The Last Page: Episode 06

Duke Ruisín Ó Siadhail’s office is meticulously ordered; the deep crimson rugs do not have any signs of dirt and the dark and imposing mahogany furniture shows now a scratch. The elderly man sets a glass of whiskey before Finnian before taking his own seat across the desk wish his own glass. His gaze is impassive, betraying none of his emotions. Finnian would have thought the duke would be angered to see him–it was the duke who had originally orchestrated the marriage of his niece, Lady Ein, to Finnian's older brother.

While Finnian lacks the decades of experience, he can wear a neutral mask just as well as the duke.

“So,” Ruisín breaks the silence. “What did you wish to discuss, Prince Finnian?”

"Lady Ein," he says, the waiver in his voice almost impercptible. But the Duke picks up on it.

A chuckle rises from Ruisín’s throat. “It has been some time since I have seen you show any semblance of emotion." The duke leans back in his chair. "Not since Q​ueen Padhra’s funeral.”

Finnian flinches and reaches for the ​glass of whiskey, taking a small sip. "I only wish to know how your niece is doing. She seemed unwell at the ball."

“Ein’s always been delicate. I spoke with Niall recently. He said she’s doing… well, as well as she usually does.”

“She is not angry?” The Ein in Ciara Romantica went off the rails when her engagement was called off. And an angry Ein is a lethal Ein; particularly lethal to Finnian. But why isn’t she angry? At this point in the game, she should already either be in prison or managed to escape. Instead she is doing... What? Finnian has to know.

“She seemed relieved, honestly,” Ruisín continues. He holds up his own glass of whiskey, swirling the contents but never taking a sip.

Relieved? It doesn’t fit the image he has of Ein; so full of venom and anger after her engagement is called off.

He tries to reconcile the image of Ein from Ciara Romantica with what the duke is telling him of her. What else had the duke called her? Delicate? As well as she usually does? Is she ill? He strains to remember anything about that an illness from the game but comes up with nothing. He shakes his head. It doesn’t matter. He is safe from her fury—at least for now. But he has to find a way to take control of the game's events again.​

“Why do you ask? Are you interested in my niece?” The duke raises and eyebrow in amusement and brings the glass to his lips but Finnian can tell the duke does not actually take a drink.

Finnian chuckles. ​Why would I want to be anywhere near the woman who might murder me one day? "No. I am not. But I would have expected her–and you–to be at least a little upset by my brother's change of plans, especially since it seems he failed to inform you before hand. If I recall, it was you who penned the contract."

“I was a much better soldier than a schemer, you know,” Ruisín says, finally indulging himself and downing his whole glass of whiskey at once. “I placed one king on a throne—your great-great-grandfather. But you see, I am not interested in playing monarch-maker again. I am no good at scheming. The marriage between Lochlann and Ein,” Ruisín muses, his voice laced with contemplation. “It was arranged as an appeasement after the execution of my brother Seanchen—appeasement of many parties. It was meant to stop a civil war. But clearly, there is no need for that now.”

It is common knowledge that the duke had been instrumental in unseating his own family from the throne and putting the Mac Iomaires on it instead. But was that the case in Ciara Romantica, too? The tingling in his neck tells him that something in the history here is different than it was in the game. Or is he on a route he didn’t know about? Is some of this knowledge not known to the player until they go through new game plus?

“The only way I would have objections to the end of Ein’s engagement is if my niece did,” Ruisín says. “But I prize her happiness foremost, and she does not seem unhappy with this outcome. I am content to let it be.”

Finnian’s mind whirls. Ein’s happiness? The duke was just a young soldier when he led the army of a usurper against his own family, and in the decades since then, he has been a favored advisor who still maintains as much power as if he were part of the royal family still. His concern is Ein’s happiness? Is this really the same man who’d been plotting and scheming for years? If the rumors were true, it was he who suggested his own brother's execution. But now he has concern for the granddaughter of the brother he sent to the executioner's block?​​

“I see,” Finnian says. "And do you know of anyone else who might not​ take kindly to Lochlann choosing Ciara, a commoner? Anyone who might try to end this new engagement?" ​

The duke smiles.“You remind me so much of your grandmother. You know how to hold your cards close. But you’ve closed yourself off entirely since your grandmother passed away.”

"I came here only to inquire after Lady Ein and ensure my brother has a happy engagement. Do you know of any threats to my brother’s engagement with Ciara?” Finnian struggles to keep the ire out of his voice.

The duke stands and wanders to the hearth, turning his back to Finnian and staring at the flames. "I would assume that any who might be opposed to your brother's new engagement could be concilliated if you were to propose to Lady Ein."

Finnian sets his glass down and rises. "Our conversation is at an end it seems. I thank you for your time, your Grace." He leaves the duke's chambers, and the duke does not make any attempt to call him back.

The duke did not provide him with enough details about Lady Ein's current situation. He needs to find out more about her plans. He needs Ein more than just content on the sidelines. He needs her locked up or dead. He should be able to rely on the plot of the story to do so for him; however… 

Finnian’s eyes narrow as he vanishes into the shadows of the night, mulling over ways he might ensure that she is out of the picture until wedding bells toll.