ignvc

[ignvc]

" exactly ! " ignác slapped the other man on the shoulder. " you're already doing BETTER by not pissing people off. i know for a fact some of our guests aren't loving her. " or any of the italians to be fair but mostly verona. " ah, so it's a game of chicken. i think i made a mistake by picking scotch. " he cleared his throat and hummed thoughtfully. there was one pressing question but he couldn't start with something too heavy. " well, gentlemen, let's start with something easy: how many ex-lovers are there in this room ? " [ &&. @giorxcci ]

｡  "Who would we be to deny the host?" A short staccato chuckle unfurls in the back of his throat at the others statement. "––a bit premature I haven't done anything." Yet. His attention shifts to Arnauld. "I don't suppose you want a round two?" @vrnvuld

[ignvc]

" happy... yes. i think i am. i wasn't in morocco long enough to get HOMESICK though, but it's been refreshing to be speaking in my own language. you probably get that very well ? "

pleasantries sculpture perfectly shaped underneath a diplomatic smile, it was close to a miracle to have maitê away from home this time of the year. but, the comment from the prince pulls a chuckle from her. "marvelous," she comments. "it's alright, i think all families have one of those after all, but i can only guess –– you are happy to be back either way. right?"

[ignvc]

" i had a feeling we'd be hearing about it if we had picked anything even a penny cheaper, " ignác admitted with a grunt. sometimes the royals were obnoxiously spoiled. " ah daria ! " he pulled her properly into the circle. " if you, elyse dear, look CLOSELY at daria's expression, you'll see how my uncle has sucked the life out of her in JUST one encounter. her gaze is so hollow. you really don't want to suffer the same fate. " ignác vaguely gestured all over daria's face. [ &&. @elysefz ]

"it's beautiful. i appreciate that you splurged on the really nice champagne." she considered, "i think i met him. he wasn't that bad. unless i met the wrong uncle. how many do you have?"

[ignvc]

" this looks INTERESTING ! " ignác exclaimed as he sat himself and his glass of whiskey at the table. " i hope you don't mind a third participant. " he directed his attention to the younger king. " and i should congratulate you. the crown suits you better than your aunt. " [ &&. @giorxcci ]

arnauld set two pairs of schnapps on the table before sitting across from giovanni. " it was entertaining the last time, was it not ? " [ ;; @giorxcci ]

[ignvc]

" then you will NOT hold anyone against me ! what a RELIEF ! party. this is absolutely a party. don't you dare suggest otherwise, my friend. "

"If anyone knows what it's like to apologize for family members in advance... it's me." Andrew mused, a grin tugging at his lips. "I think I can handle a meeting. But for now, let's just enjoy... the party? The gathering? Whatever."

[ignvc]

" and how are YOU liking things so far ? i apologize for my uncle in advance. you will know what i mean and who i mean when you meet him. unless you have already ? that wouldn't be good at all. "

[ignvc]

ignác's chuckle was nearly loud enough to drown out blažej's breathy chortle. why was it so DIFFICULT for the boy to relax ? " i wouldn't be opposed to the bastard route- " he absolutely was but for the sake of the joke... " -but i think we should be REALISTIC about what blažej is actually capable of — bedding olimpia croÿ is PROBABLY not one of them. " no, sasha was more likely to succeed. even ignác sometimes ran out of patience with blažej's inarticulation and ignác had had a lot of time to get used to it ! " you're probably right. fanni should know better and don't you think the people should be worried about their well-being ? when someone so sloppy is in charge of ruling them ? " fanni's role in the running of hungary was most likely minimal but did the truth matter when people were likely to latch onto the horribleness of the circumstances ? " but it might be stupid to go after only one of them. it might get forgotten. it's not like their pr team is just sitting around and twiddling their thumbs all day. so what do we do with the younger one ? she doesn't have that much influence so we can't attack her judgment. should we just make it OBVIOUS how useless she is ? how much money does she receive from the crown annually ? it's probably a sum that sounds OUTRAGEOUS to anyone but people like us. " ignác even predicted that the sum would look small compared to his salary let alone compared to a swiss princess'. " we should raise the question: what has she done to earn it ? especially when there's a cost of living crisis all over europe. "

