He felt a short smile tugging at his lips as the boy made his way out of the garden, his indifferent demeanor unchanging and the sound of his steps fading off into the distance.
The earthy scent that flooded his nostrils had loosened him quiet a bit, he would have loved to stay in such a state for longer if it had not been for the blaring noises from the speakers that beckoned him to the banquet hall's entrance which also served as a small stage.
"Good evening ladies and gentlemen!" The cheery voice continued, a short woman with blonde hair and a cheeky smile that complimented the large brown mole to the left of her mouth was, surprisingly, waiting patiently for a decently sized crowd to gather around.
And when she deemed the spectators large enough, she brazenly stepped forward raising both her arms and welcomed the guests who were courteous enough to arrive. Or as Johann would put it, weren't foolish enough to shoot their own foot.
"Todayy! We have a speciall guest that has enthralled all our hearts with his bravery!" She continued without a care in the world, "The person who without question halved the net worth of the corrupt! The man who brought reform to the whole party!" She proclaimed proudly.
Coming closer, she put the back of her hand to her mouth and attempted to whisper in vain,
"And someone with a crooked smile that cannot come without constipation...." Out erupted the audience with laughter, Johann would've laughed as well if he wasn't aware of who they were talking of.
But that wasn't a good reasoning at all, because everyone was aware of who was being addressed.
The real reason Johann hadn't laughed was simply because the gleeful laughter that emerged from this place was completely different to the one that he wanted to hear.
He wanted these smiles and cackles to come forth not in the name of praise or mere formality, no, he wanted something real. He wanted them to be mocking and insult the man that they were calling profound.
To see them pity his pathetic personality and laugh together at just how horrible and irredeemable of a person he was. Criticize his every action, chastise him for the sole purpose of making him wince, to beat him to a pulp every time he did something wrong or even when he dared to open his mouth or move his body.
That was what Johann wanted from the bottom of his heart.
"The living myth himself! Thomas Trivola!"
To see his face twisted in despair and laugh at his pitiful state.
"Certainly that was one way of, 'introducing' someone." His expression held not a sign of anger, it only had a large smile that only seemed to get wider, "Setting aside our farces, I assure every single one of you to not be wary today, as it is of course a celebration for the victory of our country. We have come a long way since our humble beginnings and I still remember my days as just another insignificant officer in the department. But that thinking was always wrong! Why? Because every single officer in this place is significant! None of you are unwanted and that is why I must thank every single one of you for contributing so much of your life for our joined purpose."
He moved around the small stage with an almost melancholic air as he recalled the past. By now, the woman had stepped to the side and looked at Thomas attentively, scanning each and every single of his movements and Johann couldn't even begin to gauge at the intrigue and awe nestled in her eyes.
"From overthrowing the old republic to reforming the entire marshal system, I am not alone in the many, 'ways', I have contributed to this country. If you look around you, you will see many familiar faces who have stood by our sides, aiding us in every way! Unfortunately, some of the faces were not able to make it as far as we have and we certainly would not be here without their presence." His eyes turned to the floor and the crowd followed suite. A silence engulfed the entire assembly, and exactly a minute later he spoke up.
"My own comrades," he clutched his red trench coat near the chest, "have been unable to arrive. Russel had desired to arrive but his worsening health had not allowed him to. Leofric! A close member of the party that had assisted our every goal passed away on this very day! We are still in mourning, but we must not show weakness to our enemies. And I am sure, 'they' would have wanted us to laugh together in unison at our growing feats."
Johann couldn't bear to look at him, his face winced along with the throng of people, one might point it out as just being grief but he knew it was more than that.
He wanted to look around and see the faces of the others, maybe even the people who had witnessed him murder Leofric in cold blood, surely they would've related to this absurdity right?
He gawked at the tall man standing pensively on the stage once again, his head dropped and his movements silent as a cat's. Soon enough, he lifted his head and stared at the people present below him.
He held more remorse in his eyes when addressing Leo's death, than he had when he murdered him.
Johann wondered, just for how long would he keep up this facade? How long would he be able lie to all of these people who truly put their faith in him?
Johann was still looking at his eyes which slowly relaxed.
They peered at him like a man would to a lost child, they offered comfort and solace on the outside while the person who was the vessel of these eyes was nothing other than ruthless.
It was just then that he realized, Thomas had been staring at him the entire time.
"Incidentally, few envoys representing the other countries of our continent have also arrived today, among some of our most cherished members. If I were to, 'name' a few of them, then it would include members such as Madeline Brielle Irving.." the faces darted towards a female figure standing in the crowd whose eyes widened in surprise at the sudden praise, she looked to and fro amongst the people and her cheeks became bright red from the sight. The reaction of the people was a slight boo, but mostly a sound of awe that reverberated through the grounds.
