julie, then Barnaby. The five of them continued their meeting from yesterday. At some point, they spoke of the possibility for a free trade agreement between their four kingdoms, which got (Y/n)'s heart pumping but she kept her composure (not until such a thing is written and signed). But before they could even start with a draft, they needed to review the treaty the late King of Spades has been forced to sign after the Eclipse war – according to Lady (Y/n), to which the King of Hearts was quick to say 'allegedly' – to see if the terms listed in it would be a problem for international tradings. There was one particular one that (Y/n) wanted to address.
"It says here that we must surrender any warships to the Hearts Kingdom." she said. "Sadly, during the war, the late King has converted all of his commercial ships into warships, so our port and all of its related businesses crumbled and it has been abandoned ever since."
"You want the boats back?" Julie asked.
"It would be the easiest option."
"Sadly, there's nothing we can do about that." Frank shook his head. "These ships haven't been under government properties in years."
"They were all sold, and the money was given to cover the expenses of the damages left by the war." Wally explained.
(Y/n) pursued her lips.

"Can't you buy them back?" Frank asked.
"Yeah! With all the money I'll give you!" Julie beamed.
"Your Highness, I told you I'd accept the money after the Shuffling." (Y/n) said, then thought out loud for a moment. "There's no point in having boats if we don't have a port. So we must work on this restoration project first-"
"I know a couple of people who could help with that." Wally smiled.
"Oh!" she was taken aback. "We were planning on taking care of this ourselves-"
"Nonsens!" Frank frowned. "This isn't just a restoration project, this is about preserving a historical place! I remember hearing that the port of Spades was the most frequented one in the land, in its prime!"
"That's true, it was!" she nodded.
"No offense to anyone, but when I'm reminded of the state it is in right now, it's breaking my heart."
She chuckled.
"I'm happy I'm not the only one then, your Highness." she smiled and bowed her head to the three of them. "I would happily accept your help."
"Very well." Wally smiled then asked Barnaby to go fetch some of these people.

After a while, he came back with two men and their apprentice. (Y/n) stood up and curtsied while the three royals stayed put, Julie even told her in a whisper that there was no need for her to do that (the lady said she understood but shall continue to do so). The men gave her a weird look, wondering what the Lady of Spades was doing here (as only upperclass citizens, they weren't up to date with the gossip).
"I have a very important assignment for your company." Wally said. "We ask that you go to the Spades Kingdom and help restore their port. Of course all of the living costs will be paid by the Hearts Kingdom and any material will be provided by the Spades Kingdom. As agreed." he looked at (Y/n) for confirmation.
She nodded, confirming.
"Your offer is very generous, your Highness..." one of the men said. "Um, is this a renovation, or a restoration?"
"Restoration." (Y/n) and the three royals said at the same time.
"Um...It will take a long time."
"As I said, we'll cover the living expenses." Wally said.
"We'll make sure you're comfortable." (Y/n) added with a smile.
It took a bit of convincing, but they eventually agreed. Not like they couldn't, when the assignment came from their King.

"Amazing!" (Y/n) beamed, her fists tight so as to not shake her hands too much. "Now we can focus on getting the boats back!"
"The boats back? The Spades boats?" the other man asked.
"Yes!" she nodded. "We'll find them."
"You know about boats?" he raised an eyebrow.
"Um..." she frowned "I know about our boats."
"Do you even know how many-"
"One carrack, three barques, two schooners, one fluyt and four moderately sized ketches. Do you want their names too?"
"N-No. No thank you. We will be on our way now." the two men bowed.
"Excuse me." the apprentice stepped forward. "May I ask for the name of the carrack ship?"
"The Reaper."
"The Reaper?!" Julie exclaimed. "That's one spooky name!"
"No," she leaned towards her and spoke more quietly. "it's from 'you reap what you sow'. You know the one?"
"Ooooh yepyepyepyepyepyep." she nodded a bunch of times.

