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<span class="mu-s"><span class="mu-b">Winner:</span></span> The cat could not resist the canary.
A knock on your door comes at some Lightless hour in the morning. Three swift knocks and then two with a pause between means that one of Joana's apprentices waits for you beyond the door. As much as you may want, you cannot roll over and ignore her with a grumble of "go away". You sent Joana to investigate the time-sensitive manner of the supplies Damien and the Earl had young Lothar purchase on their behalf. If Joana sent back one of the maids to bring you a report, it meant that <span class="mu-i">someone</span> took the bait.
"One moment," you groan. Groggily, you reach for the lamp upon your nightstand and push a bit of mana into the bone to light up your room. Standing from your bed and straightening out your nightgown, you call for the maid to, "Come in. What have you got for me?"
A mousy looking maid enters your quarters. You recognize her as Rebecca, the scullery maid who works in the castle kitchens, and you immediately understand why Joana took her on as an apprentice. Nothing about the girl stands out. She has the sort of face that would easily get lost in a crowd, her bust size is neither particularly impressive nor unusually smooth and flat, her complexion could place her from any major town or city from across the Daffodil Kingdom.
The flashiest things about her was the maid outfit she wore as part of the castle staff and the perfume she's wearing. Lilacs and roses, applied quite heavily, but not so heavily that the scent becomes unpleasant. It's the sort of perfume that a woman might wear on a night she plans to do this and that with her darling. A part of you hopes her duties did not interrupt her night too much, while the rest of you despairs that your maid staff has better luck that you when it comes to finding a good man.
In any case, in another dress, on a less romantic night, you would have overlooked her as "another village girl".
No wonder Joana snapped her up. In the business of cloaks and daggers, standing out is deadly and blending in is vital, and you're quite certain this girl could blend in anywhere. Her demeanor is appropriately demure before her liege as well. When she enters, she drops to one knee and bows her head, saying, "Milady, Teacher has a message for you: the cat got caught clawing at the canary. She is under the impression that you would like to come pet it personally. Shall I escort you there?"
It takes you a second to parse what Rebecca meant. In the King's Daffish, what she really said was that Joana caught someone messing around with the supplies, and wanted to know if you wished to question him personally. After weighing the idea in your head for a moment, you nod.
"Some things are best learned first hand," you tell Rebecca. She still kneels before you, her head still bowed, so you give her the order that she's waiting for. "Help me dress, then we'll go see who Joana managed to catch."
