The middle-aged man nudged his glass, which slid across the marble windowsill and stopped in front of Winters.
Winters made up his mind to neither seek nor inquire about the other's identity unless offered voluntarily.
After all, there was no need to ask. There were only so many military officers from the Land Academy, and even fewer could appear in Forge. Combining age and physical characteristics, it would be easy to find out who it was after a brief consultation with Carlo Aide.
The middle-aged man sharply asked, "The broker has gone to great lengths to get you an invitation to the Este family's reception, and you aren't going to network with the sellers, make some acquaintances?"
"Actually, I don't even know who to deal with right now," Winters answered truthfully.
The middle-aged man gave Winters a sidelong glance: "Do you know where you are?"
"Borso da Este's residence."
"Is that all you know?"
"...Please enlighten me."