Meanwhile, the apprentice thought for a bit.
"Was it four-masted?"
(Y/n)'s eyes widened.
"Yes...?"
"Was it make from oak?"
"Made from oak wood, a statue of a mermaid on the front and sea serpents carved into the railings."
The apprentice's eyes widened in recognition, which made Lady (Y/n) squeal, which made Queen Julie squeal much louder while Frank had a look of shock on his face and Wally lightly clapped.
"My grandfather passed me that boat when he passed away."
"Oh! Oh." (Y/n) shook her hands and cleared her throat to calm herself down. "May he rest in peace."
The young man nodded as a thank you.

"That ship is your personal property, young man, she is yours to do whatever you like." Wally said. "But we simply must ask you: would you be willing to part with this ship for her to go back to her country of origin?"
"I...Even if I wanted to, my King, I couldn't. You see, I sold that ship."
"Huh?!" (Y/n) and the three royals exclaimed.
"Times were tough you see, s-so I gave it away to the auction house in the nearby city."
(Y/n) let out a sad long sigh, her shoulders dropping.
"When was this?" Wally asked.
"Five days ago, your Highness."
"Very well." Frank exhaled. "Thank you for your time gentlemen, you may leave now."
They waited for them to leave before discussing this further.

"Well, there's not a lot left for us to do." Wally stood up. "Let's go to the auction house."
"What?!" (Y/n) exclaimed.
"We're going to the city?!" Julie lit up as she hoped out of her chair. "Oh Frank this will be the perfect opportunity to go shopping!"
"How do we know it's still available?"
"Because they hold auctions once every weekend. So today is auction day." he smiled.
"Oh wow! What a fortunate coincidence!"
"We shall buy your boat back."
"And it's the carrack one too!" Frank exclaimed. "This will be a wonderful start!"
"Oh my gosh oh my gosh oh my gosh." Julie jumped up and down. "Are we going in disguises?"
"For the trip there at least."
"(Y/n)!" she grabbed her shoulder. "You're coming with me! In fact, no, you're all joining me on this!"
"On what?" (Y/n) asked, worried.
"A dress-up montage." she slowly nodded with a smile.
"A what?"

After a short trip in a small discreet carriage, the four of them went to the city. With soldiers looking over the area, they made their way through the busy streets. Being magic users, Wally and Julie could easily just alter their appearance. Frank and (Y/n) however had to wear capes with hoods to hide their identity.
"Why should I hide my face too?" she asked. "No one here knows who I am."
"That way, Frank doesn't get lonely of course!" Julie smiled.
"Don't use my name!" said man harshly whispered. "And I'm not feeling lonely, it would just be seen as strange that, in a group of four, only one person is hiding their face."
"...I'm pretty certain that anyone who hides their face is seen as strange." (Y/n) said.
That made Julie giggle as Frank rolled his eyes. Once they've entered the auction house, in the more upperclass part of the city, they've took off their disguises and the staff there immediately changed their attitude towards them, thinking they were 'regular people' at first. They were given a catalogue and a number each, then they went to take their seat in the main auction room.

"We should make this a game!" Julie said. "Let's all buy one item each. Just one!"
"Sure." Wally said as him and the other two began flipping through the catalogue of items.
"Nononono no. No no!" she snatched them all from their hands. "It's more fun when you don't know what you'll get!"
"Well I know what I'll get." (Y/n) said. "I'll get the carrack ship."
"Oh darn it!" she slapped her own forehead.
"But I would've participated even if I didn't know!" she quickly said. "I've never been to an auction before, this is really pretty." she looked around.
'Everyone looks so fancy!'
"It's my first auction too!" Julie beamed. "I'm so glad this is both our first time!"
"I've organized auctions for charity, but I've never participated in any." Wally taped his lap in anticipation.
"I've been to a few, sometimes they sell rare specimens of insects." Frank said. "And I would buy one, if they had any right now, if I could just check..."
He tried reaching for the catalogues but Julie held them out of his reach, which resulted in a friendly squabble. After that, the auction started. The first item was presented and Julie raised her number plate right away, her three friends looked at her in shock.

