A day off.
Well, sure, it's not like she has an actual job, aside from the Merchants Guild gig at the moment, but that couldn't really be considered a job, given how she was using it.
And her day-to-day activities of trying to stir up trouble could hardly be seen as a job either, so if anything, every day was some sort of holiday to Oriana.
But, whatever it may be, she had a day free from the Guild.
She also had the ill-gotten gains from the damaged trade goods scheme, having made a collection from the account she made, so it only felt right for her to try a nice meal at a nice restaurant in the Upper City as she had thought of before.
"Off to the Adventurers Guild again?" Robert asked as Oriana finished her breakfast.
"No, going to take the day off and go exploring a bit. See the Upper City."
"Oh, sounds nice. Well, if you like all that pompous arrogance, that is. Saying that, be careful with how you talk to people there. You insult a noble by accident, and it could land you in jail."
"Don't worry, I'll be careful."
It was advice she kind of already knew, but Oriana appreciated it nonetheless.
And so, wearing her best clothes, she headed out of the Inn and to the Upper City.
---
"I think someone is out to get me."
"What, why?"
"The last few nights, I've stopped off at the stalls on the way back from work for a quick meal. Both times I did, I ended up eating mud."
"What? Do you mean someone force-fed you mud?"
"No, it was like someone had made an apple out of mud, and made it look exactly like an apple. Then again, with a pastry I had after that. Two times, how does that happen?"
"Was it the stall owner's fault? Maybe they did it as a prank?"
Oriana tried not to laugh too hard as she heard that conversation on the way to the Upper City. To think, the mud she replaced food with had ended up in the hands of the same guy. What rotten luck.
But getting back to where she was going, Oriana passed through the Middle City and found people to be in quite a bit of a rush.
It took a little while to realise why, but when she did, she couldn't help but smack her forehead.
"Of course. The Middle City is where all the merchants mainly work."
It would seem that the changes she had made were still having an effect on the merchants, given how erratic they seemed to be. Plus, the trade agreements that had been damaged in the ant attack were also likely to be causing problems.
Thankfully, not all of the invoices and documents that Oriana had changed had ended up in the mouths of the ants, so she was still able to see merchants throwing fits, such as the one having received teal-coloured trousers in place of cream-coloured towels he wanted.
Hurrying on before one of the merchants noticed her sniggering, she entered the Upper City. Granted, she came here to go to the Merchants Guild for her 'job', but this was a completely different area.
Here she could see all manner of shops, filled with finery, jewellery and high-end goods, as well as multiple restaurants all selling delicious food.
This was not as disorganised as in the Middle City, and she had to imagine it was because of status and coin. Surely, shops in the upper city had backup plans and a high status, which ensured their problems were resolved as quickly as possible.
Well, Oriana wasn't going to complain. Sure, it felt like a hit to the chaos she was sowing, but it had still hit them, and now she was able to enjoy some free time shopping and eating.
But before she could do that, there was something that Oriana noticed.
"Everyone here looks human."
Well, that wasn't entirely true. It was more that this being the part of the Human kingdom, the people that reside in the Upper City were mostly humans. There are a few other races, of course, but it is mainly human.
This is generally the case for the other kingdoms as well, where the race of the kingdom is the one predominantly in the position of nobility.
This being the case, Oriana stuck out like a green thumb. It probably didn't matter, in the long run, but she saw it as an opportunity.
An opportunity in case she decided to try and have fun with the higher society.
So, heading to a secluded area, Oriana got to work with her magic, changing herself into someone new.
Lady Orifake.
A human noblewoman, who recently arrived from a very secluded part of the kingdom and was the daughter of a Marquise.
No, not the one who loved a certain hero. It was a Marquise that really had no power, land and that no one knew. For obvious reasons.
No one would have heard of the Orifake family, and that is something that Oriana had to lean into.
Hard.
So, as a first test, after making her clothes look a little more noble, Lady Orifake headed to the nearby dress shop for some window shopping and for some more ideas on the illusions she could do to better show off her nobility.
---
"I must say, you are very beautiful. You are sure to turn heads at the Ball on the weekend."
"The Ball…" Oriana tried to recall whether anyone had mentioned a Ball, but she came up with nothing, and so went to her second option.
"I would have liked to attend, but I have family matters to deal with, so I shan't. 'Tis such a shame."
"Yes, it is. The Princesses' Debutant Ball is sure to be one of the biggest events this year. Well, if you don't count the mess at the peace festival." The owner of the store said.
It would seem that, as Lady Orifake was shopping around, the owner had decided to attend to her as she tried her spiel to get her to buy a dress.
"I did hear about that peace festival. I was told it was quite a horrendous sight to see."
"Yes, utterly devastating. I hope they catch who did it soon."
"I hope they don't", Oriana's internal monologue said.
"Anyway, I believe nobles from all over the Kingdom are attending the ball. There are even some from the other Kingdoms as well."
"Yes, it is sure to be quite the guest list." Lady Orifake said as she continued to make it sound like she knew all about this.
The guest list was also why Oriana would not be able to get into such a party.