          alight eyes shift to the door, parting only to acknowledge their brother's warning and the seat blažej chooses over the one alexander offers by a pat of the cushion. was the likelihood that some philosophical joke about ' the chair really being there ' to come from the second eldest so predictable? “ i should have broken both arms for good measure. ” but even then, ignác is right. he's always right and had sasha listened to him before the protests in budapest wouldn't have vanished with a smile from fanni across the front page in a week's time. “ as questionable as the danube river? ” sasha shakes his head, “ fanni's got her guard up, so we go for olimpia. ” the name is said with acknowledgment in the form of a shifting gaze to the youngest. “ you're awfully close with her, blažej? i mean, ” and he nearly laughs at his own disclaimer, “ no babies, but you've got to have some idea. ”　...　　( @blazcj )

[ignvc]

" well it's ONLY a rumour, but... " ignác shrugged. " i've seen the press spin stories out of lesser things. at the end of the day, only the perception matters. " once a name was tarnished, there was NO purifying it. " she didn't seem like the type to marry levente either, now did she ? " she hadn't seem clinically insane, ignác meant. " but i don't know. at the moment they're oh so very sympathetic considering italy screwed them over. which is why i think it wouldn't be such a bad thing if you went ahead and– " the sound of heavy footsteps and an opening door forced ignác to swallow the end of his sentence. " look at that ! you DIDN'T die on the slope, " ignác teased with a grin. he shot a very quick look at sasha: it was time to tone it down. " oh, we're just... i don't know if you want to know to be honest. " ignác was tempted to move the conversation to a later time. blažej was unlikely to have any grand ideas. he'd have... criticism. " we are trying to decide our next move. the people have seemingly forgotten about sasha's tragedy. the croÿs are racking up more sympathy points than he is. that fucking baby was like a jackpot. ACTUALLY, considering he's a new father, it might be better to concentrate on the sisters. people will cut levente slack. fanni and olimpia... probably not. not in the same way. could they please do SOMETHING questionable ? it's difficult to create something out of thin air. " [ &&. @alexcnder ]

          it doesn't need to be articulated, this fabricated headline feels like a page-six story at best amidst the swiss and german war concluding, even if it felt as dated as his former football career. “ unless levente tears it himself, i don't think anyone is going to care. ” now that would be a story, ' levente's outrage taken out on unsuspecting duke. ' a provoked fight with the drunken croÿ. “ and no, i didn't even know his wife was cheating. she never seemed like the sort to. ” least had been alexander's own experience with ines suffocating tendencies years prior. noticeably absent, as sasha glances at the phone cradled in his grasp, is any commentary on olimpia. his responsibility.

[ignvc]

" we know that but not everyone knows that. you could say you were thinking of a come back, 'one more run'... it'll look tragic. just say your ACL is torn now because of the croÿs. " ignác shrugged and fell quiet in order to give the two of them time to think. " aren't YOU the one who's been making her laugh at every event ? " ignác asked with an arched brow. " do you know anything about the state of levente's marriage ? if we could prove the wife's a cheater, it'd make the family look bad, wouldn't it ? or would it make him look sympathetic ? either way we need a story that will cause DAMAGE. "

          “ yeah, if it wasn't already over. ” boundless optimism comes to a standstill in the wake of a headline title unable to capture anything more than fanni croÿ's environmental grandeurs. it's all evident in the sigh sasha exhales, falling back to the chair's cushion. “ you give people a hot blonde to look at and suddenly everything is forgiven. wasn't one of us supposed to get to olimpia by now? ”

[ignvc]

" i CANNOT think of a single headline that might be good to fabricate for christmas. maybe your knee is causing trouble and your football career is at risk ? ALL because of having to run on uneven terrain on that island. " [ &&. @alexcnder ]

[ignvc]

" i'm THOROUGHLY disappointed by the lack of spine the guests here have... " his glass got pointed at the spanish princess, then her sisters-in-law. " i thought they were supposed to despise the italians. "

[ignvc]