"You're bidding already?" (Y/n) asked.
"Yes! We have to start at some point."
"On the very first item?" Frank raised an eyebrow.
"When you cut a piece of roast meat, it's better to eat it warm, isn't it?" she said, not looking away.
"I don't believe this is comparable..." (Y/n) looked at the item presented.
An old carriage from the Kingdom of Diamonds, dating back from the reign of Frank's mother, so...very much outdated. And it did not look in the best of conditions.
"It's a carriage! I'm buying it!" she raised her number plate again.
"Two thousands!" the auctioneer pointed at her. "Two thousands, can I get two thousands one hundred?"
Julie raised her number plate.
"Two thousand one hundred! Thank you ma'am."
"And now you're bidding over yourself!" Frank harshly whispered.
"Yeah! Just to be sure." she raised her number plate again. "This is fun!"

"Going once...Going twice..." after a few more bids, the auctioneed started to count.
"Give it to me!"
He finally hit his gavel on the podium.
"Going to number 73 for five thousand gold pieces!"
Julie let out a victory squeal and raised her fists in the air as the other attendees clapped.
"You actually bought it?!" Frank looked at her with big eyes while Wally giggled.
"Yes! I'm the first one! Yippee!"
"Look at the back of it." (Y/n) whispered.
They looked over at the carriage that was now being rolled away. Julie and (Y/n) wheezed when they saw that the back side – that wasn't shown to the audience during the bidding process – was even more busted. Frank sighed and shook his head. More items went by, but the other three of the group haven't bid for anything just yet, despite Julie's encouragements. They actually had to prevent her from buying any more.

"This man is always bidding, but always taps out eventually." (Y/n) whispered to them, discreetly pointing at a man sitting towards the front row. "I feel bad for him..."
"No need to be, he might be a paid bidder." Frank said.
"A paid bidder?" she tilted her head.
"A bidder that's paid to pay?" Wally tilted his head as well.
"Not to pay." Frank leaned a bit closer. "Sometimes, auction houses will place one of their own employees within the audience just so they could raise the price."
"Really?" (Y/n) blinked twice. "So they have no intension on actually buying?"
He nodded. She pondered over this as a new item was presented. At some point, she raised her number plate.
"Two hundred and fifty!" the auctioneer pointed at her.
"I bid!" she looked at her friends, covering her excited smile.
Wally puffed a chuckle as Julie congratulated her, sharing her enthusiasm. She was quickly outbid and the auction went on. Wally has been relaxed this entire time, but when a painting from a famous artist was presented, he suddenly sat up straight with a twinkle in his eyes. To (Y/n), it was as if a switch had been flipped in his head. Each time someone would outbid him, he would raise his number plates right away. At some point, he simply kept his number up, frequently waving his hand to remind the auctioneer he was still here.

"Wow Wally, you're being so intense right now." Julie giggled.
"I don't have any of his art at home."
'He must really like art.' (Y/n) smiled.
"Going once... Going twice... Sold! To number 17 for one million seven hundred thousand gold pieces!"
She has never seen the king this happy before, she couldn't help but smile as well. When the item was taken away, Wally stopped the staff and took the painting for himself.
"I'll send the money this afternoon."
"That...That isn't how it works sir. You're supposed to come back another day with the money, and-"
"One million, seven hundred thousand gold pieces. This afternoon."
"...Very well sir. Thank you."

