Suddenly footsteps carried so audible through the crowd, it had been a hot minute since anyone had bid and within was the last day something straight for failure, nobody in particular seemed keen on raising their arms, no one, the pearly fish was reserved for the weathered and it seemed no one was enthusiastic at that point.
Lucid looked toward the crowd, his eyes scanning the faint traces of faces, the hollow expressions, the way they seemed to be going through the motions of a celebration that had lost all meaning, Ayame already stood her hand on a single blade, her posture tense, her eyes fixed on the crowd with the vigilance of a predator, Arthur had decided to carry boxed down the platform, unaware but still focused on the approaching figure, and Valen stood there smiling.
'The hell is he smiling for,' Lucid thought, his suspicions growing at the back if his head.
Alice spoke, her voice carrying a note of amusement, "He seems ready, that friend of yours."
"He is not a friend," Lucid replied, his voice flat, "he is a..."
Alice made a soft giggle, the sound echoing through his mind, "It is okay, you can make all the friends you want, I would not want my chosen vessel to be lonely," she whispered.
That did not sit well with him, the possessiveness in her tone, "Oh, believe me, I am never lonely with you inside my heart, both metaphorically and literally."
Alice was quiet for a moment, then she spoke again, her voice softer now, almost tender, "You are getting better..."
"At shrouding your thoughts... in mist." She said in a low but firm tone that made Lucid's skin crawl.
He did not respond, his attention fixed on Valen, who was now stepping forward, his grin widening as he addressed the crowd, "Well, it seems no one else is interested, so I will take that as a sign that this magnificent creature belongs to me."
The crowd murmured, a low sound that carried no real emotion, just the echo of voices going through the motions, Celeste stood beside Valen, her eyes distant, her expression blank, she was a puppet, a shell of the woman she had once been, and Lucid felt a pang of something that might have been pity.
Valen raised his hand, and the crowd fell silent, "I have a proposal," he said, his voice carrying across the square, "I will donate the proceeds from this sale to the town, to help rebuild, to help revive Port Vexis."
The crowd stirred, a ripple of something that might have been hope passing through them, Lucid watched, his eyes narrowing, Valen was playing a role, but he was not sure what role that was, or what his endgame might be.
Alice's voice echoed in his mind, "He is clever, I will give him that, he knows how to manipulate people, how to give them what they want, even if what they want is just a lie."
Lucid nodded, his expression unreadable, "I know, that is what worries me."
"Halt! I, Fenwick of the House of Cassian Marlowe, wish to procure this pearly fish."
Valen stopped mid sentence and looked at the young man, his golden eyes narrowing with a mixture of surprise and amusement, he tilted his head, studying Fenwick as if seeing him for the first time, a slow grin spreading across his face. "Oh look who we have here, the prodigal son returns, I must say, I did not think you had it in you, Fenwick."
The young man looked more determined than ever, gone were those fearful eyes, gone was that body language mistaken for weakness, instead there was confidence, firmness, surety in every line of his posture, he stood tall, his shoulders back, his chin raised, and for the first time since Lucid had met him, he looked like someone who belonged in the world of power and influence, his hands were steady, his voice clear, his gaze unwavering, and he met Valen's challenge with a quiet intensity that spoke of transformation.
Lucid had a brief smile for a second, a flicker of approval that disappeared almost as quickly as it came, but then the question surfaced in his mind, cold and sharp, 'But we are seeking to flourish the economy, what makes it so that him buying it all for himself saves it? How does one noble's purchase of a single fish, no matter how magnificent, address the deeper rot that has settled into the bones of this town?'
He watched as Fenwick stepped forward, his boots echoing on the wooden stage, his hand raised, a pouch of coins dangling from his fingers, the crowd murmured, their voices carrying a note of confusion, this was not the frightened young man they had seen before, this was someone transformed, someone who had found something within himself that he had not known existed.
Valen gestured toward the fish, its scales shimmering in the afternoon light, catching the rays and scattering them across the square in a thousand tiny rainbows, "You want this fish, you want to take it home and display it as a trophy of your newfound confidence, but what will that accomplish, Fenwick, what will that do for the town?"
Fenwick's eyes did not waver, his gaze steady and clear, "It is not about the fish, Valen, it is about what it represents, hope, renewal, the chance to start again, but more than that, it is about the message it sends, that Port Vexis is not dead, that it can rise from the ashes of its own destruction."
The crowd stirred, their voices rising in a murmur of agreement, Lucid watched, his eyes narrowing, Fenwick was saying all the right things, but he could not shake the feeling that there was more to this, something hidden beneath the surface, a deeper strategy that he was not yet seeing.
Alice's voice echoed in his mind, her tone carrying a note of cautious observation, "He is clever, that one, he knows how to play the game, but is he playing for the right team, or is he just another piece on the board, moving according to a script written by someone else?"
Lucid did not answer, his attention fixed on the stage, where Fenwick and Valen were now locked in a silent battle of wills, the air between them thick with unspoken words, the tension crackled like static electricity, and the crowd held its breath, waiting to see who would blink first.
Valen broke the silence first, his voice carrying a note of grudging respect, "Very well, Fenwick, I accept your bid, but know this, the price of this fish is not just gold, it is a promise, a promise that you will use what you have learned to help this town, to rebuild what was broken, to give back to the people who have suffered."
Fenwick nodded, his expression solemn and sincere, "I understand, and I accept, I will not fail this town, I will not fail its people."
The crowd cheered, their voices rising in a wave of approval, but Lucid could not join them, he was too busy thinking, too busy trying to piece together the puzzle that was Port Vexis, the Domain, the merchant girl's ghost, Valen's schemes, and now Fenwick's transformation, it all felt like pieces of a larger picture that he was only beginning to see.
Alice spoke again, her voice carrying a note of concern, "Lucid, there is something wrong with this picture, I can feel it, a dissonance beneath the surface, a thread that does not quite fit with the rest."
He nodded slowly, his eyes fixed on Fenwick, who was now accepting the fish from Valen, his hands steady, his expression calm, "I know, but we have to trust him, because if we do not, who will, we are all in this together, whether we like it or not."
As Fenwick took possession of the pearly fish, he turned to face the crowd, his voice carrying across the square with a newfound authority that seemed to command attention, "I have a proposal, not just for this fish, but for all of Port Vexis, we have suffered, we have lost, but we can rebuild, not through hoarding wealth, but by investing in one another, by creating a community that supports its own."
The crowd fell silent, their attention fixed on him, their eyes carrying a mixture of hope and scepticism, Fenwick continued, his voice gaining strength with each word, "I propose a fund, a community fund, where we pool our resources to help those in need, to rebuild businesses, to support families, to create a future for our children, this is not about charity, it is about investment, investment in the people who make this town what it is."
The crowd began to murmur, their voices carrying a note of cautious hope, Lucid watched, his eyes narrowing. This was not a speech he had expected, this was something more.