"Whoa," she said, her voice suddenly looser. "That's... that's really stroooong..."
Julian laughed, recognizing the signs immediately. Apparently, Starfall Ambrosia had more than just a pleasant taste.
And Tessa, from the looks of it, was a lightweight.
"Are you all right?" Julian asked.
Tessa set the glass down carefully, then gripped the edge of the bar to steady herself.
"M'fine," she slurred slightly. "Jus'... wow. That's some fuckin'... that's some serious shit right there."
Julian's eyebrows rose. The polite, professional girl from moments ago had just cursed casually.
"Maybe you should sit down," he suggested.
"Pffft, sit down," Tessa waved her hand dismissively. "I am a professional, Mr. Julian. I can handle m'liquor jus' fine."
She tried to pick up a glass to polish it and nearly dropped it, catching it at the last second.
"See? Perfec'ly fine."
Julian was trying very hard not to laugh. One tiny sip had gotten her this drunk? This was genuinely amusing.
"So," he said, deciding to take advantage of her loosened tongue, "tell me about the man whose arm I tore off earlier. In the mon room."
Tessa's expression immediately darkened, her face scrunching up in disgust.
"Oh, that fuckin' asshole?" she spat. "That piece of absolute dogshit? Fuck that guy. Seriously. Fuck. That. Guy."
She was leaning heavily on the bar now.
"That bastard's name is Kraven, an' he's the owner of the Gilded Rose. The fuckin' brothel. An' he's a plete an' total shitstain of a human being."
Julian's interest sharpened. The man he had casually maimed was the owner of the establishment where he'd just thoroughly dominated Valeria?
This was getting more interesting.
"Tell me more," Julian prompted.
Tessa was on a roll now, the alcohol pletely destroying her filter.
"Oh, you want more? I'll give you fuckin' more! Kraven's a piece of work, lemme tell you. He owns the Gilded Rose, right? But he don' jus' own it—he fuckin' controls it like some kinda tyrant piece of shit."
She hiccupped, then continued.
"All the girls who work there? He takes a huge fuckin' cut. Like, massive. They do all the work, he sits on his ass an' collects money. An' if any of 'em try to leave, try to work somewhere else, he threatens 'em. Blackmails 'em. Ruins their fuckin' lives."
Tessa's eyes were blazing now.
"An' you know what the worst part is? The absolute worst fuckin' part? He beats 'em. Yeah. Beats the girls who work for him if they don't make enough money or if they upset a client or if he's jus' in a bad fuckin' mood."
She slammed her hand on the bar, then immediately regretted it.
"Ow. Fuck. But yeah! He's a violent, abusive, greedy piece of absolute garbage. An' everyone knows it, but nobody does anythin' because he's got connections. He pays off the city guard, bribes the magistrates, an' he's buddies with some of the minor nobles."
Julian absorbed this information with growing satisfaction. So he'd maimed a man who absolutely deserved it. Excellent.
"An' you know what else?" Tessa continued, apparently not done with her drunken rant. "He es here sometimes. To the Silver Moon. Acts all high an' mighty, treats the staff like shit, leaves shitty tips, an' hits on all the girls workin' here even though we're not fuckin' prostitutes."
She pointed a wavering finger at Julian.
"So when you cut off his fuckin' arm? Best thing I've seen in months. Seriously. That asshole had it in' for years. I jus' wish you'd cut off more than jus' his arm. Maybe his dick too. That'd be fuckin' perfect."
Julian couldn't help but laugh at her words.
"I'm glad you approve."
"Approve? I fuckin' love it!" Tessa declared, then seemed to realize what she'd said and clapped her hand over her mouth. "Oh shit. I shouldn' be sayin' this stuff. Mistress Mara would kill me if she heard me talkin' to a guest like this."
She giggled.
"But you know what? Fuck it. You paid twelve gold for fancy booze an' you shared it with me even though you didn't hafta. You're all right, Mr. Julian. You're fuckin' all right."
She attempted to give him a thumbs up and nearly lost her balance, catching herself on the bar again.
Julian was thoroughly entertained now. Drunk Tessa was considerably more colorful than professional Tessa.
"So if Kraven owns the Gilded Rose," Julian said thoughtfully, "and Valeria works there..."
"Oh, Valeria fuckin' hates him," Tessa interrupted, nodding vigorously. "Hates him so much. She's his top earner, right? Makes him the mos' money. But she can't leave 'cause he's got dirt on her from before she started workin' there. Some secret or somethin'. So she's stuck makin' him rich while he treats her like property."
Tessa's expression became sly, her drunk mind making connections.
"So when you cut off his arm tonight... Valeria's prob'ly fuckin' celebratin' right now. Hell, all the girls at the Gilded Rose are prob'ly celebratin'. Finally someone stood up to that bastard an' made him pay."
She leaned forward conspiratorially, nearly falling over the bar.
"But you gotta be careful now, Mr. Julian. 'Cause Kraven's got friends. Dangerous friends. An' he's gonna want revenge for what you did. He's petty like that. Prob'ly gonna hire some thugs or assassins or some shit to e after you."
Julian smiled coldly. "Let him try."
Something in his tone, in his expression, made even drunk Tessa pause and reassess him.
"You're... you're not normal, are you?" she said slowly, her alcohol-fogged brain still managing to make the observation. "Like, you seem normal. You look normal. But you're not. There's somethin'... somethin' different about you."
"Just a traveler passing through," Julian said.
"Bullshit," Tessa said bluntly. "Travelers passin' through don't carry around enough gold to buy Starfall Ambrosia like it's nothin'. They don't casually cut off people's arms in bar fights. They don't..." She squinted at him. "They don't move like you move. Like a... like a predator or somethin'. All confident an' dangerous."
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