Looking at him from afar, (Y/n) chuckled.
"Just like Julie, he was being too bid-happy." Frank shook his head. "We have to be more careful (Y/n)."
"I'll do my best."
"This is an auction. We must keep our head straight."
"Right."
As the two of them put on their serious face, Wally came back with the painting. He set it on his lap and admired it as he happily tapped his feet on the floor. (Y/n) contained a chuckle.
"Wally, please put that down." Frank said. "It's blocking our view."
"It is a lot larger than I thought it would be." (Y/n) said, as all four of them had the painting resting on their lap (it was one meter wide and two meters long).
"Next time, we'll sit in the front row." Julie said, unbothered.
"Also, my King... My legs hurt from the weight."
"Ah. I apologize." Wally quickly lifted the painting as if it was as light as a feather and went to give it to the guards that came with them, instructing them to send it to the castle at once.

"And now, for the next item." the auctioneer spoke. "This next item is a real historical artefact. Originating from the Spades Kingdom."
(Y/n) gasped. Julie and Frank pointed at her as if to say 'that's for you!'.
"A former commercial ship turned into a warship during the Eclipse. This beauty is a four-masted carrack boat, carved from the finest of oak and is in excellent conditions!" he gestured to a easel, showcasing a sketch of the boat, of which (Y/n) cared little about. "Of course, this sketch isn't the item. The ship is in our warehouse by the port. So, someone get me started. How about, let's say...one hundred gold pieces."
This struck a cord for Lady (Y/n). She raised her number plate.
"A hundred thousand!"
There were gasps in the audience. The three royals looked at her with big eyes, none of them expected that from her.
"One hundred thousand gold pieces for number 39! Someone really wants that boat!"
"Wow, (Y/n)!" Julie exclaimed, impressed.
"(Y/n), what did we say?" Frank whispered.
"A hundred gold pieces, how dare you?" she ignored them as she mumbled under her breath, clicking her tongue with a deep frown.
Of course, the paid bidders raised the stakes a bit, but what made this difficult were the real ship collectors in the room. Eventually, the price had raised to almost a million. Now (Y/n) was getting nervous.

'One million gold pieces is a lot for us...' she clenched her fists while the collectors were outbidding each-other. 'It would take a terrible toll on our budget. Frank was right...I may have been too bid-happy.'
"Remember." Julie whispered to her. "I could get you the money right now if that helps."
(Y/n) pursued her lips.
"Nine hundred ninety-nine thousand. Going once... Going twice-"
As the auctioneer counted, she hesitated to raise her hand. She was already making up a list of alternative options in her head. Just then, a hand gently grabbed hers and raised her number plate for her.
"Two million."
Gasps and cried of surprise echoed throughout the room, everyone looked over to Wally.
"M-My King!" she looked at him, shocked.
"Consider this my contribution." he smiled. "Let's combine our funds to buy this boat."
Her eyes became glassy, as a wave of feelings hit her. Too shocked to say anything however, she just looked back at the auctioneer.

"Going once... Going twice..." he hit his gavel. "Sold to number 39 for two million gold pieces! Now the most expensive item of this auction today!"
The audience clapped. Lady (Y/n) covered her mouth and quickly went to the staff to get the property act and the provenance document confirming the legitimacy of the ship. Once back in her seat, she held them close to her chest.
"Could we make a detour to the warehouse after this?" she asked.
"Of course." Wally smiled.
"Obviously!" Julie added. "I wanna see that ship up close, I was so disappointed that they didn't bring it out like they did with my carriage."
"That is simply impossible Julie." Frank said.
"Sure it isn't."
"Then pray tell, how could they have fit a carrack ship into this room? Do you even know how big these are?"

While their conversation and the auction continued, (Y/n) looked down.
"My King." she whispered to him, making him lean closer to her. "This is one of multiple times you've helped me. I'm afraid I don't know if your investments in us will bear much fruits." she gave him an apologetic look.
A short moment passed before he gave a response.
"Lady (L/n)," he said. "my goal is to make the Land of the Four Kingdoms a place of prosperity and stability. My dear friends feel the same way, and I know you feel the same way too. It all starts with us helping each-other."
She just looked at him, taking in his words. Her lack of response didn't bother him one bit, and he just looked at her as well. Julie slowly leaned forward to look at them both, for she was sitting besides (Y/n) who was sitting between her and Wally. She squinted her eyes really hard before leaning back, facing forward again. The auction went on smoothly, but as time passed. (Y/n), Wally and Julie glanced more and more at Frank, still hasn't bought anything.

