Chapter 85

　　"You can`t be serious?" Kal hissed, his loud whisper drawing the eyes of the others.

　　Seeing the usually composed Baron losing his calm was a surprise, but he quickly reigned in his shock. Mare took satisfaction in seeing his reaction. Breaking through that shell of nonchalance and self-assurance made it worth it.

　　"Why not? It`s a perfectly reasonable arrangement. Neither of us has a partner for the Ball, and I would rather be paired with you than some stranger that has been selected for me by my family. As loathsome as you are, at least I am accustomed to you and understand your proclivities. Who knows who I could be stuck with." Mare nearly shuddered at the thought.

　　Seeing that the pair`s discussion was still amicable, their friends returned to their conversation, the topic shifting to the upcoming matches and who they were favouring. Naturally, most of the group chose Merit, but they were also fans of Osiris and some of the clan Pilots.

　　"Why, thank you for your concern! Better the devil you know than the unknown?" Kal retorted, scoffing at the suggestion they pair for the Ball. But as he thought about it, it started to seem appealing. If left to her own devices, Amelia may find someone for him that was suitable,` and he had no idea what the Empress` opinion of that could be.

　　Mare was intelligent and polite when she wasn`t making rude comments about him, and they got on well before she learned who he really was. As time passed, she even seemed to accept him, although she still enjoyed her cutting remarks at his expense.

　　He found that he enjoyed his time with her. Their verbal sparring was a welcome relief from the constant good manners and respectfulness that was expected from him.

　　"We`d need to dance together. Can you handle that? Wait, do you even know how to dance?" Kal replied, partially in an attempt to goad her into cancelling the suggestion but mostly just to tease her.

　　"Of course, I can dance! Who do you think I am? And I know we would need to dance together. It`s me that should be worried about you stepping on my toes with your clumsy, oafish feet. I can take some comfort in the fact that everyone will be staring at your display of awfulness and that they won`t be concerned with me." Mare stated with a huff.

　　"Wow, you`re really endearing me to the concept of escorting you. Anything else you would like to comment on? My appearance, or perhaps my smell? Are you worried I`ll enter the room with my unbuttoned shirt and pants undone while shouting expletives?" Kal asked.

　　"I haven`t met you in the real world, so I wouldn`t know what you smell like, although I can imagine it`s a combination of arrogance and dung." Mare retorted, and Kal broke into loud laughter this time, great guffaws that echoed through the storage room.

　　The conversation between Sim and the others ended as they saw Merit chuckling, wiping tears from his eyes as he regained his composure.

　　"Everything alright?" Cid asked, wanting to know what was so funny.

　　"Everything`s fine. We`re going on a date." Merit replied, gesturing to Mare. The tall woman spun around at the statement and stared daggers at the Baron.

　　"It is not a date!" Mare shouted, causing Merit to nod exaggeratedly and give Cid a wink.The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

　　"Of course not. It`s not a date. It`s just two people attending a function together, where they will be dancing partners and enjoy a meal and drinks while getting to know each other better. Definitely not a date." Merit finished.

　　"It sounds like a date," Ty replied, confused. Mare flushed red, her mouth opened to respond, but only a strangled sound emerged.

　　"Sounds fun!" Cid rushed forward before Mare could explode.

　　Wrapping her arm around the taller woman, she whispered quietly for a moment in a calming manner. Kal caught a few words, including dress,` hair,` and escort.` Knowing they were discussing the Ball and the unexpected pairing of Mare and him, he ignored it.

　　Kal was about to tease Mare when his communicator pinged,` letting him know that someone on his friend list was attempting to contact him. Seeing who it was, he allowed them access.

　　Elric, Tamara, Talha and Sylla emerged into the storage room and were immediately assaulted by the noise of conversation. For a small group, Ty and the others made a ruckus once they started talking, waving their arms animatedly as they discussed the match.

　　Spotting Kal in the group`s center, Talha shouted to be heard over the noise.

　　"Are we interrupting something?" The redheaded woman asked. Kal waved the comment off, gesturing for them to come forward while he made introductions.

　　"Not at all. This is the group I was telling you about, the ones I teamed with on Beluth." Kal explained while he provided names. Ty and Cid were polite, while Sim smiled and waved. If Talha had been more observant, she would have noticed that Micah stared at her the entire time, clearly entranced by the newcomer.

　　"Everyone, this is Talha, Tamara and Elric from my House Guard, and this is Governor Sylla." Kal finished. Sylla nodded politely to the group at the mention of her name, looking over the assortment of people carefully.

　　When she saw Mare, she stopped on her briefly. A tall, otherworldly beauty with a graceful demeanour, the Governor recognized her for nobility immediately. Sylla couldn`t help glancing from Kal to Mare with curiosity.

　　Standing next to each other, they had a discernible closeness, an intimacy that Kal rarely displayed with others. Could this Mare` be someone important to the Baron?

　　"I should be going. Good luck on the next match." Sim said after the introductions were concluded, waving at the group before exiting the storage area by teleportation.

　　"We should go as well. It was wonderful to meet you all." Cid added, cutting off Ty just as he was about to speak to Tamara. Cid rightly assumed he was about to ask about any openings in Kal`s guard, and she wanted to avoid the awkward situation.

　　In a flash, the others left, but not before Mare talked quietly with Kal.

　　"I`ll be in touch." She whispered before she was gone in motes of white light.

　　"Anything you want to tell us, Kal?" Sylla asked as soon as the tall noblewoman was gone. He shrugged at the question, not giving it much thought.

　　"Nothing much. She was the one on Beluth who discovered who I was and gave me a hard time. But things have improved. We`re going to the Princess` Ball together in June." Kale explained.

　　"I would certainly say they`ve improved! You`ve got a date. Good for you!" Talha exclaimed, laughing at the situation.

　　"Yes, yes, it`s all wonderful. Now, Let`s discuss something more important. That loadout your using on your scout is terrible. I can`t believe you would ever have gone into combat without-" Elric began to prattle on, dragging Kal to the outfitting terminal for the Scout and giving him a rundown on the types of equipment he should be using.

　　Shaking their heads at the fact that the large man didn`t care for anything other than Mechs, they resigned themselves to not finding out more until they were finished.

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　　"What a spectacle! Let`s hear it for our top sixteen Pilots! The next brackets have already been determined by random draw. The first match we have is&." The announcer paused for dramatic effect, waiting as his voice echoed off the coliseum walls.

　　"Merit of Caledon vs Osiris!"

　　Kal`s picture appeared with his black Scout Mech in the air above the arena. Stern and handsome, he contrasted the smiling, pink-haired Osiris, who was making a V` with her fingers that was matched by her own Mech doing a similar pose.

　　Osiris was a serious contender for the top spot in the tournament. She was incredibly skilled, only held back by her lack of real-life combat experience. Kal didn`t take his opponent lightly while waiting in the storage area.

　　Entering his Mech, Kal teleported into the arena.