"..The rising star, Hannes!" Only about half of the people turned to meet his face this time and even then most of them were silent and only a few people spoke his praise. This had evidently made him irritated as his eyes narrowed into slits and he turned his face away from the crowd.
"And of course, how could I forget..Johann Victor Everett." Added Thomas at the end.
What?
What was this? A circus?
A fully fledged mockery out in the open with fools standing below Thomas like sheep to their shepherd, completely in control.
He was the black sheep in this flock, a very imprudent black sheep who bit and defied the shepherd only to be ridiculed in front of the other sheep in the most mentally frustrating way possible.
"I expected a bit more of a pleasant reaction Mr. Everett! You appear as if someone threatened your family!" He laughed, "For the sake of the party, cool down a bit for today at the very least, won't you Mr. Everett?"
The only thing he wanted at that moment was to smash in the skull of Thomas with his very hands.
"Well then, let me try not to be too playful. Even if it is a much more casual setting, I still have a few objectives I must complete."
He raised his right hand clenched to a fist and out came the index finger, "We have, for our people, tailored the best uniform to suit all your preferences! From improving the softness and breathability to even adding specific badges of honor for all of you, we have truly outdone ourselves if I say so myself."
The malicious living meat rocket known as the middle finger was raised, "The upcoming private meeting for the heads of all the departments which will receive one member from outside to attempt to properly understand its functioning's. I personally wish to halt from adding extra, 'information' to this pile as it would ruin the, 'surprises' laid out for all of you."
Maybe the ring finger would prove better, "And the formation, of the Trivola act."
Eyes turned up in intrigue and noises of anticipation rose up as quickly as they died with the raise of Thomas's other hand.
"Do not fret! It is simply just another law we have passed, it's only feature is that it allows us to catch Aaergalian spies and criminals at a much more rapid rate. We will segregate them first and then rat out the weeds before letting them back in their environment once again. And no, I will not be answering any questions regarding this on such an occasion, you workaholics control yourselves! And enjoy this dance while it lasts!"
He looked around once again, expecting the blonde woman to step forward to put an end to the stage show, but instead she didn't and merely smiled at him.
"Mr. Trivola! I'm excitedd to say that there iss, another member joining us and on their requestt.."
"Hm? What do you mean?"
Instantly after his words, sparks erupted from the side of the stage, orange and red embers lit up its entirety, if it had not been for the night sky and obvious scintillate, it would've been impossible to tell whether the scenery was night or day.
"About dam' time" A rough voice cut through the ordeal and stepped on the stage with a girl admirably following him.
They wore white suits with black lapels and small bowties, yet they had the air of ruffians.
"Good day isn't it Thomas? It'd be better if ya stop runnin' that mouth of yours." He ridiculed Thomas with his sardonic tone and wide grin.
"Oh? Hello mister! Have we met before?" Said the girl.
Thomas looked at the man and then turned his head abruptly to look at the girl, and repeated this a few times before staring off into the distance behind them.
His face didn't move, his body froze in time and he seemed to be in a state of limbo until his head jerked and his lips surfed upwards,
"ha...ha...hahaHAHA!" Everyone stared blankly at his reaction as he faltered backwards.
Johann didn't understand.
Such an overreaction was completely abnormal for him.
Was this his idea of how to make a laugh look real?
"Certainly...certainly, certainly this is a surprise! I didn't expect either of you! Was this planned?" He lurched back and looked at the blonde girl, pointing at her languidly, "Did you...plan this?"
He stepped closer to the girl and searched her eyes for confirmation before patting her on the shoulder and incorrigible laughter coming from his mouth like hammers to a windchime.
"I'm not the most fond...of surprises but truly this was...really, 'enjoyable'."
"Huh? We planned to piss you off' not make you laugh like a pig."
"Mister! Mister! Did it work?" she grinned.
"It certainly did Molly! Ha...and everyone! Please enjoy yourselves! The drinks are all on me!"
The doors to the banquet hall opened underneath the arch of the open stage and in came the members thoroughly tired after just witnessing the entire ordeal.
"Now then Nicholas, where were we? I suspected for you to arrive at such-" Dismissing himself, Johann sought it best in his interest to be one with the flow and move inside the hall.
For now, his best bet would be to hide amongst the rest. He could say that he was present at the party and that it was really unfortunate that Thomas wasn't able to locate him.
His purpose was just to survive the night without interacting with him.