“ EVERYONE and i mean EVERYONE has a price. it can’t be that difficult to find someone with a wonky moral compass. ” he could dream ! he couldn’t picture levente croÿ sitting down on a therapist’s sofa. no, no, he’d weather a bit of infidelity like a man. counselling was for the weak ! he turned to look at matilde, BEWILDERMENT splattered on his face. his hand came to rest upon matilde’s. “ i haven’t seen a single photo. isn’t that suspicious ? we should go outside and sit on a bench and wait for her or him to walk past us. matilde she’s your princess, why aren’t you close to her ? ”

' DO YOU KNOW a therapist willing to break the confidentiality law and tell you everything they find out in those sessions ? because i'll send the card, masking it as a little parental joke wouldn't be so hard. has either of you seen the baby by chance ? does he look a little french ? i'm still a bit shocked that levente gave the boy his name. ' / @matildcs

[ignvc]

" wouldn't it be a GOOD gift for the parents if we sent them to couple's therapy ? i seriously need to know what the fuck is going on with ines and d'orléans. both of you know many people, how come you don't have a direct line to the french court ? it would be interesting to have it plastered all over the papers. " [ &&. @barbiebraganca + @matildcs ]

[ignvc]

alexcnder​:

            a grin is pried from his lips, plucked from memory, when alexander had last been exposed to a bellowing guffaw. a time when slovakia’s future appeared much smaller behind bratislava doors — and how quickly their ambitions cultivated. he shifted in his seat, leaning into the arm of his chair with trepidation, for a bandaged wrapped arm sling, he didn’t need to possess. “ i could bring up a complication with my attempt, our attempt, ” in apropos to the princess; of which, he hadn’t even thought to ruminate over. “ helping with the statement, which she’ll likely forget about. ” and he’d come to count on before concerning levente in a late statement to mediate as per the adroitness of strategy ignác offered. “ did i tell you, ” eyes suddenly alight, “ i think it was new years, he was drunk out of his mind, ” sasha recalled with an amusing fondness, “ trying to marry me off to fanni. ” he likely had shared the incident to him, or one of the other three. “ i should have asked how big the dowry he offered was. ”

“ what do you want to do ? ” alexander had a twinkle in his eye that could only mean one thing: some seed of an idea had been planted into his head and he was itching to water it. “ most likely. she’s been elusive lately. ines usurped her or what ? ” it was one of the few things he was hoping to get an answer to during his stay with the program. ignác’s brow rose. it was a more delicate reaction compared to the what he wanted to scream at his brother. because what indeed ! how drunk had levente been to suggest such thing ? “ how serious was he ? christ ! ” his laugh diluted into a thoughtful sigh. “ a year ago it wouldn’t have been a bad deal. besides she’s pretty enough, no ? always A BIT uptight to my liking but... ” it was a small vice compared to many other. 

[ignvc]

“ what was this little story about your fall all about ? it definitely entertained fanni, ” he noted, lightly pointing at the princess with his glass. “ did you have to call it a night ? it doesn’t sound like a mishap that happens early in the evening. ” [ &&. @vrnvuld​ ]

[ignvc]

“ you two have seen EVERYTHING i’ve seen, right ? i had my doubts but matilde, i think i’ll take your word for it. she was PRACTICALLY feeding him grapes just there a moment ago. ” [ &&. @matildcs​ & @barbiebraganca​ ]

[ignvc]

“ no but it’s refreshing. water’s ONLY important before going to bed. ” he winked at her, his boyish grin eventually got wiped away by the wine glass he picked at random. it was a poor substitute for the pinkish cocktail of his that the duchess now held. “ if you have to learn to like something, it can’t be REALLY good, can it ? everyone likes cocktails and ciders immediately. wine and beer ? takes a bit of learning. ” he wasn’t going to point out how he ADORED beer. how he had conditioned himself to enjoy it at first. “ that bitter poison ? who could drink it ? ” his shocked and appalled expression wouldn’t have convinced a child let alone a grown woman. “ coffees are all good but this one will make you hate me: pizza is not that great. it’s good but not life changing. ”

The width and wattage of her smile increases, as though he's told her a particularly juicy piece of gossip. "That's not water," she chides playfully, before reaching for his glass and taking a dainty sip. It was probably for the best that the house of Esterházy-Koháry enjoyed Portuguese drinks over others. "Now you're just trying to get under my skin - it's alright if those aren't to your taste, but things only seem overrated because so many people like them. Next, you'll tell me you don't care for espresso. "