Alessia stiffened for a moment, then she ate the last piece of the snack she held and dusted off her gloved hand in a calm manner.
She locked eyes with Dervan and a small smirk graced her lips. "I stole it."
Dervan's brows furrowed. "What...?"
Alessia let out a short breath of laughter as she picked up another snack. "What's with that serious look? Do you plan on sending me to jail if what I said is true?"
Dervan's brow twitched. "I might." He replied, but inwardly he couldn't help but wonder if she was just messing with him or speaking the truth.
Alessia shrugged. "Well, unfortunately, you can't." She said with a bold smirk in an effort to hide her nervousness. "I came in place of my mother..."
"And who is your mother?"
"Wouldn't you like to know?" Alessia smiled. "I'm afraid I can't tell you. You're a fellow guest like me, not a detective."
"What if I was a detective in disguise?" Dervan asked.
"Then you will have to prove it to me. Do you have a license?" She asked and Dervan frowned. She shrugged again. "I suppose not."
Alessia bit the inside of her bottom lip as she watched him intently. 'Hopefully, that throws him off my trial...'
She took a bite of the snack in her hand. "What is this, by the way?" She asked, trying to change the topic.
"...It's called a macaron. It's a Fernarch snack." Dervan answered, the frown on his face dissolving a little. "This one in particular is rose flavoured."
"Macaron…" Alessia echoed softly, then smiled. "I like it. I think I've found a new favourite snack."
"...Does that mean you'll change your mind if you try something better?" Dervan asked, his voice taking on an oddly curious tone.
Alessia frowned, but she didn't think much of it. "Of course." She answered without hesitation and he nodded, amused. "Isn't that how it's supposed to be?"
Dervan's lips twitched. "It is. A lot of people are wired that way."
"And I'm one of them." Alessia stated as she bit into another macaron.
"It's good that you are…" Dervan said, taking two wine glasses from a passing waiter and handing one to her. "It doesn't have much alcohol."
"Thank you." Alessia appreciated it as she took a small taste. "It's good."
"I see you're a fan of sweets." Dervan noted, taking a sip of his own wine.
"Yes." Alessia answered lost in thought as she traced the rim of her wine glass with a fingertip. "But I don't get to eat them much…"
Just as Dervan was about to ask why, his phone buzzed. He took one look at it and shoved it back into his pocket.
"It seems our time ends here, Miss...?" He prompted.
"Ava. My name is Ava." She responded quickly.
"Dervan Salviati… though I'm sure you already know." He said with an outstretched hand and Alessia took it. "Hopefully we'll see each other again."
'I'll make sure we never will…' Alessia thought as she showed him a tight lipped smile. "Of course. Take care Mr. Salviati."
'Well… time for work…' She decided inwardly as she watched Dervan walk away. She didn't even get time to breathe before another male voice came from behind her.
"Care for a drink?"
Alessia paused first, then she swallowed a sigh as she turned around to face the man behind her with a strained smile.
He was a tall man, almost as tall as Dervan with dark eyes and hair styled in a wolf cut. He looked roguish and out of place even in a clean black suit and tie.
Anyone who saw him would definitely be a little suspicious of his origins.
"I'm afraid I can't have a drink with you." She said, showing him her glass of wine. "I'm already full."
Vince frowned. "You're giving silly excuses again." He said and looked in the direction Dervan had gone. "You seem to have been enjoying yourself with him…"
Alessia felt nauseous. She pursed her lips and moved her glass, swirling the drink remaining inside as she gave him a provoking look. "Yes I was. He's a lot more charming than you are."
Vince's face contorted in an ugly manner. "You have a way of testing my patience, Lessia–"
Alessia flinched, and the space around her suddenly seemed to become ice cold. "I've warned you several times not to call me that. Why don't you ever listen?"
Vince frowned. She placed the glass she was holding on the table, her shoulder brushed his arm as she walked past him.
"Now, if you will excuse me, I have work to do."
Vince's jaw clenched and he quickly grabbed her wrist, holding her back. A look of irritation flashed across Alessia's face
She snatched her hand away and moved a few steps back. "This is not some alleyway at a backstreet Vince, watch yourself."
Vince straightened. "I was going to ask if you managed to get anything from Dervan."
Alessia studied him carefully before she turned her head away, her fists clenching shakily. "I didn't. It's difficult to get information from someone like him."
"I see... as expected of Salviati." Vince said with a hand to his chin.
Alessia's eyes scanned their surroundings before it settled back on him. "Can you leave me now? You're starting to attract unnecessary attention."
A shadow of a frown crossed Vince's face before he pursed his lips. "...I'll leave you to it then."
Vince gave her one last meaningful look, before he left. Alessia let out a sigh of relief when she felt a light touch on her exposed arm.
"He looked quite angry just now…" She heard a familiar voice from beside her. "Are you sure you'll be fine?"
"Kiera…" Alessia called softly as she followed her friend's gaze in the direction Vince went. "He will definitely try something reckless again..."
"Tsk." Kiera clicked her tongue as she rubbed Alessia's back soothingly. "How shameless can a man be?"
Alessia laughed nervously, wrapping her arm around Kiera's waist and resting her head against her shoulder fondly. "I will just have to do what I've always done..."
Kiera watched her, a flash of sympathy crossed her eyes. "Do you want to sit? You don't look too good."
Alessia looked up at her with grateful eyes. "Yes, please. I'll be even happier if you carry me."
"Your jokes get sillier by the day." Kiera rolled her eyes.
"Did you get anything good?" Alessia asked on their way to the sitting area.
"Nothing." Kiera sighed. "I've eavesdropped on so many conversations and listened to over fifty rich people brag about themselves and I still didn't hear anything important."
Alessia looked doubtful. "That has to be an exaggeration."
"Think what you want." Kiera shrugged. "But if we don't get something meaningful out of this party before it ends, we'll be in trouble."
Alessia pursed her lips and frowned.
"... no one knows the organiser of this party." A female voice sounded from the area behind them just as they took their seats.
Kiera's eyes widened. "Oh? This seems like it'll be good."
"Shhh!" Alessia hushed, pressing a slender index finger to her own lips.
"What?! The organiser is anonymous?" Another female voice asked. "I thought it was the Alrosa girl!"
"She isn't the one. She just got caught up in a scuffle between–"
"Oh, that wasn't a coincidence at all." A different, more dignified lady's voice chimed in.
"Huh? Then do you know why she was shot at?"
"Yes I do."
"Hah! She's bluffing."
"If she really knew she would have said it already. Her type doesn't know how to keep their mouths shut." Another woman said.
"Shall we make a bet then?" The woman's voice from earlier sounded forcefully, silencing the other ladies around her. "If what I'm about to tell you is true, you owe me a thousand seri each."
"Haha. By all means."
"But what if what you're about to tell us isn't true then?"
"Then I will tell you the name and whereabouts of the jeweler who carved my jewelry." She responded sharply, a diamond necklace on her neck glittering invitingly.
"Hmph. That's such an unfair deal… you must be quite sure of your information then." Another woman's envious voice echoed.
"Fine… Tell us."
"You see…" The woman started slowly, her voice soothing. "I've heard that the Alrosa's and Salviati have joined hands in a recent business deal!"