An unknown noble turning up for probably the biggest event of the year. The security there was going to be tremendous.
But that is not to say she couldn't affect the ball in some other way.
Surely, in order for the ball to be a success, they would need to buy a lot of things. Banners, food, drink, decorations.
All of which were most likely going to come through the Merchants Guild.
"Looks like tomorrow just got a lot more exciting."
---
Having said goodbye to the dress store owner, who frowned when Lady Orifake and left without purchasing anything, she headed to a nearby restaurant.
From the aroma alone, this was just the thing that Oriana was hoping to enjoy.
At the door stood a man ready to take people to their seats, and so Lady Orifake headed over.
"Table for one, my lady?" The doorman asked.
"Actually, make it for two, if the lady will have me."
To her side, a man had just appeared.
He was young and good-looking. But the smirk on his face told Oriana all she needed to know.
Egotistical, arrogant. He expected women to just fall at his feet begging for a date with him.
But the most annoying thing was that she probably couldn't win here.
Obviously, she wanted nothing to do with him, but saying that would probably make her 'the one that got away'. Thankfully, that would be better than actually having to sit with him.
"I'm sorry. I'm not in the habit of dining with men that suddenly do…well, what you have done."
The smirk on the man's face just grew larger.
Yeah, she was right about him.
"Oh, am I not to your tastes. A gorgeous man offering to dine with you. "
"No. Especially not when they pounce out of nowhere to try and join me for dinner."
Oriana turned to the doorman, getting back to what she was there for.
"Yes, a table for one will be lovely."
"Right this way, my lady."
Oriana followed the maître d' into the restaurant, leaving the man behind, putting him to the back of her mind.
The inside was actually gorgeous. Incredibly high ceilings, ornate beyond necessary, tapestries and carvings everywhere.
All the tables were made from wood, carved, sanded and varnished to look beautiful. They were then covered in what Oriana had to imagine was a very expensive tablecloth.
Everyone who was in this place was covered head to toe in finery, making Oriana realise she had made the right choice in transforming herself with an illusion.
Winding through the restaurant, they reached her table. The matradee pulled out her chair so she could sit.
"Thank you."
"Please, peruse the menu. Once you have decided what you would like, all you have to do is touch the crystal at the center and a waiter will be with you shortly."
Looking over, she found a very small crystal cube sitting on the edge of the table.
"I hope you enjoy your meal at The Topaz Pavilion."
After a quick bow, he headed back to the entrance.
"I could definitely get used to this. As pretentious as it is, if the food is good, I'll try to keep this place from being affected by the fun I'll have in the future."
Reading through the menu, Oriana found something she might like and placed the order, touching the crystal to notify the waiter.
Telling him her order, he headed off and returned around twenty minutes later with her food.
To which, she tucked in.
"This is amazing. So much flavour packed into one dish. Yeah, definitely going to leave this place alone."
Digging in, she savoured every bite till there was nothing left. But it was then that something even more amazing happened.
She found the desert menu.
"This stuff looks incredible. I want to try all of them."
But before she could reach for the crystal cube, a little voice in her head popped up.
"No, no, pace yourself, Oriana… let's go with the Chocolate Brownie, with Abreice Cream."
When it arrived, it was simple yet beautiful. The plate had gold carved into the porcelain. Atop it was a large chunk of chocolate brownie, shaped as a star, steam slowly rising from it. Nothing was burned; it was cooked to perfection. At its side was a swirling mass of cream, peach-coloured, with sapphire spots scattered across it. Then, for garnish, there was some sort of herb on top of the cream, along with small portions of various fruits by its side.
To say Oriana enjoyed the desert would be an understatement.
"This is incredible. Pure bliss."
If she could eat it every day and not get bored with it, she would.
But then she realised, if this first desert tasted this good. How would all the others taste?
She could only hope to find out.
The only thing that ruined this train of thought was the sight of the man from before, heading over to her table.
"This is a table for one, so I would appreciate it if you left me to eat my delectable dessert."
"You know," the man said with that grin on his face again, "If you like desserts, there are going to be a dozen or so at the Princesses' Debutant Ball."
"…Really?" Oriana's eyes sparkled upon hearing that.
If a restaurant's desserts were nice, how would the ones at the royal castle be?
"Yes. You…have managed to gain my interest, and because of that, I am willing to give you an invitation to the Ball. I won't force you to come, but I do hope that you show."
With that, he left her an envelope and then headed off.
"Strange. I thought he would have asked me for something for the invite, it being such an important event and all," Oriana thought to herself as she looked down at the letter in her hand.
"Even stranger, I don't think I got his name…I don't even think he got my name either."
Basically, this man had just invited a complete stranger to the biggest event of the year.
"What a fool."
She couldn't help but laugh to herself. Moreso when she heard him talking just a few tables away to someone else.
"I know we have only just met, but I feel we have a real connection. Would like to attend the Princesses' Debutant Ball. If all goes well, we will be able to see where our… connection goes."
"What an idiot." She couldn't help but think. Both because of what this man was like, and also because he had just given her a way into an event where she could do a lot of things to liven it up.
She would just have to be careful and make sure she maintained her cover.