"Frank, come on!" Julie nudged him. "You all have our thing, you have to buy something too!"
"I will. Eventually."
"You haven't even bid once." Wally said.
"Trust me my patience will be rewarded."
Still, he hasn't budged. Even when he was actually interested in the item. Like a beautiful custom made suit made by a famous designer.
"Come one Frank, buy it." Julie nudged him again.
"It's beautiful, you like the color, go on and bid." (Y/n) added.
"But it's not in my budget."
"You have a budget?" she tilted her head.
"One must always give themselves a limit when going to an auction." he glanced at both Wally and (Y/n).

Said lady scratched her head, a bit embarrassed. While the biddings were still going, Julie used her magic to write Frank's number on the back of her number plate and raised it.
"Five hundred thousand!"
"Did you just bid on that?" Frank looked at her.
"With your number!" (Y/n) laughed.
"Julie!"
Said woman cackled and his other two friends laughed. He was outbid and the suit was sold.
"Frank, I swear to you." (Y/n) said, growing tired for this auction has been going on for so long. "If you don't buy something..."
"There will be plenty more opportunities." he waved a hand up and down.
"Ladies and gentlemen, we are now coming to our last item!" their jaws dropped. "Our last item!"
Julie and (Y/n) wheezed and laughed. (Y/n) covered her face and hunched over to hide her laughter while Julie slapped her back repeatedly and Wally giggled. The last item was presented and the three of them went through another laughing fit. It was a giant carpet, even bigger than Wally's new painting, with a really strange pattern on it, some would say ugly but it was described as 'new age art'. (Y/n) glanced at Frank then quickly told Julie to look at his face. She did and wheezed again. He was flabbergasted.

"It's a lovely color." Wally said.
"I don't want it." he shook his head.
"You have to buy it." Julie said.
"I don't want it though. It won't match the feng chui."
"You've got no choice though." (Y/n) said, feeling bad for him. "This is the last one, you have to buy it now."
Frank lifted a defeated hand and he eventually bought it.
"Hurray!" Julie clapped, along with the other two and the rest of the room.
"Worth every coin." Wally said.
"Congratulations Frank." (Y/n) patted his shoulder.
"I'm not taking that thing back." he said and addressed one of the guards. "Have my people send it to the castle and do not let my mother see it!"
"This was fun guys!" Julie smiled as they prepared to leave. "We should do this again sometimes!"
"Only if we get to look at the catalogue!" he immediately exclaimed.
His three friends laughed.

After that, group friendship-business went to the warehouse by the port. The carrack boat was of course the biggest thing in there and Frank let out an impressed 'wow' when he saw it up close.
"This is such a cool ship!" Julie ran around it.
"A shame it's been tampered with during the war." Wally shook his head.
He looked over to Lady (Y/n) and noticed the sad look in her eyes, despite her face not changing much. She kept her eyes on the mermaid statue at the front of the ship. Before a beautiful human-like top half was now a skeleton made of dark wood. The sea serpents look a lot more demonic as well and the ship has been painted in black instead of the sophisticated marine blue. She said nothing on the matter but she knew that these changes weren't made during the war. There were no records of such things, the late King only provided weapons to the ships before sending them out to battle. So this makeover must have been made after it was sold, probably to fit the vision of its previous owner. Maybe a warship from the Spades Kingdom wouldn't have sold as well if it looked like a regular ship, if it didn't look like a 'warship from the Spades Kingdom'. The fact that they were proven right simply broke her heart. Looking at what used to be such a majestically elegant boat... It was like looking at an old lion that, before full of pride in its youth, had been sold to a circus and now could barely meow. So thin, so slow...

