Chapter 172: 170

The guards at the gate were off-put by not only the horses but the carriage as well since they were both out of the norm, but a quick show of my face and Status Plate made the entire process smooth, what would the daughter of the Duke and City Lord be bringing in that would be problematic?
It was strange to be back in human society, and even stranger to be back in Phoenicia. It had been nearly a decade since I had last been on these streets, though it felt like nothing had changed at all. The strange mixture of architecture on the main road from the different Races and styles was just as chaotic and vibrant, while the people on the road all offered some acknowledgement to the carriage as it bore the Eldur House Crest and was clearly headed towards the Duke's estate.
There was one more brief stop at the estate's entrance, but it was easily resolved by the same method used to enter the city, a flash of my face and Status Plate, and finally we arrived in the front courtyard just before the main door. Stepping out I was greeted by the most welcome sight of both Marian and Reine, and the less welcome sight of Alcrem. I had told Marian that I had nearly arrived when we entered the city, and I would wager a guess that the guard at the gate had informed Alcrem, though likely it was indirect as a common guard wouldn't have direct communication with a Duke normally.
Despite the fact that Alcrem was present I couldn't help but genuinely smile as I stepped closer and gave Marian a hug, however just as we separated I saw a look of confusion suddenly take over her face as she looked over my shoulder. Both Alcrem and Reine had similar looks and as I turned around I let out an involuntary "Ah" as I saw Ashara exiting the carriage.
Since I didn't see my face very often it didn't strike me as odd to see her, but for others she looked like a human copy of me almost, though there were differences that made it easy to tell we weren’t actually the same. I took a step back and cleared my throat to grab the attention of my adopted family, a hand gesturing first to Arya. "Sorry for the late introductions." I said, somewhat sheepishly. "This is Arya Soluna, of the Yin-Yang Clan, my wife, and this-'' I continued as I moved my hand to gesture to Steria. "Is Steria Lightfoot, a loyal friend and valiant warrior I met on my travels, and finally-" I gestured to Ashara. "this is my biological mother, Ashara Voras, who I found surprising alive when I went into the Forest of Darkness to find her remains, or at least create a grave for her."
We'd gone over the story we would tell Alcrem beforehand as I was still unsure about what he knew or had planned, and I didn't want to give away any secrets without good cause. I would have liked to introduce Renae as well, but she had insisted that as a servant and employee it would be disrespectful to someone of the Duke's status. She wasn't wrong per se, and I wasn't about to force an issue now of all times, so she simply hung near the carriage, making a show of caring for the horses.

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I knew that Marian had known about Ashara beforehand, but it seemed she still couldn't quite get over the shock of how closely we resembled one another, and I could practically see the wheels in Alcrem's head spin as he processed the fact that my biological mother was alive, and that I had managed to find her. I couldn't blame him, the Forest of Darkness was an extremely deadly place, so to think an injured woman, who was supposed to be an Arachne, was not only alive, but in perfect health before him, looking just like a human must have been difficult to accept.
However, if there was one thing I was good for, it was accomplishing tasks that were difficult to accept as truth. This time was no different, and it didn't take that long before Alcrem's surprise faded and welcomed the three women that were my companions. Much to my despair it also seemed that he had, somehow, with the extremely short notice he should have had, somehow got a banquet and ball scheduled tonight, just to celebrate my return from being away from home after so long. It wasn't that I disliked the thought, it was that I disliked the noble's way of doing celebrations. All the hidden hostility and plots, the schemes that were made, the standards that had to be met, all were things that I disliked. If there was to be a celebration, I would have much rather preferred if it was just Marian and Reine to be honest, perhaps my sisters as well, it had been quite some time since I'd seen them, and while Gabriel was an enigma to me, I usually got on rather well with Kalista.
However, it was too late to change what Alcrem had done, so I could only clench my teeth as I designed dresses for the event, especially since besides Steria, the others seemed rather fond of the idea of attending the banquet. I knew that Arya at least had, despite her Elven upbringing, always wanted to attend a ball with a fancy gown she would only wear once, and was always disappointed when I declined invites while we'd been in the Academy.
If I was going to attend something dedicated to me, I was at least going to be the most stunning I could, and I didn't plan on letting any of my lovers fall behind in the slightest, though I was worried that some stupid men would try to lay claim to those I had yet to marry, but I was confident in their ability to rebuke any advances, not that I'd stop them if they wanted to spend the night with someone. I'd easily slept with around three-hundred other women at the Academy, so I wasn't in a place to judge, and despite any jealousy that I might have at such a thought, it would be unfair to prevent them from having other partners as I did.
I was however, rather confident that even if they did manage to get seduced, it would be unsatisfying for them, on top of my Skills, I had almost an entire lifetime of memories that were dedicated to sexual encounters, so unless some unknown Elven noble, or a some kind of Lust Demon were to appear, I was confident I would still at least be their preferred partner.

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