Chapter 70

Not sure entirely what to expect, I walked into the restaurant again. This time, rather than seeking out a companion, I found a table and ordered a drink and a small snack. It cost me a few credits, but less than I’d been tipped already that day. Before I could decide on a person to approach, a familiar face came to me.

“Richard, isn’t it?” I asked, vaguely placing him as a business trip person whom I’d helped with some kind of math problem while at a bar.

“Yes, I’m Richard. I think I owe you an apology, Auralia. I freaked out over a few rumors. Took a friend pointing out that jealous courtesans can make them and spread them faster than most of us men can keep up for me to realize you were probably innocent in all this.”

For a moment I sat in a stunned silence, unable to process what he’d just said.

“Would you do me the honor of letting me buy you a drink?” he asked a moment later.

“The honor would be mine,” I replied, both grateful and stunned that this was happening. Maybe someone wa