"With the Eclipse treaty still valid to this day," Wally spoke, making her look at him. "this ship still cannot go back to the Spades Kingdom. So," he smiled. "we have to work on a treaty that invalidates it. Perhaps even make new rules that benefits everyone." he smiled softened, seeing her glassy eyes. "Things will get better."
She pursued her lips and nodded, blinking rapidly as she faced the ship again and took a deep breath. Wally glanced down at her hand and unknowingly opened and closed his.
"Thank you, my King."
"Anytime, my Lady."

After this detour, the four of them went shopping, now (Y/n) could take a really good look around. She was in the middle of one of the biggest cities in the Kingdom of Hearts. She was simply mesmerized, everything was so modern! From the architecture to the clothes people were wearing, down to the public trashcans. She took a lot of notes in her head.
Julie went straight to a stationary store and looked for a journal with Frank's help.
"Ooo! How about this one!" she pulled a thick grimoire from one of the shelves.
"I don't think these are appropriate, Julie. And it's a little too cumbersome."
"It's as light as a feather!"
"It will still take a lot of space though."
"What will you write in it, your Hi- um, Julie- Uuuh Ah? Julia?" (Y/n) asked, glancing around after her little slip up, hoping no one heard her.
Julie chuckled, happy that being undercover in public forced her to get on a first-name basis with them. Although in her mind, she was simply more comfortable being around them by now.

"I'll write names!"
"Oh. I thought you already had a-"
"I'll write more names!"
"Ooooh I see." she nodded.
"In that case, maybe something small?" Wally suggested. "Most names are just one word, so you could just write one name per page. Like in this one maybe." he picked up a tiny notepad.
"Ah! That's true!" Frank pointed. "Notepads are easy to carry and quick to open, it's perfect for when you have an idea and you quickly want to write it down!"
'Huh. Maybe I should get one...' (Y/n) thought, but then shook her head. 'Actually, I think I've spent enough money for today... The whole month.'

And so, this short shopping session consisted of Frank advising Julie as she rushed ahead from shelf to shelf. Wally was looking at any book with pretty patterns on the cover, running his hand through it to memorize and paint it later on, and (Y/n) went to the shop owner to investigate.
"So how does your shipment plan works exactly? Do you deliver internationally?"
"Why do you ask? Are you looking to start a business of your own?"
"Uh, yes."
"What kind of business?"
"Something...of a much larger scale..."
In the end however, she didn't realize how much fun she had until they all came back to the castle. They went about their business and she realized while passing by a mirror that she was still smiling. She chuckled.
"All of this happened in the spam of a morning." she said to herself and sighed.

Later this afternoon, Lady Starlet requested the presence of Lady (Y/n) for the rehearsals. She went to the stage that had finished being built. Seeing everyone work so hard on this production was really inspiring for her.
"I am a bit disappointed, as I wanted to keep the story a surprise for myself." she commented. "But it's alright."
"Not to worry, my Lady!" Sally waved a finger. "For I only ask of you to review a few lines from the characters. Lines that, without the intricacies brought by the context, reveal little to nothing about the plot! So rest assured!" she folded her arms with a confident smile.
"Oh, well then I'm glad. I'd be happy to help anyhow."
"Fantastic! Let us take our seats, in the front row!"
"Really?" she looked at the rows of empty seats. "We have all of this lovely space for ourselves though."
Sally gasped.
"You're right my Lady. it would be the perfect opportunity to test the acoustics! Do you hear that Gerebalt?!" she looked at one of the actors on stage. "Make good use of that diaphragm, child! We'll be at the last row!"
"Seriously?!"

