The newspaper was brought to Lili's table by one of the servants of the Comtois family. It displayed the portrait of a Gariant citizen, with their appearance grossly exaggerated to provoke some reaction from the reader. Images like these were becoming more commonplace since the declaration of war, which was followed by a swift invasion of the bigger country of Gariant by the valiant Panzer Corps of Golché.

Charles was, of course, sent to the front lines and their letters were becoming more and more scarce. He'd never tell her about the details of the war, no matter how much she asked about the conditions inside his metal machine, all she'd get as a reply would be 'I'm here to do my duty'. Honestly, after the events of the ball, she didn't know how much he was involved with the plan that proposed a counterattack after Lady Lobster's speech.

From what her parents told her, which was also what she believed to be the full extent of their knowledge and the reason to not pester them with further questions, the Gagneux family was part of a long line of aristocrats. Their heritage dated back to the days of the wars of religion, when the world was divided between diverging faiths and the Duchy of Golché was nothing but a client state of the Empire of Avenio. Not much had changed since then, not for the Duchy, nor for the Gagneux, they were always a minor kind of nobility and never aspired to be something else other than an assistant of the powerful.

That was a clear stark contrast to the Comtois family. Lili could still remember, word by word, how her great grandparents had built their riches from a mine in the southern part of the country, but this alone wouldn't make them nobles. It was only due the cunning of her forefathers that they were able to marry several times into nobility, acquiring titles and finally being recognised as baronets by the parliament.

Her father, now trying to get a position as one of the science Councillors for the government, saw the alliance between the two families as a possibility to cement them as a good candidate for future positions, especially for Lili's younger brother. The young Gaston was being groomed as one of the old members of nobility, inspired by the values of chivalry and noblesse oblige, but also by the prejudice that comes with the texts of old.

While she believed to be conscious of her role as a member of the family, Lili didn't want for a marriage to be important, her acceptance into one of the best institutions of the country was a signal of her potential and for that reason she had moved to the family residence at the capital.

She had decided to take a stroll around the district to catch sight of how things worked at Gardelilac and just a general sense of what would life be like once she was required to be present at the Institution. Grabbing a hat to shield her from the setting Summer, she stepped out into the nearly deserted street, to be greeted by a row of some propaganda posters telling just how horrible the people of Gariant were and how their brave heroes would return with a victory, once the help of Avenio came.

The air felt dull and dusty, with the tall wooden houses of the city providing some shadow for Lili as she stepped closer in the direction of the lake. The sight of a military police patrolman had become more prevalent than she could remember, sometimes they'd stop a random passerby and asked them for documents as the fear for spies was high and real.

Lili felt a hand grabbing her arm, at first the touch felt familiar, but the face she saw when she turned to greet the person who touched her was unknown. The woman standing before her seemed to be around her twenties, with dark brown hair and green piercing eyes that were nearly hidden behind a long nose.

"Come with me, I have a message from Charles." Said the girl, her accent revealing she was a foreigner. "Lucky of me to find you here, saves me the time to go into your house."

Dumbfounded by this sudden interaction, Lili allowed herself to be taken into an alley.