And the best way to do that would've been to find a spot at the corner of the banquet hall surrounded by the people.
It was a warm environment drenched in auburn colored walls with dark red veils covering the ceiling of the entire hall, the blended smell of cologne from god knows how many people was the only thing he could make out with his nose and the sight of alcohol being hurled to every table was never a surprise.
There were also multiple pool tables he could spot which in tandem with the bar front served the intention of functional like a bar, which instead of taking away from the elegance of the entire place, added to its graceful milieu.
He spotted multiple of his colleagues and even Hannes sitting at a table and his eyes flickered to him momentarily before he turned away and walked in the other direction. It wasn't that Hannes's eyes were distasteful to look at—Well currently he did seem very frustrated—but because he knew it would be the same as being a sitting duck waiting to be hunted.
To the far right corner where the music faded enough to form a soothing symphony and the men and women took to stand near the windows to gaze at the blinding visual cacophony of colors illuminating the outside like a rainbow at night, he found his solace in the form of a lone table isolated from the rest.
The tables at the corners were mostly empty due to the preference of the people to circle around the place where they were prone to more visibility.
They weren't here to merely enjoy the company of others or to drink until their wives had to drag them out of the occassion. No, many of them wanted to be seen, to be acknowledged within the presence of many of those high ranking officials to whom they wanted to suck up to.
This was also one reason as to why he was hopeful that Thomas would be unable to find him. Though it was impossible for him to be overwhelmed by the people, considering his nature as a social individual it would surely cause enough impediments in his paths that he is just late enough to barely miss meeting Johann.
He was sure that a few of them would have even flocked to him if he was out in the open and alone, which was not the case. There was a person sitting opposite to him at the square table, being the only table that was free and on top of that the woman sitting opposite to him being completely engrossed in her leatherbound book with no interest in forming small talk, it was the best choice to make.
He had no intention of disturbing her, but he regretted not bringing something to pass the time.
He swept his hands across the table and found a deck of cards covered in a plastic wrapping.
With nothing else to do and anxiety to lift from his shoulder he unwrapped the cards and spread them on the table in three lanes.
That seemed to have broken the trance of the woman sitting opposite to him as she made an effort to look at what he was doing before returning to her diary.
With three rows of ten cards each on their backs, he picked one of them up and set it aside then plucked another from the table.
He didn't form a pair in the first try.
He tried again and was able to pluck an ace of hearts only to be smited by fate and receive a six next.
He clicked his tongue and decided it best to wrap up his embarrassing game before he became a local spectacle.
The woman had also looked at him in a pitiful manner on seeing his terrific luck.
As he collected the cards into a stack once more, the woman put down her diary to the side and crossed her arms then looked at him with indifferent eyes.
Confused, he gestured towards the deck of cards with his chin and the woman gave a slight nod as confirmation.
Something was better than nothing, he thought as he scouted for any jokers and set them aside with a quick slide of hand and shuffled the deck.
Slowly extending his hand to slide a card in her direction, he picked up one from the deck itself and they both turned it to their front side.
"A six of spades." She says, her indifferent voice bringing an air of familiarity which he couldn't quite identify, "Yours?"
"uh..A ten of hearts."
She nodded and peered at her card once again before extending her left arm for the deck of cards, and alternating between her and Johann, distributes ten of them each and sets aside the deck.
She doesn't even attempt to move and sort her cards which makes Johann wince for a second thinking he isn't being taken seriously.
She proceeds with the game normally, starting the stock pile which turns out to be a king of spades which Johann declines allowing for her to pick it up.
"Wait, what was the value of the ace again?" Asked Johann in genuine confusion.
"One." She replied, to which Johann's brow lifted in surprise.
With suspicious glances to each of their hands, Johann agreed to their painstakingly casual back and forth of cards which ended with with Johann calling gin about ten minutes later.
For the first time, she made an attempt to fully acknowledge his presence and made eye contact.
He did the same and what he saw was a thin woman with her long black hair tied in a professional pony tail and her downturned brown eyes peering at his with indifference.
She really seemed familiar.
"You won." She said, "Initial twenty and a mismatched pair of an ace, Jack and two queens, fifty one points."
Finally something worthwhile, he smiled at her triumphantly to which she made no attempt to reply, until her eyes looked upwards.
"Should we have another game?" He said, still in a sense of bravado.
She was still looking at him more intently now.
"No. It is not needed." She said with the hint of an emotion which Johann could only describe as firey.
She kept looking at him then her gaze moved upwards, which was when he finally realized.
"You're here, Mr. Thomas Trivola."
That she was wasn't looking at him in the first place.