Board Thread:Roleplaying/@comment-17114085-20160618002914/@comment-25126355-20160820032536

Luthor had to bring his glass to his lips and take a deep gulp of the wine within, to cover the fact that his eyes almost widened with surprise. He was bluffing up till that point, although he did believe that of al the possible candidates, Damian was the most likely one. And as good of an actor as he was, one little detail stood out to Luthor, which all but confirmed his suspicions. In his own mind at the very least. In his mind, he broke it up into three parts:

The first was was the most simple. A mistake made by Damian: the Emperor. Unlike the Northpoint King, Luthor was, in a way, a courtier, as he spent a great deal of time in the Imperial City. An affair of a provincial monarch, or even a High-King, was one thing. Those could be covered up, to an extent. An affair of the Emperor was not something easily hidden, especially in a city like the Imperial capital. If there was even a suspicion of an affair, it would be a topic of conversation and gossip in every level of the social hierarchy. Truly, if Damian had proposed any other man as a candidate, Luthor would have thought his bluff had failed. But luckily for him, Damain chose poorly.

The second was the fact that Damian had brought up a rumor about Jina and Darius. Everyone knew of the infatuation of the Neverar princess towards the Emperor, even when he was merely Daric Lariat. The rumors had died down a great deal in the years since, but for Damian to bring up something so well known and rather old, stood out to Luthor. The best lies tend to be those that avoid too much detail. Had Damian been telling the truth, he would have simply denied it, but he not only did so, but suggested Darius, brining up what was now ancient history. Thou protest too much?

The third was the most personal of all: Jina herself. It was true that she had been infatuated with Darius way back when. Some could even say she may had, at one point, developed some kind of true feelings for the man. But he chose a political marriage, wed another and began a family. Knowing Jina the way he did, Luthor would never believe that a woman like her, would ever allow herself to be with a man who chose another over her. She wasn't really the kind of woman one takes as a mistress, even to an Emperor. She was, in Luthor's opinion, a bit more special than that.

Luthor finished the wine in his glass, and "ahh-ed" with a smile, placing the glass on the table.

"A snake can slither in the grass, unseen by it's enemies, but all is revealed under the light of the moons." Luthor said in all but a whisper, referencing the Solance sigil, as well as his own. His eyes locked with Damian for a second, though unlike his earlier manner or his current smile, they we cold and almost vicious. Like a predator, who's caught sent of his prey's blood. Luthor Hassildor wasn't a man anyone should ever be unfortunate enough to underestimate.

"Now, I think I'll be off. We understand one another and, once Jina writes a letter or arrives here in High Rock and speaks with my sister, you'll receive your payment. For now, you'll just have to be content with 20 thousand. Good day." Luthor said, rising from his seat, his previous smile and seemingly silly attitude returned. He didn't need to talk to Damian anymore, since the Solance King would likely just continue with his excuses and lies about the paternity of Jina's child. Luthor offered a nod of the head and turned to leave the tent. He was done dealing with Damian and he didn't care to stay in this rebel camp much longer.

To be quite honest, the thought of this man manipulating someone as "genuinely good" as Jina Neverar, especially using their own, mutual child, disgusted Luthor. He did not consider many people worthy of that title, but from all his dealing with the Morrowind princess, he'd grown to appreciate her for her character and her integrity, which earned her, his respect. He didn't feel quite good about himself for using her in this manner either, but Jannia's safety was more important to him than an unpleasant feeling.