"A true actor-" the O spoken like in 'door', which made (Y/n) chuckle. "-must bring out his A-game every, single, time! And we have the King with us today!"
"The King?!" she exclaimed.
"Hello." Wally waved, sitting in the front row, right beside them.
"Eeeeee!" she cried in surprise, which startled the others (except Wally). "M-My King! You've scared me!" she said, a hand over her fast beating heart.
"I'm sorry. I wanted to announce my presence, like I told you I would from now on, but this time it was you who came up to me."
"Ah. Well in that case, I apologize for not noticing you." she bowed her head.
"It's all right."
"I must say," Sally said. "his Majesty, King Darling, is the best audience I have ever had the pleasure to put on a play for! So quiet and such attention he gives!"
"Why thank you, Lady Starlet." he smiled and stood up from his seat. "Shall I join you and Lady (L/n) at the back row?"
"Why of course! Come this way!" Sally gestured them to follow her.

"May I ask, what are you doing here?" (Y/n) asked Wally.
"I've come to look over the production of course. I wanted to see if everything was going smoothly. I must admit that I was most surprised when I saw your name on the script."
"What? You put my name on the script, Lady Starlet?"
"Of course I did!" she faced her, moving her cape as she did so, for a little more pizazz. "I am never one to take credit for the work I didn't contribute!"
(Y/n) placed her hands over her heart. Truth was, she wanted to ask to be credited, but decided not to, thinking it would be too much to ask. The four of them (Jeremiah was there too, they were just very quiet in the presence of the King) sat at the very last row, with (Y/n) in between Sally and Wally. Now the actors looked so tiny, yet as Gerebalt was starting his soliloquy, they could hear him perfectly.
'Ah, he has an accent!' (Y/n) noted. 'That might be what I'm supposed to check.'
However, after a few minutes, she began to inspect the stage and the overall outdoor theater. Wally noticed her gaze wandering around, and tilted his head as if to ask what was wrong.

"I've never been in a theater before." she whispered to him.
"Really?" he blinked twice. "I've always thought every member of nobility went to see a play or an opera at least once in their lives."
"Sadly, I've only ever read plays in their published book form." she sighed. "But from how I pictured them in my head as I read them, they sounded fantastic."
"Are there no theaters in the Spades Kingdom?"
"There are... Just not nearby my estate is all."
"And the thought of going never occurred to you?"
"Oh but my King, why would it? When I could read them."
"You know, it really isn't the same though."
"I suppose so... Have you ever went to the theater?"
"Yes. Me, Julie and Frank go there every month."
"Oh that's wonderful." she thought about that for a second. "Does that mean you plan on going during the Shuffling?"
Wally took a long look at the stage before looking back at her with a smile.
"Yes."

She also looked at the stage and realized her mistake.
"O-Oh! Right!" she blushed. "I... I didn't realize that..." she sighed. "I'm sorry for my absentmindedness."
"It's all right." he chuckled. "I like it."
"Huh?"
"If you want, you could join us next month."
She gasped as her eyes lit up, the King's previous statement now out of her head.
"Oh my gosh I would love to."
"Wonderful." he smiled excitedly. "Which one would you like to see?"
"Well, which ones will be in production next month?"
"It could be anything you'd like, I would just have to ask."
"Oh... But I'd like to see something new."
"I see... Well, what are the kind of plays that you like?"
"Well..."

Meanwhile, Sally was shifting uncomfortably in her seat. Jeremiah knew exactly what was happening.
"Jeremiah." she whispered. "My sixth sense of playwright is tingling my sides again."
"Uh-hu." they looked over at her, but then saw something that made their eyes grow big.
"This time it's something else... This time... Two people are bantering. Friendly with an undertone of romanticism."
"I think I know who you're referring to."

Before she could even ask, they turned her head to her left. Sally's eyes widened as she saw the King of Hearts and the Lady of Spades conversing in only whispers, for no one but each-other to hear, despite this space being so big and empty, despite them disregarding the few people that were there. Neither Sally nor Jeremiah had any idea what they were talking about, but they didn't need to. The words weren't important in this moment, the communication was. The act of sharing about oneself, going back and forth between talking and listening, never looking away if not only briefly. Their volume never went above a whisper. Sometimes there was a short pause where the two of them would just smile. These parts were the loudest.
Still bewildered by such a scene, Sally took out some paper and ink and began to take notes.